Boys in Arms what unit? Help identify, please!

[GreyC]

Hi,

this is one of my few photos of British boys in arms. I have no clue to what organisation they belonged to. Cadets? Boy Brigade? I´d appreciate any help identifying the unit/organisation. Thanks!

GreyC

 

Edited 5 July , 2022 by GreyC

[T8HANTS]

looks like Church Lads' Brigade.

 

[GreyC]

Thank you T8Hants!

I didn´t even know such organisation existed. In Germany there were christian boy scouts, but unarmed.

GreyC

 

[aodhdubh]

My brothers and I were in the Boys Brigade at the COE parish church (despite our being Catholics), and I do not recall musketry being part of our training...but it was a century later, and likely thousands of miles from wherever these youth were. There was also the Church Lads Brigade, of course....

In any case, I would think they are school cadets, but cannot make out any useful information from the cap badge or the belts. They appear to be lacking proper uniforms, other than belts and some headgear. The pillbox caps might give a date before the Austrian cap, or - just as likely given the lack of other uniform items - may just be old kit items that were hanging about at a later date. Compare the Saltus Cadets (Bermuda Cadet corps) in this photo...the Bermuda Cadet Corps was supported by the War Office in the hopes of encouraging cadets to go on to the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps (BVRC), to which it was linked, often trained alongside the BVRC and regular infantry, and doubtless benefitted from garrison quartermasters...other school cadet corps elsewhere may not have had such advantages. They are equipped with probable Martini-Enfield carbines, like the cadets in the above photographs. I do not know how long they were equipped with these before updating to the Lee-Enfield, either in Bermuda or elsewhere (Second World War photographs show them armed with the SMLE).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Saltus_Cadet_Corps_1901.jpg

 

UPDATE: Actually...I cannot make out detail in the badges, but the shape is consistent with many cap badges of the Church Lads Brigade, and should detail be visible would presumably show a small Maltese cross at the centre (other capbadges of the CLB use a large Maltese Cross with no surround).

 

Edited 5 July , 2022 by aodhdubh

[Pat Atkins]

I think the Church Lads Brigade is a good punt for that cap badge.

[CorporalPunishment]

Definitely Church Lads Brigade. As a lifelong atheist I fail to see the connection between the church and weaponry but I suppose it's that "Fight The Good Fight" business.    Pete.

[Pat Atkins]

Ditto!

[aodhdubh]

As part of the state church, it was by nature a more patriotic (or some might say "nationalist") organisation than churches that were more universal, I expect, and the CLB did feed many recruits into the army during the First World War.

Edited 5 July , 2022 by aodhdubh

[PRC]

6 minutes ago, aodhdubh said:

As part of the state church, it was by nature a more patriotic (or some might say "nationalist") organisation than churches that were more universal, I expect, and the CLB did feed many recruits into the army during the First World War.

Particularly -
16th (Service) Battalion (Church Lads Brigade), King's Royal Rifle Corps
Formed at Denham, Bucks., on 19 September 1914 by Field-Marshal Lord Grenfell, Commandant of the Church Lads Brigade, from current and previous members of that organisation. Moved in March 1915 to Rayleigh but returned to Denham in May.
June 1915 : moved to Clipstone Camp and came under orders of 100th Brigade in 33rd Division. Moved on to Perham Down in August 1915.
17 November 1915 : landed at Le Havre.
https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/kings-royal-rifle-corps/

Numerous threads on the forum, lots of mentions in the comtemporary newspapers.

Cheers,
Peter

[aodhdubh]

54 minutes ago, PRC said:

Particularly -
16th (Service) Battalion (Church Lads Brigade), King's Royal Rifle Corps
Formed at Denham, Bucks., on 19 September 1914 by Field-Marshal Lord Grenfell, Commandant of the Church Lads Brigade, from current and previous members of that organisation. Moved in March 1915 to Rayleigh but returned to Denham in May.
June 1915 : moved to Clipstone Camp and came under orders of 100th Brigade in 33rd Division. Moved on to Perham Down in August 1915.
17 November 1915 : landed at Le Havre.
https://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/regiments-and-corps/the-british-infantry-regiments-of-1914-1918/kings-royal-rifle-corps/

Numerous threads on the forum, lots of mentions in the comtemporary newspapers.

