Boys' Brigade and Girls' Association

The 5th Gloucester Boys Brigade was founded on 13th March 1972 by the Church Minister at the time, Rev. David Gregory. Over 50 years later we are still going strong. In 2022 we became a Boys Brigade and Girls Association (BB&GA) company, and we currently have around 55 young people meeting weekly. Below you will see we have 4 sections for different ages and the times and day that they meet.

Anchor section – Reception to year 3. Meeting on Mondays 17.30-18.45
The Anchor section evenings normally involve games, inspection, craft and a story. Most of their weekly meeting’s centre around a theme this could be a bible story such as Josph and his technicolour coat or around a time of year such as Red Nose Day. As well as their weekly meetings, the Anchor section get the chance to join the other companies in the battalion at the annual Anchor outing and the Anchor sports day.

Junior section – Years 4 to 6. Meeting on Mondays 18.30-20.15
The junior section evenings normally include inspection, games, badge work and devotions. They also have weeks set around a theme. Previous themes include the Egyptians, the Ten Commandments and Chinese numbers. As they are older, Junior Section members get the opportunity to be involved in more Battalion events and even some District ones too. These include Battalion football, Battalion quiz, Battalion swimming gala and District sports. Most years the Junior Section also get the opportunity to attend a weekend camp.

Company – Years 7 to 9. Seniors – Years 10 to 13. Meeting on Thursdays 19.30-21.30
The Company section and Senior section meet together. We have band practice for those in the band from 7:00pm and then the Company and Senior sections fall in for inspection. After inspection they do badge work. This covers a wide range of topics such as Gladiators, being a a good sport and snooker. Later in the evening we have games including spikeball, handball and dodgeball. The Company & Senior sections take part in lots of Battalion, District and some National competitions. These include Masterteam, bowling and sports. The Company and Seniors go on a week-long camp at the beginning of the summer holidays, the highlight of the year.
The Senior section also work towards the highest awards in the BB&GA – the Presidents and Kings badges. We also help members to work towards their Duke of Edinburgh awards.

The Company Annual Report for 2025
We have had another successful year as a company. We continue to grow our numbers across all sections with membership around 47 young people. All sections have been enjoying their weekly meetings working towards their badges which will be awarded at our awards evening in May.

As usual we have entered lots of competitions this year and have had our most successful year for some time. The Anchor section took part in a new battalion photography competition and won. The Junior section came 1st at the Battalion bowling and swimming gala. They have also taken part in the Battalion chess competition and the junior District sports. The Company and Seniors took part in the National bowling competition back in October 2024 and for the 1st time in around 20 years we won the whole competition! They also won the Battalion bowling competition and came joint 1st at the swimming gala. At the District sports they
won the frisbee, uni hoc and under-13's football.

I am very proud of the success we have had at competitions this year. This is not just because of the success we have had, but the children always compete with good sportsmanship and are always a credit to the Company.

As we approach the end of the session planning is under way for our awards evening and summer programme. After our summer
programme the Company and Senior sections are off on their annual week'-long camp. This year they are off to the Dartmoor Activity Centre. This is always the highlight of the year for those two sections, and lots of planning is going on to make it a fun and enjoyable week.

The company would not have the numbers it does, or the success it has achieved,if it wasn't for the 14 officers and helpers that continue to give their time at the weekly meetings, competitions, events and planning time at home. I would also like to thank the Parents and Friends Association (PFA) and the church for their support and fundraising. Without the fundraising we would not be able to run the fun programme that we do.

Finally we have our annual awards evening on Friday 23rd May starting at 19.00 in the church hall. All are welcome to help us celebrate the achievements of the young people.
Scott Dickens, Captain