Magazine of The Church Lads’ and Church Girls’ Brigade

April 2009 No 50

A Company Limited by Guarantee No 1395966

Registered Charity No 276821

Well as much

steam as we

can achieve

anyway!

In the latest round of

Government funding we

were awarded a DCSF

grant for the two years

2009/10 and 2010/11

for our ‘Bridge’ project.

Whilst it is about a third

of what we applied for, it

is nonetheless welcome

and gratefully received.

It will enable us to fund

development of new

Companies in areas of

greatest need – the

grant isn’t for core

costs. In an ideal world

and as the grants were

restricted to England,

we would have put a

Development Worker in

each of the English

Government Office

Regions. However, the

funding will allow us to

field three part-time

Development Workers,

one each for the North-

East and the North-

West and for the

equivalent of two days

per week per Region,

and one, for three days

per week, to cover the

Midlands and the South.

A real challenge but

also a real opportunity.

We have seen a few

new Companies

established in the last

few months without

Development Workers,

so with them, we are

looking towards real

GROWTH!

Our aim is to develop

new Brigade

Companies in areas not

otherwise served by

children’s and youth

work opportunities, in

areas of real social

need and with local

support from other

existing Brigade

groupings; hence the

choice of deployments.

There’s further

information inside.

The order from the Bridge? Full steam ahead!

BrigadeTH

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Incorporating the LINK Magazine

Members of

the new

Company at

Tintwistle,

Derbyshire

which is in the

Diocese of

Chester but is

afiliated to

Tameside

Battalion.

Snow arrives at NHQ Whoopee - well some of the

staff thought so!!!

Is it my turn now?

2

A pictorial

overview of the

Church Lads’

and Church

Girls’ Brigade

events, awards,

presentations

and community-

based activities

THE MARTINS

THE JTC

THE SENIORS

THE Y TEAM

5 - 7 YEARS

7 - 10 YEARS

10 - 13 YEARS

13 - 21 YEARS

BrigadeTH

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Mum it’s tight enough!!!

John Duffy celebrating his 60th Birthday at a Brigade

Training day in Manchester.

Members of the Martins and YTeam sections at St John’s Great Sutton

Celebrating 30 years as a Company.

3

HERE& THERE

Medals galore at Butlins.

The Sky’s the limit - St Mary’s Beverely aim high!

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh chatting to a member of St.

Mary’s Beverley Band during the Queen’s visit to Hull .

It is with great interest

that I received the

news that the

Brigade’s Championship

Band, St Mary’s

Beverley Company, has

been asked to perform

when our Patron, Her

Majesty The Queen,

visits Hull in March.

Later the same day, two

members of the band

will go to hospital

together for the giving

and receiving of a

kidney!

I wish them well for both

events of their special

and demanding day. Yet

it strikes me that this is

just absolutely typical of

the Brigade and its

leaders. They put their

Band, its performance

and members and, of

course, performing for

their Patron, before

having a kidney

transplant! That’s just

how much bands mean

in the life of the Brigade

and just how dedicated

our Leaders are.

On another ‘band note’,

I was in attendance as

Governor at the

Manchester Bands’

night. As ever (in

previous years I have

attended in my casual

uniform to help out

behind the scenes) the

enthusiasm and sheer

enjoyment and pride

that our members

demonstrate ensured a

most enjoyable evening

for the appreciative

audience; who were

attending on Valentine’s

Day evening and could

have been forgiven if

they had found reason

to be elsewhere. There

were small and large

bands and one

Company fielded its

Senior and Junior

Bands. Also typical of

the Brigade, this was

not a competition, but

judging took place and

feedback was given.

Certificates of

participation were

presented and a prize

was awarded, not for

the best band of the

night but for the most

improved band

performing on the night.

Well done to all

concerned!

As 2009 is now well

underway I am looking

forward to attending

and enjoying various

performances by our

National Band and the

Brigade Bands’

Championships in

Leicester; two firsts in

my new role as

Governor. It’s such a

great pity that the cost

of transport keeps many

other good and great

bands from joining in the

Championships, and

also prevents individuals

from joining the National

Band. Those who do

manage to join in derive

such obvious pleasure

and show great pride in

participation and

achieve enhanced

musicianship and

marching skills from

doing so.

Please accept my best

wishes for a very happy

Easter and continued

success in your Brigade

Companies.

Pamela J Corbishley,

Governor.

Governor's Message

4

St Mary’s Band Beverley.

Christ Church Band Ashton under Lyne.