Cheers,
Peter

Thanks.

I have not studied them in any great depth, but did take a look at them in relation to Sir Joseph Outerbridge and the Newfoundland Regiment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Outerbridge

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Newfoundland_Regiment

dia dhuit

[Buffnut453]

Love the little details in this photo, like the young chap on the left of the photo who is probably left-handed, judging from the way he's (badly) holding his rifle.  Also the lad standing in the middle is clearly outgrowing his shirt, with the cuffs riding high above his wrists.   

Edited 5 July , 2022 by Buffnut453

[GreyC]

Hi all,

thank you all very much for the wealth of information and comments regarding this photo and the paramilitary church organisation(s). Very interesting!

One would think that a nationalist country like Germany would have had something similar - but not so. It must have been a large gathering of these Lads judging by the tents all around and esp. in the background.

Have a nice week!

GreyC

Edited 5 July , 2022 by GreyC

[Mk VII]

Martini carbines were provided for these organisations, often deactivated with a sawcut thru the chamber.

[GreyC]

Thank you, very interesting.

GreyC

[FROGSMILE]

On 05/07/2022 at 23:53, GreyC said:

Thank you, very interesting.

GreyC

Special Army Order of May 21, 1910 issued the  conditions under which Cadet Units could be raised and recognised. Public Schools (‘fee paying’) Cadet Units became Officer Training Corps, Junior Division, and the "Cadet Force" was restricted to only Cadet Corps not associated with schools, or religious bodies. However, later on the various Lads' Brigades were invited to apply for recognition as Cadets and then receive Government assistance of £5 per Cadet Company of 30 Cadets per annum, a not inconsiderable sum for an organisation that relied on voluntary attendance and the support of parents. 

Like so many subjects the Christian ‘boy’ organisations that were once popular in Britain have been covered many times in the forum over past years.  Forum member @conijoniis the subject matter expert, but here are just a few threads you might find interesting:

1.  Church Lads Brigade: https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/295413-help-required-to-identifying-the-regiment-of-the-soldier-in-this-photograph/#comment-3084099

2.  Church Lads Brigade Badges: https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/169412-church-lads-brigade-clb-badges/#comment-1648001

3.  Boys Brigade: https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/166916-boys-brigade/#comment-1633489

4.  Catholic Boys Brigade: https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/247345-catholic-boys-brigade-cadets-photo/

5.  Boy Scouts: https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/155058-boy-scouts/#comment-1494729

**British Boy Scouts were the subject of a War Office letter No.144/Miscellaneous/3098(C1) dated 10th August 1914 :-

" The service of Boy Scouts has been placed at the disposal of the Government, and General and other Officers Commanding who desire to avail themselves of their services should communicate with the County Commissioners. The Boy Scouts would be capable of carrying out such duties as the following, in uniform and equipped :-

a. Guarding or patrolling bridges, culverts, railway and telegraph lines, stores, etc, against damage by individuals.

b. Collecting information as to available supplies, transport and accomodation etc.

c. Handing out notices to inhabitants and other duties connected with billeting.

d. Carrying our relief measures among inhabitants.

e. Carrying out communications by means of dispatch riders, signallers, wireless beacons etc.

f. Assisting families of men employed in defence duties, or sick and wounded, in their homes.

g. Establishing first aid dressing stations, or temporary hospitals, refuges, dispensaries, soup kitchens, etc.

h. Acting as local guides and orderlies etc.

j. Forwarding dispatches dropped by aircraft.

k. Sea Scouts can assist Coastguards in their duties, and can assist in guiding friendly vessels in unbouyed and unlighted waters.

By November 24, 1914, the use of Boy Scouts and Cadets had been modified by War Office letter No.114/Miscellaneous/3302.

" The Army Council have recently had under consideration the question of the continued employment of boy scouts and Cadets of recognised Cadet Units in Commands, and have decided that to ensure uniformity in their employment the following conditions must be enforced.

