Put a

photograph of This Handbook belongs to :

yourself here Name : ________________________________________

Address:________________________________________

_________________________________________

Tel : _________________________________________
S
ince 1883, millions of Boys have passed through the ranks of The Boys Brigade.
In it, many have found a purpose and direction to teenage life. Therefore, it gives
me great pleasure to welcome you to the _____ Singapore Company and to urge
you live to the high ideals of The Boys Brigade and its Object.

Every BB Company comes under the care of a school and church. We call them sponsors.
Our Sponsoring School is _________________________________________________
located at ____________________________________________________________and
Our Sponsoring Church is _________________________________________________
located at _________________________________________________________________

During your time with us, you can seek help from any of these adults, including myself,
your Company Captain, who are here to look after you.
Company Chaplain : _________________________________________________
Officer Commanding : _________________________________________________
BB Teacher-in-charge : _________________________________________________

You have been assigned to Squad __________and the following Officer are responsible
for the Squad.
Squad Officer : _________________________________________________
Squad Leader : _________________________________________________

On behalf of the Officers and Boys, I encourage you to have a fruitful experience of
Boyhood in The Boys Brigade.

Yours sincerely

Name and Signature of Captain Date

THE BB OBJECT
The advancement of Christs kingdom among Boys,
and the promotion of habits of
Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-respect and
all that tends towards a true Christian Manliness

OUR VISION
To be the Youth Organisation of choice

OUR MISSION
To nurture Youth, based on Christian values, to serve and
lead.

OUR BELIEFS
We are First for Youth.
We provide fun, meaningful and challenging activities.
We are committed to serve the community.
We are served and led by volunteers.
We are enterprising, in tune with our changing world.
We actively engage our stakeholders.
We are a Christian organisation, for all Youth.
WELCOME TO THE BOYS BRIGADE!
You have joined a Co-Curriculum Activity (CCA) that that can be
found in many other countries around the world and with over
a hundred years of history, proof that the BB is an organisation
that has a very wide appeal, offering interesting, life-building
programmes that make your time spent with the BB fun,
meaningful and challenging!

Founded in 1883, The Boys Brigade is the worlds first uniformed

youth organisation.

In Singapore, the BB is over 70 years old and comprises more

than 7,000 Officers and Boys, operating in 100 over BB
Companies; and it is still growing. BB Companies are based in
schools that are sponsored by a church.

The BB has a 3-tier Programme for the following three age-

group:

Juniors Programme 8 - 11 years old (Primary School)

Seniors Programme 12 - 15 years old (Secondary School)
Primers Programme 16 - 17 years old (Post-Secondary)

The BB Object, Vision, Mission, Beliefs and the Desired Outcomes

of BB Members guide our adult officers in delivering a well-
balanced programme, ensuring the all- round development of
our members by covering the following four aspects:

Spiritual
Physical
Enrichment
Social
The complete programme of The Boys Brigade promises to
challenge and develop you individually, and also will surely allow
you to meet new friends to work and play with. So are you ready
for the Time of your life?
 Juniors (Learn Through Play)
Learning)
Respectful
Confident and courteous in
seeking clarification
Self
Ready to give of his best in
all that he does
Performs simple household
chores and undertakes to be
responsible for himself at
Home
home
Respectful to parents and
elders
Exemplary in conduct
School
Respects authority
Practises Christian values
Church
Cares and shares
Community
Appreciates the need to
protect our environment
Members should achieve the desired outcomes stated in their respective Programme, as well as
those specified in the preceding Programme(s).
Seniors (Discovering and Primers (Service and
Leadership)
Manages his personal time
well
Responsible and accountable
for the youth under his/her
Communicates purposefully
charge
and sincerely Manages Brigade activities
and is a facilitator of the BB
Maintains high standards of
decorum and deportment
Learning Experience
Avoids socially undesirable
behaviour
Shares the responsibility in
general household chores
Cares for family members
Manages finances, spending
within given budget, with due
consideration for savings
and giving
Participates actively and Plans and leads school
makes positive contribution activities
to the school
Practises Christian values Understands the Christian
faith
Plans and leads in church
activities
Respects public property Keeps abreast of current affairs
and places, maintaining
cleanliness and is
considerate to other users
Part I THE STORY OF THE BOYS
BRIGADE
1) The Birth of The Boys Brigade
2) Our Emblem, Motto, Object and Method
3) The Founder
4) The Boys Brigade in Singapore
5) The Boys Brigade International
6) BB History worksheets

Part II BB LIFE!
1) BB Traditions
2) Uniform
3) Duties as a BB Boy
4) Key Events in Company Life
5) Awards Achievement Scheme
6) Juniors Challenge

Part III MY BB DAIRY

1) Photos Album
2) Juniors Challenge Log Sheet
THE BIRTH OF THE BOYS BRIGADE
The Boys Brigade was founded on 4th October 1883 by
Sir William Alexander Smith. It was the first uniformed
youth organisations in the world.