As I am sat writing

this message, it is

approaching dusk

but I can still see the

white and yellow crocus

flowering in the lawn

(Ancient Moat Site!) and

the snowdrops at the

entrance to Brigade

NHQ. Yet it’s only just

over a week since I was

battling against being

snowed in at home and

at Brigade NHQ!

I am thus reminded of

our new Governor’s

words at the Brigade’s

Annual General Meeting

this year, recounting not

just the difficulties that

we have been

experiencing but also

the positive features that

are affecting the

Brigade: “............. eachtime the autumn leavesfall and die it indicatesthat, after the bleaknessof winter, new shoots oflife will become visibleagain, to grow tall andstrong. If we were todwell on the negativeand not build on thepositive, we would notbe worthy of or equal toour forebears, whobrought this greatorganisation intoexistence, or thesubsequent generationsof officers and leaderswho served it so welland from whom we haveinherited custodianshipof the Brigade and whowould expect us toserve it well; as will thecurrent generation ofleaders and membersthat we serve. TheBrigade is great, is stillrelevant and it still doesgreat work, enriching somany young lives and

communities.

Yes there arechallenges facing us.We must be up to thechallenges. We mustmake and takeopportunities. Wemustn’t give up at thefirst or the twentiethdifficulty that besets us.”

Just this morning Martin

Lambourne and I

rendezvoused at St

John’s Church

Adlington, Lancashire,

to collect some band

instruments and

uniforms no longer

needed by the Church,

as their Brigade

Company closed in

1996. The former

leaders recounted to me

the problems that any

successors will face if

they want to restart a

Brigade Company there,

and it had been hoped

since 1996 that this

would happen and it

hasn’t yet. The reasons

cited were the very ones

causing them to

handover their

instruments and

uniforms, a lack of

storage space, even

when there is a suitable

meeting place. In times

past, Churches had their

own Church Hall, or

Church School or Parish

Room or a combination

of these or all three, and

with additional storage.

It’s the same cry as with

visiting modern houses

and new developments,

‘where’s the storage’?

That’s something that

will doubtless exercise

all those wanting to start

up new Companies, a

suitable venue and

adequate storage.

I am delighted to report

that we were successful

in the recent application

round for Government

grants. The Department

for Children, Schools

and Families has

awarded the Brigade

£75,000 per annum for

2009/10 and 2010/11 to

enable us to employ

some additional staff, to

develop new Brigade

Companies. Whilst this

is about a third of what I

applied for, it is

nonetheless helpful and

appreciated and we

have just received

approval as to our

modified project

submission and budget,

and are hoping to be

able to get the project

off the ground by 1st

April 2009! It was

interesting to note that

we were the only

uniformed youth

organisation in the list of

successful applicants

and another,

knowledgeable,

observer commented

that we were the only

Christian group to have

been awarded a grant.

Our intention is to

employ three part-time

Development Workers,

who will identify

communities in deprived

areas, which do not

have any other form of

youth and children’s

organisation or

provision, and to seek to

establish Brigade

groups in such localities

and where local

leadership can be

5

The Brigade Secretary's Message

Brigade

Headquarters

has been

actively engaged in

gathering in redundant

instruments from

closed and current

Brigade Companies

with

surplus

and

redundant

items. We

currently

have a

range of

marching

drums

(side

drums,

mostly

snare

drums;

tenor

drums; bass drums) a

limited range of

bugles (valve less

trumpet style),

cornets, bell lyres,

glockenspiels,

cymbals and maces.

Conditions of the

instruments vary from

being excellent to

worn but playable. In

some instances we

have matched sets of

drums and suitable

accessories, e.g.

drum slings, sticks,

carrying harnesses,

dress cords, etc.

These instruments are

available on a three-

monthly renewable

(unless wanted

elsewhere) loan basis

and are intended to

help new Companies

to establish bands,

whilst they achieve

sufficient funding for

their own instruments.

However, existing

Companies wanting

additional instruments

are also eligible to

borrow instruments on

the same terms.

All enquiries should

be addressed to the

Brigade Secretary at

NHQ.

6

identified. We need to

recruit two Development

Workers, for the

equivalent of two days a

week in both the North-

East and North-West

Regions and one for

three days equivalence

per week for the

Midlands and South,

including London. Quite

a tall order and a

challenge but that

seems the best way to

use what we have been

offered and accepted.

The money can only be

used for this project, it

cannot be used for

mainstream operational

and running costs for

the Brigade, and so

fundraising for that still

goes on. We are

preparing to advertise

nationally, openly and

within the Brigade, to

recruit suitably skilled,

knowledgeable and

enthusiastic

Development Workers.