1. That no boy scout or recognised cadet is to be employed on any military or semi-military duty such as the protection of or watching any vunerable points, or stores, or in situations where there is any possibility of their being brought into contact with the ememy.

2. That while scouts or recognised cadets may in future be employed as orderlies, messengers, telephone operators, or on other light duties connected with military offices, such appointments must result in saving the employment of a serving soldier.

3. That no scout or recognised cadet may be employed who is liable to attend school.

4. That no scout or recognised cadet is to be paid more that 1s 6d per diem.

Boy Scouts were awarded a War Service badge, to be worn above the uniform right breast pocket.

The 1914 War Service badge was awarded for 28 days unpaid service.

The 1918 War Service badge was awarded for 50 days unpaid service.

About 80,000 War Services badges were awarded during the war.

NB.  With regards to the use of the Territorial Force cadet association’s Martini Henry Carbines for musketry training see the photograph below.  The second photo is of a drummer in the Catholic Boys Brigade.

**information courtesy of forum member Lancashire Fusilier.

Edited 7 July , 2022 by FROGSMILE

[GreyC]

Hi Frogsmile,

nice to hear from you on this subject and your knowledgeable comments. Very interesting!

Thanks also to Lancashire Fusilier for providing the War Office letter.

GreyC

 

[cmf]

I wrote a piece on the organisation a few years ago, and the following may be of interest:

The Church Lads’ Brigade’ (C.L.B.) was founded in London in October, 1891, by Walter Mallock Gee (1845-1916), a successful businessman and retired Captain of infantry in the ‘Volunteer Force’ (i.e. the United Kingdom’s part-time citizen force consisting of infantry, artillery and engineer units intended purely for home defence). The second half of the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom was a period during which Christian social reformers were concerned with the poor spiritual and physical development of young people. Most children left school at thirteen years of age, and went straight into the world of work. For the sons of the elite, however, who attended ‘Public Schools’ and continued their education into adulthood, spiritual and physical discipline was instilled through religious education and military training.This was the programme social reformers wished to emulate for the sons of the working- and lower middle-classes, and from the 1860s the so-called ‘Brigade Movement’ emerged, as ‘Brigades’ of teenage boys were established across the United Kingdom, to instil Christian and military values. The Churches supported the movement, as it meant teenagers continued religious education; the government encouraged it, as it meant the State had a pool of military trained young men available if needed; and it was popular amongst teenage boys as it gave them access to a recreational activity full of purpose and the chance for adventure.

Starting out as independent bodies, ‘Brigades’ across the country began to be absorbed by national organisations that were established. By 1883 ‘The Boys’ Brigade’ had been founded as a national organisation, and in 1885 ‘The Gordon Boys’ Brigade’ was formed, named after Major-General Charles Gordon, of Khartoum fame, who had been an evangelical Christian. Unlike ‘The Boys’ Brigade’, which was an interdenominational Christian organisation, the faith of ‘The Gordon Boys’ Brigade’ was explicitly Anglican. Walter Gee also wished to found a purely Anglican boys’ group, but was rebuffed by ‘The Boys’ Brigade’ when he offered to form an Anglican branch in 1891. Instead, he founded ‘The Church Lads’ Brigade’, to which ‘The Gordon Boys’ Brigade’ was amalgamated the same year. However, in discussions with the Anglican Diocese of London, it was agreed to form ‘The London Diocesan Church Lads’ Brigade’ (L.D.C.L.B.), to which all units in London would belong. The L.D.C.L.B. would be an autonomous body, independent of the C.L.B.

The C.L.B. and L.D.C.L.B. was open to teenage boys between the ages of 14 and 19. Weekly Bible Class and military drill was the mainstay of both organisations’ activities, with the aim of creating loyal churchmen and patriotic citizens.

Lads of the C.L.B. were issued with a round forage cap (of the ‘Kilmarnock Bonnet’ style worn by the Regular Army till the 1870s, and nicknamed the ‘pork pie’), leather waist-belt, and white haversack, but otherwise wore plain clothes. Officers and N.C.O.s also wore a Shoulder-Belt. The boys of the L.D.C.L.B. wore the same cap and equipment, but with a blue uniform and their own badge.

