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| 7th Newcastle-upon-Tyne Company. The Boys' Brigade. | |
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105 YEARS IN THE EAST END OF NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE.
7th Newcastle-upon-Tyne Company. The Boys' Brigade.
Established 1895.
If you wish to know more about the Boys' Brigade or would like to join
contact Company Captain Gordon Hawkins at
gee.hawkins@virgin.net
We are a Christian Youth Organisation, and as such, are a part of St.
Michaels Parish Church, Byker, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.
Membership is open to all boys aged 8-18 years. Regular weekly
meetings take place in Byker Community Centre, Headlam Street, Byker,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne. The Junior Section for boys aged 8 to 12
years meet from 6.00pm until 7.15pm each Monday evening. Company
Section and Senior Section for Boys aged 12 to 18 years meet from
7.00pm until 8.00pm also on Monday evenings.
We now have a Girls' Group and involve these members in all activities.
Activities of the Boys' Brigade.
The activities of the Boys' Brigade range from the simple interests of
our younger members to the adventure centred leadership of the
Seniors. Such activities may include arts & crafts, camping,
canoeing, Christian education, first aid & safety and sports of all
kinds.
THE TOMORROW'S HISTORY PROJECT.
The 7th Newcastle-upon-Tyne Company The Boys' Brigade was founded in 1895 and has, as part of Byker Parish Church, been running continuously for over 106 years. We are probably the oldest youth organisation in this area. The Tomorrow's History project involved the Company in a study of past events, the identification of some former members, interviews with people associated with our organisation over a number of years, and the preparation of a visual display. We began by looking through some of the old Company registers and noted some of the more regular attendees and their addresses. Most of the original houses built in the later part of the 19th century were demolished during the 1960s and 1970s. Next we began to sort through dozens of old photographs of members involved at camps, drills and gymnastic competitions. We then looked at other material depicting more recent events. Most of the people interviewed are in the 70 to 85 years old age range but we also turned our attention towards younger members who could make a contribution to the project. On Thursday 25 October 2001 our Captain gave an informal talk about The Boys' Brigade to Westmoor Ladies Club and we were able to make good use of material already prepared for this project.
Our main presentation took place in the East End Library, Byker,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne during the week beginning 26 November 2001.
In it we featured some of our past members, known affectionately as
old boys, and the careers they followed during some stage of their
lives.
At one time we had a Bugle Band. Alan Douglas, John Borley and Tommy Balmer would often practice at the Byker Community Centre in 1953. |