Unfortunately, our

Officers’ and Leaders’

Conference had to be

postponed, as there

were insufficient

bookings by the point at

which we would have

needed to pay a 50%

cancellation fee, if we

went any further. When

the Governor told a

meeting she was

attending of this

decision, she discovered

several Leaders were

intent on attending but

had not yet submitted

their forms to NHQ!

Where have we heard

that one before?

We are continuing to

hold discussions with

two Christian charities

that both want to

acquire our

Headquarters buildings

and site and are seeking

to achieve the finance to

enable them to do so

and with some degree

of optimism that they

may be able to achieve

the funds.

A subcommittee of

Brigade Council is being

convened to look at the

future of the Brigade

and what actions need

to be taken to achieve

the desired outcomes. It

will report back with its

recommendations in

June 2009.

I am advised that this

year’s Butlins was

well attended and

very enjoyable, with

good weather and

great friendship.

When I enquired who

had ferried any

sports’ casualties to

hospital, I was told

that it had been

unnecessary and that

I was obviously a jinx

on the event, as

when I attended it

experienced lashing

gales, freezing

temperatures and I

spent the Saturday

afternoon ferrying

casualties from the

Unihoc tournament to

and from hospital!

Alan Millward,

Brigade Secretary.

The Brigade Secretary’s Report continued from page 5

Musical Instrument Loan Scheme

Stop Press

Johnny Conn, of the

Brigade’s Historical

Group, has had a 5 page

illustrated article printed

in the April 2009 issue of

the popular magazine

Practical Family History

(ISSN 1367-1661) priced

at £3.75 and widely

available through major

newsagents. The article

shows the origins of and

links between Church

Scouts and the Brigade.

Aquantity of

uniform items

have been

brought to NHQ from

recently closed

Companies. These are

mostly used uniform

items, mostly ‘new style’

uniform but with some

older style items and

some are ‘new’ (never

issued) but dusty

through storage. There

are varying sizes of

shirts, blouses, skirts,

trousers, caps and hats,

belts and colours of ties.

Conditions vary but they

are available to

Companies where there

is a need for uniform

items and where

families find it difficult to

meet the cost of new

items. Most items of

clothing will be free or

for a suitable donation

but costs of postage and

package must be met by

the Company

concerned.

If you are interested in

any particular items or

want further information,

please contact the

Brigade Secretary at

NHQ.

7

Uniforms

National Band

The Brigade’s

National Band

has recently

established its own

website:

nationalband.org.uk

The National Band is

holding one of its

Training and Activity

weekends over 28th

and 29th March 2009

at Smallwood Manor

Preparatory School,

Uttoxeter and will be

performing at the

National Memorial

Arboretum, site of the

Brigade’s own

Memorial Garden on

Saturday, 28th March

2009 at 2.15pm

approx. As part of

their Band Weekend

on 2nd to 4th May

2009, the National

Band will be in

Concert at William

Bradford Community

College at Earl Shilton

on 2nd May 2009

(tickets available via

the Band’s website).

The Band will also be

performing at

Marchington Summer

Fair on Saturday, 27th

June 2009 during their

Band weekend 27th

and 28th June 2009.

Further Band

weekends have been

arranged for

September 18th,

October 23rd,

December 4th 2009,

January 29th, 26th

February, 30th April,

18th June 2010 and

all are at Smallwood

Manor Preparatory

School, Uttoxeter.

As part of the

Brigade’s Bands’

Competition, the

National Band will be

in performance at

Alumwell School,

Walsall on Saturday,

16th May 2009 and

from 1st to 9th August

2009 the National

Band’s Summer Tour

will take place in the

Moselle Valley,

Germany.

For any further details,

including how to join

the National Band or

to get input into the

work of your own

Company or

Formation Band, see

the website.

National Band

Personnel:

Commanding Officer:

Alison Macefield;

Adjutant: Sue Hedges;

Band Chaplain: Father

David Arnold;

Principal Band

Master: Paul Roberts;

Bandmaster: Natalie

Adcock BA(Hons),

MMus, PGCE; Senior

Warrant: Martyn Hall

BA(Hons), PGCE;

Principal Musician:

Sarah Lowe

BA(Hons), PGCE.

Music Tutors: Drum

Major: John Dines;

Wind Tutor: Thomas

McClure BA(Hons),

PGCE; Drum Tutors;

Kelly Brown and Scott

Ramsbottom; Bugle

Major: Stuart Squires

BSc(Hons); Mixed

Percussion: Michael

McKenna BA(Hons),

PGCE; Mallets (Tuned

Percussion): Sam

Barker BSc(Hons),

PGCE.