Sir William Alexander Smith, the founder, was a

businessman, volunteer in the Army and Sunday School
Teacher. He came up with a system of giving Boys a group
to belong to as part of the church based on religion and
discipline. The company was called the First Glasgow
Company. The Boys loved simple forms of drill, gymnastics
and games. In 1886, the first BB camp was held.

OUR EMBLEM, MOTTO, OBJECT AND Red cross

METHOD
EMBLEM
The Emblem started with an anchor. It stems from the verse
in Hebrews 6:19 which hope we have as an anchor of the
soul, both Sure and Stedfast. With the union of The Boys
Brigade and The Boys Life Brigade in 1926, the red cross Anchor
was added to the anchor. The Boys Brigade

MOTTO
The motto Sure and Stedfast is also taken from the verse
in Hebrews 6:19. The biblical spelling from the Authorised
Version of the Bible has been retained.

OBJECT
The object of The Boys Brigade shall be the Advancement
of Christs kingdom among Boys and the promotion of
habits of Obedience, Reverence, Discipline, Self-respect
and all that tends towards a true Christian Manliness.
However, the following aims are a useful translation of the
Object into everyday goals for the BB Company:

ToTo train
help Boys develop and grow in Christian character
To promote Boys to become loyal and responsible citizens
leadership potential
physical fitness of Boys and develop their

THE BB METHOD
The method of achieving the object of The Boys Brigade
is by providing a meaningful and enjoyable programme of
spiritual, physical, enrichment and social interests, which
is actively guided by adult leaders as officers.

Each Boy develops the habits of discipline, self-respect,

grooming and teamwork according to his needs and his
OUR FOUNDER
Sir William Alexander Smith was born on 27 October
1854 at Pennyland House, Thurso, Scotland. At fifteen,
young William began work as a clerk in his uncles business
in Glasgow. He later joined the 1st Lanarkshire Rifle
Volunteers. He then left the Volunteers as a Lieutenant
Colonel.

Sir William Alexander Smith started The Boys Brigade

in 1883 and became full-time Brigade Secretary in 1888.
He was knighted in July 1909 by King Edward VII for his
work in The Boys Brigade. While attending a Brigade
meeting, he then fell sick and passed away on the morning
of 10 May 1914.

WHAT HE LIVED FOR

If I am to be remembered by posterity I should like it to be
as the man who taught people to spell Boy with a capital B

THE BOYS BRIGADE IN SINGAPORE

Mr. James Milner Fraser introduced The Boys Brigade to
Singapore. He was a former member of the 23rd Aberdeen
and the 33rd London Companies.

Mr. James Milner Fraser started the 1st Singapore

Company at Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church on 12
January 1930.

BB activities were stopped during the war from 1942 to

1945 and were revived fully only in 1950, by Mr. S P Chua.

BB PATRON
In 1971, the President of the Republic of Singapore became
the Brigades Patron (supporter).
DENDROBIUM THE BOYS BRIGADE
On 18 September 1999, an orchid was named after The
Boys Brigade in Singapore for its 70th Anniversary.

MARKING OF THE BIRTHPLACE

77 Prinsep Street, the birthplace of The Boys' Brigade In
Singapore, was marked as a historic site by the National
Heritage Board on 12 January 2000, exactly 70 years after
the BB in Singapore started. Subsequently, the Prinsep
Street Presbyterian Church where the 1st Singapore
Company began and continues to exist, was also marked
as the 44th historical building in Singapore and gazetted
for preservation as a national monument by the Preservation
of Monuments Board.

BB DAY
In Singapore, BB Day is commemorated on 12 January
2000 in schools.

FOUNDERS DAY
The Founding of the BB is celebrated on 4th October every
year.
THE BB FAMILY INTERNATIONAL
(JUNIORS)
Do you know that The Boys Brigade is a BIG organization?
How Big?

Well, for starters, you can find the Brigade in more than 60
territories across the world.
The BB is found as far north as Scotland and as far south
as New Zealand, and with a whole lot more Companies in
between.

Worldwide membership is about 600,000 persons. The BB

forms Regional Fellowships in every region of the world to
link up members in nearby countries. The BB in Singapore
is a member of the East Asian Regional Fellowship.

The Boys Brigade is part of an extended International

Family (Global Fellowship of Christian Youth), which includes
other Christian uniformed youth organizations like the
following:

The FDF in Denmark

The Poiken Keskus in Finland
The United Boys Brigade of America

The Boys Brigade and these organizations are members

of the Global Fellowship of Christian Youth, who share the
common goal of the advancement of Christs Kingdom
among the youth of the world. With so many organizations
together, its not surprising that the Global Fellowship is
nearly 600,000 strong.
THE BB FAMILY IN SINGAPORE
(JUNIORS)
As of year 2003, your company is one of more than 102
companies in Singapore, each a part of the church and an
educational institution. Your company, like the others, runs
an exciting and fun programme that will teach you many
new things and bring you on many adventures. You can
be sure that you will develop in Spiritual, Physical,
Enrichment and Social aspects with your membership in
The Boys Brigade!