Throughout the 1890s and 1900s, Companies of the C.L.B. were established across the United Kingdom and the Empire. In 1896 they were personally reviewed by H.M. Queen Victoria, and in 1902 H.M. King Edward VII became their Patron. In 1908, membership of the C.L.B. stood at 70,000, in 1,300 Companies, with the L.D.C.L.B. numbering around 8,000 in 180 or so Companies. In the United Kingdom, the Companies of the C.L.B. were organised into named battalions, or numbered battalions of named regiments, the name being that of the Anglican Diocese in which located.

Gee had always emphasised that the C.L.B. and L.D.C.L.B. be militaristic in nature, as emphasised by its uniform; rank structure (within the C.L.B., Gee held the rank of Colonel and ‘Chief Staff Officer’); drill (including rifle practice); and its discipline. In 1911, the C.L.B. and L.D.C.L.B. accepted Cadet recognition by the War Office, with Companies of both organisations now able to apply for ‘Cadet’ status, and become constituent units of the ‘Territorial Cadet Force’. Some Companies did not become Cadet units, but most did. For those that did, this new status diminished somewhat their autonomy, as their military training was now administered by their local ‘County Territorial Force Associations’ (in 1908 the United Kingdom’s home defence forces had been reconstituted as units of a new body, the ‘Territorial Force’,with its units being locally administered by Territorial Force Associations in each county). Military drill, manoeuvres and inspections were now the norm within the C.L.B. and L.D.C.L.B. In 1913, khaki Service Dress of a similar pattern to that worn by the British Army began to be adopted by Cadet Companies of the C.L.B., while the L.D.C.L.B. continued to wear their blue uniform.

On the outbreak of the Great War, with the realisation that the United Kingdom’s small peacetime Regular Army would not be able to conduct a long, attritional, European War, the Secretary of State for War, Field-Marshal Lord Kitchener, launched a massive recruitment campaign. These volunteers, recruited for the duration of the war only (and constituting what was soon dubbed ‘The New Army’, ‘New Armies’, or ‘Kitchener’s Army’) were to form new ‘Service’ battalions of existing regiments of the Regular Army. Almost half a million men enlisted in two months. One method of recruiting for the new ‘Service’ battalions was to allow wealthy citizens, city councils, professional bodies, etc, to take on the financial burden of recruiting a battalion, which would then be handed over to the War Office as a formed body.A feature of these locally raised units was the assurance that recruits would be able to serve alongside their friends, neighbours and colleagues, giving such units the sobriquet of ‘Pals’ Battalions’. It was in this context that Field-Marshal Lord Grenfell, Governor of the C.L.B., and Colonel Commandant of 1st Battalion, The King’s Royal Rifle Corps (K. R. Rif. C.), appealed to past and present C.L.B. lads to join a battalion especially for themselves: they would make perfect recruits, trained in shooting, marching, camping, signalling, bugle calls, and first-aid; plus, they were smart, many being already in khaki uniform, and used to obeying orders. After Grenfell’s appeal, nearly 2,000 applications were received in only a few days, and ‘16th (Service) Battalion (Church Lads’ Brigade), The King’s Royal Rifle Corps’, was officially raised on 19/09/1914, manned entirely by serving or ex-members of the C.L.B.

After a year’s training in the United Kingdom, the battalion landed in France as a unit of 100th Brigade, 33rd Division in November, 1915. Nicknamed ‘The Churchmen’s Battalion’, the 16th Bn took heavy casualties during the Somme Offensive of summer and autumn, 1916. After the introduction of conscription in 1916, recruits were posted to the battalion as necessary, with no requirement to have any affiliation, past or present, with the C.L.B.

On the departure of the 16th Battalion to France in 1915, the depot companies of the 16th (Service) Battalion were detached to form a new the new ‘19th (Reserve) Battalion, The King’s Royal Rifle Corps’. This unit, which would stay in the United Kingdom, was the training battalion to which new recruits to the 16th Battalion would be posted for basic training, before being posted overseas for active service. After the introduction of conscription in 1916, recruit training was centralised, and the 19th Bn became the 109th Training Reserve Battalion of the 26th Reserve Brigade, and affiliation with the C.L.B. or K. R. Rif. C. was lost.