Auxiliary Staff:

Officer in Charge of

Lads: Simon Eshborn;

Officer in Charge of

Girls: Sam Barker

BSc(Hons), PGCE;

Head of Logistics

Staff: Mrs. A. Burton.

Well we are half

way through the

Band’s year and

find ourselves busy and in

unchartered water for the

National Band! By this I

mean that we are holding

this year’s concert on a

Saturday, putting ourselves

under pressure to arrive,

rehearse and perform all

within a few hours! All I

can say is it seemed like a

good idea at the time –

which was last August!!

For non-members of

National Band, who are

unaware that we have a

prize presentation evening

and a celebration night at

Christmas, it has been

suggested that we

announce the winners in

the magazine as we do

with the national sports.

The awards are given out

to the best and improved

in each section, overall

best lad and girl and then

a series of leadership

trophies are given to those

who have demonstrated

above and beyond the

required elements. Many

of the trophies have been

given to the Band from

past members, such as the

Wendy Brumpton trophy.

On leaving the Band

20plus years ago, Wendy

donated the trophy to be

awarded to someone who

had continued to attend

Band (and Brigade)

against adversity.

The award nominations

are from the Band section

leaders. I do get to choose

some winners and Paul

Roberts decides the best

section for the year, which

isn’t always a musical

section. This year it was

awarded to the men and

ladies of the domestic

variety, without them the

Band could not function.

Our staff may have their

children in the Band

presently or have had

them in the past. As our

premises are so very

different to the original

Darlaston Community

school, as soon as our

staff arrive they are out

into Uttoxeter buying the

food for the day, others

bring produce with them so

they start the cooking but it

is non-stop and the Band

is grateful for the great

food and the fun – the staff

will not be left out of any

games or competitions!!

As we are now about to

attend the March weekend

it is my intention next year

to get the winners to the

magazine for you all to

see.

The March weekend

brings for the Band a long

overdue visit to the

National Memorial

Arboretum. We shall spend

a few hours there and play

– of course!!

We embark on a trip to

Germany this year, we

have not been for several

years and it will be great to

be away making music in

such beautiful

surroundings.

It gives me great pleasure

to announce the arrival of

www.nationalband.org. It

is the hard work and

complete dedication of

several of our members,

who thankfully had too

much time on their hands

at the last half-term.

Please take a look and

enjoy! Please sign the

guestbook.

National Band like other

areas of Brigade is short of

members and we would

like to remind you that, as

long as you are a member

of the Brigade, you can be

a member of National

Band, with permission of

your CO – you do not have

to have a Company Band.

If you or anyone including

the CO or Bandmaster

would like to join us on our

training weekends please

contact either Sue Hedges

or myself. This year we

have found being busy for

us is great but makes

accepting visitors difficult,

but I am sure we can find

a way!

Alison Macefield.

Commanding OfficerAlibongo36@yahoo.co.uk

Sue Hedges. Adjutantbunchesrule@hotmail.co.uk

8

Alison Macefield Commanding Officer of the National Band writes

On arriving in Hull

on the Royal

Train the Queen

and Duke of Edinburgh

were met by the

sound of the

Beverley St

Mary’s Church

Lads’ and

Church Girls’

Brigade Band

who had been

invited to play on

the platform,

after leaving the

Train the Queen

and Duke of

Edinburgh

stopped and

spoke first to the

CO and Band

Leader Glen

Redhead and

then continued to speak

freely to members of the

Band.

The weather was

perfect with the sun

shining onto the platform

as she made her way

out of the station to start

her tour of Hull.

All those who took part

enjoyed this Royal

Occasion.

Out Royal Patron, Her Majesty The Queen, visits Hull by Glen Redhead

Since I rejoined

the Brigade as

Brigade

Secretary, I have been

amazed that we do

not have a memorial

anywhere as to the 22

VC recipients who

were members of the

Church Lads’ Brigade.

After all, the Victoria

Cross is Britain’s

highest award for

gallantry that can be

awarded to military

personnel. (I am also

told that the Guinness

Book of Records

shows that CLB is

second only to Eton

College for the largest

number of Victoria

Crosses awarded to

its former members.)

In time for last year’s

Remembrance

Service the Brigade’s

Hon Archivist, Rob

Bolton furnished me

with a list of the

names, CLB

Companies and

military formations of

our VC recipients.

Imagine my surprise

when I saw that the

22 was not a ‘total’

count! There are two

VCs where local

knowledge tells us

that the VC recipient

was indeed in the

local Brigade

Company (as in the

case of Joseph Lister

and St Elizabeth’s

Reddish, Manchester)

but local Brigade

records for the time

are not available to

us; and there were

four holders of the VC

who later joined the

Brigade and these

aren’t counted.