The Company you have joined is a Juniors Programme

Company, which has members aged from 8 to 11 years.
You are expected to be regular in attendance and loyal to
your friends and Officers. There are so many things to do
in the BB and you will soon learn that there is no limit to
the fun you can have, except your own willingness to learn
and participate in the great activities.

After Primary 6, there is also the

Seniors Programme to join in
Secondary School and the
Primers Programme, when you
go to a Junior College or a
Polytechnic. That way, your
Great BB Adventure can
continue!
BB Life International
Websites Listings
We have our very own BB website! The site is http://www.bb.org.sg

YOU can find out more about the BB in other Countries too!
Here are some websites to explore!

BBUK
http://www.boys-brigade.org.uk/

BBUK 44th Aberdeen Company

http://www.40four.co.uk/
- This site contains quite a number of fun games!

BB New Zealand
http://www.bb.org.nz/

BB Australia
http://www.boys-brigade.org.au/

BB Malaysia
http://www.bbmalaysia.org/brigade.htm

BB Hong Kong
http://www.bbhk.org.hk/

The BB Directory
http://www.boys-brigade.org/
- This site is an international directory of BB Companies, resources
and events! Websites of BB in other parts of the world can be
searched through this website!
BB History
Sir William Alexander Smith founded The Boys Brigade on 4th October 1883. It was
called the 1st Glasgow Company.

Our Founder, Sir William A Smith, did not work alone. He had valuable assistance from
the brothers, James R.and John B. Hill in those early days.

Can you fill in the blanks in the following imaginary letter with the following words?

First exercise
troubling discipline shared thoughts time name first strenghten

Dear James and John,

I have thought of a great idea to attract the Boys attention in Sunday School! On the way
to Church this week, I saw a ________ sight. There are too many Boys loitering about
in the streets. In no _________, they would pick up negative influences and habits.

We can combine Sunday School teaching, with Drill, _________ Aid and Gymnastics
together! This way, Boys can learn many good values, discipline themselves, and learn
some practical skills and ____________________ their bodies. Who knows, if this takes
off, we might even have a camp in the future.

I was thinking of the ___________________ the army builds in its soldiers and the
comradeship ________________________ by those who are in it. If we gave this idea
a _____________ , I was thinking of The Boys Brigade. Does that get you thinking?

What do you think of this Object for the Brigade? - The advancement of Christs kingdom
among Boys and the promotion of habits of Reverence, Discipline, Self-respect and all
that tends towards a true Christian Manliness.

Give me your _________________ on this idea when we meet! Cant wait to hear from
you.

Yours sincerely,

W A Smith
How the BB came to Singapore:
Mr James Milner Fraser 1 introduced The Boys Brigade to Singapore on 12 January
1930. It was called the 1 st Singapore Company and it started at Prinsep Street
Presbyterian Church at 77 Prinsep Street.

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like if Mr. Fraser wrote a letter to
Mr Quek Eng Moh2 about starting the BB? It might very well be like the imaginary letter below.

Dear Eng Moh,

It was amazing how we met the other day! Who would have imagined!?! Two of us from
two different countries but joined by the BB Anchor! Seeing you on the street, a total
stranger, yet so familiar because of the BB buttonhole badge I was wearing.

I have been thinking about setting up The Boys Brigade in Singapore. I want Boys in
Singapore to go through the exciting and life-changing experiences you and I went through
during our days in The Boys Brigade!

All the games, drill and Christian education we went through were great! You can share
your experiences when you were in the 1st Swatow 3 Company and I can share my
experiences when I was in the 23rd Aberdeen 4 and 33rd London Companies. Together,
we can introduce The Boys Brigade to Singapore!

I was thinking of starting the 1st Singapore Company at Prinsep Street Presbyterian
Church. Its just outside the heart of town. What do you think? Lets share our ideas and
make things happen for the Boys in Singapore!

Yours sincerely,

JM Fraser
How would Mr Quek Eng Moh have responded? In the spaces below, write your reply
to Mr J M Fraser. You may use the following ideas to assist you:

- Pleased to hear from Mr J M Fraser

- Happy to have met him and thrilled about meeting him
- Inform him that you have contacted some of your friends from the 1 st Swatow, who are
also keen on the idea.

1
JM Fraser was an architect from Britain
2
Ex-Sgt Quek Eng Moh helped JM Fraser to start the 1 st Singapore Company
3
Swatow is in China
4
Aberdeen is in Scotland and it is near Glasgow