Hence, I decided that

after some 90 years it

was about time that

we had a tangible

record and memorial

at NHQ to our Brigade

VC holders and this

was achieved as a

Roll of Honour in time

for this year’s Annual

General Meeting on

31st January 2009

when, appropriately

enough, our Brigade

Chaplain, Bishop Jack

was able to be with us

and all of the

Brigade’s leadership

was at liberty to

attend. The Roll of

Honour was dedicated

by Bishop Jack prior

to the Annual General

Meeting commencing.

9

VC Roll of Honour

Bishop Jack dedicating the

VC Roll of Honour.

10

Nativity by Paul Matthews

We’ve a new

vicar, so time

for a new start

and a ……..new stitch

up! We were asked to

do the Nativity play for

the family service

“YIKES”; I’ve never

done any drama! Where

do I start? I asked

friends and the local

Sunday school and

nursery school teachers

but after a fruitless

search I tried the

computer, thank

goodness for the

internet!!

I then announced to the

St Crispin’s Company

that we were doing a

Nativity play. It was a bit

disappointing to hear

some of the kids say

“I’m at my Dad’s” or

“we’re away” but we

started casting. Betty

from the church helped

Margaret and Janet with

the costumes, Gill and

Donna started practicing

drum and bell tunes with

the appropriate kids,

while I and Oliver (a

very helpful Duke of

Edinburgh participant)

started with the

rehearsals.

What a roller coaster

ride, with good and bad

nights, nights when I

was ready to throw in

the towel and nights

when I came away

glowing with pride at

what the members had

achieved. As we got

closer to the Sunday it

was really encouraging

to have some of those

“I’m at my Dad’s” and

“we’re away” kids ask to

be a part of the Nativity!

As it turned out, Sunday

14th December was

terrific, a great

achievement. The

performance went

superbly with the

members giving their all.

A big humongous thank

you to all our young

members of St Crispin’s

CLCGB of whom I have

the privilege of being

Commanding Officer.

Also a big thank you to

all my staff and church

members, who helped

make this a very special

performance. Finally a

special thank you to our

new vicar Arthur

Deegan for (stitching me

up) and laying down a

challenge that I think we

met and dealt with

superbly.

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The DofE is now

accrediting assessors

for all three levels of

the Award. To enable

the Brigade to

maintain its ability to

offer assessors for

Brigade Companies,

we have begun a

process of training for

all our leaders who

wish to be accredited.

The process has

begun in the North

West where we now

have three Assessor

Supervisors (including

our National Training

Officer) who can

supervise new

assessors as they

assess practice or

actual expeditions at

Bronze, Silver and

Gold. Ten other

leaders are also

progressing towards

their accreditation as

assessors.

We can also run the

induction days and

training days required,

so if any other regions

wish to become

engaged in this

scheme, please let

Martin Lambourne

know at NHQ.

We will shortly provide

all Companies with

details of the

Assessor Team who

are available to

assess your

expeditions.

11

New Expedition Assessor Team

Prayer

Sam Bennie (Centre), National DofE Officer, with new Brigade

Assessors on the Manchester Training day in February.

God of Good Friday,

Whose Son, Jesus Christ, gave His life for our salvation,

Help us to keep our promise to be His faithful soldiers and servants

to the end of our lives.

God of Easter Sunday,

Who raised Jesus Christ to life again to give us hope in believing;

Help us to live our faith in all we do, knowing we serve a Living God

who walks beside us every day.

God of Pentecost,

Who sent the Holy Spirit to empower your church

to turn the world upside down,

Give us the strength to persevere in changing the world for the better

that your kingdom may come on earth as in Heaven.Amen

12

BrigadeTH

E

results National Competitions

Designed and Published by The Church Lads’ and Church Girls’ Brigade, 2 Barnsley Road, Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham, S63 6PY Registered Charity No 276821

Telephone (01709) 876535 - Fax (01709) 878089 - e-mail: Brigadesecretary@clcgb.org.uk - web site: http://www.clcgb.org.uk

Printed by Dearne Valley Printers, Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham

UNIHOC AT BUTLINS

Y Team 1st Manchester

2nd Durham

3rd Peterborough

JTC 1st Oldham/Durham

2nd Peterborough Girls

3rd Peterborough Boys

Senior Lads1st Durham A

2nd Oldham

3rd Durham B

Senior Girls 1st Longridge

2nd Durham

3rd Manchester

Veteran Lads1st= Durham

Peterborough B

3rd= Peterborough A

Oldham

Veteran Girls1st Durham

2nd Oldham

Congratulations to

all who took part.

What a great

weekend it was.