Back in the United Kingdom, the Cadets of the C.L.B. and L.D.C.L.B. were engaged in essential war service, guarding reservoirs and pipelines, collecting newspapers for salvage, and blowing ‘All Clear’ bugle calls after Zeppelin bombing raids. Constant appeals were made to serving Cadets to join the battalion, to replace dead or wounded men. In 1917, as recognition of the sacrifice made by the 16th (Service) Bn, K. R. Rif. C., every C.L.B. Company in the United Kingdom (with a combined membership of 80,000, more than half the total strength of the ‘Territorial Cadet Force’) came under the direct auspices of the King’s Royal Rifle Corps, with the new collective title of ‘The King’s Royal Rifle Corps Cadets’. A new cap-badge was adopted for the Cadets, similar to the regimental cap-badge of the ‘The King’s Royal Rifle Corps’, and khaki Service Dress of exact army pattern was issued.

It is estimated that around 50,000 serving or ex-members of the C.L.B. and L.D.C.L.B. served in the Great War, in the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, and across all regiments and corps of the Army. More than 24 serving or ex-members of the C.L.B. were decorated with the Victoria Cross, for valour.

In 1919, the C.L.B. and L.D.C.L.B. amalgamated, with the L.D.C.L.B. Cadet Companies becoming simply units of the ‘London Division’ of the C.L.B. From 1924, blue uniforms were once again an alternative to khaki. In 1930, the C.L.B. Cadet Companies ceased to be ‘The King’s Royal Rifle Corps Cadets’ and the affiliation with the regiment ended. In 1936, the growing pacifist tendency within the Anglican Church was strong enough to end all Cadet affiliation and recognition within the C.L.B., with the Anglican Church now reasserting total control over the organisation. In the same year, blue uniforms completely replaced khaki. In 1978 the C.L.B. amalgamated with ‘The Church Girls’ Brigade’ (founded 1922) to become ‘The Church Lads’ & Church Girls’ Brigade’ (C.L.C.G.B.).

The photographs below show:

1. The cap-badge of ‘The Church Lads’ Brigade’, worn 1891-1917 (originally intended for the round forage cap, in 1913 a smaller version was adopted for the khaki Service Dress Cap). This badge, with slight modification, is that previously worn by ‘The Gordon Boys’ Brigade’, namely the ‘Armour of God’ (i.e. the ‘helmet of salvation’ and crossed ‘swords of the Spirit’), as referenced in the Bible, Ephesians 6 v11-17

"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:"

The motto, ‘Fight the Good Fight’ is from the Bible, Timothy 6:12

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses”.

 

2. Shoulder-Belt badge, as worn by junior N.C.O.s of the C.L.B.

3. Waist-Belt Locket-Buckle, as worn by the C.L.B.

4. Swagger-Stick carried by the C.L.B.

5. The cap-badge of the ‘The King’s Royal Rifle Corps Cadets’, worn 1917-1930

6. A photograph, dating from 1915, of No. 1852 Company (St Mark’s), 2^nd (Coventry) Cadet Battalion, Worcester Regiment, C.B.L. The Cadets wear the khaki Service Dress adopted in 1913 for Cadet Companies, which was very similar to, though not an exact copy of, the Service Dress worn by the British Army. The 'Worcester' in the regimental title refers to the Anglican Diocese in which this battalion was situated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 10 July , 2022 by cmf

[GreyC]

Hi cmf,

what a wonderful piece of research that you share with us. Thank you very much for this insight into an interesting topic!

Have a nice Sunday!

GreyC

[aodhdubh]

By chance, I am looking for this (probably late 1960s) advertisement in relation to a discussion elsewhere of the Bermuda Cadet Corps' Pipe Band (part of the Bermuda Cadet Corps, and wearing the badge of the "Bermuda Volunteer Rifle corps/Bermuda Rifles", until the 1965 amalgamation ot the HQ BLF, the Bermuda Militia Artillery and the Bermuda Rifles into the "[Royal] Bermuda Regiment", which saw the Bermuda Cadet Corp also re-organised and the Pipe Band not continued...the band members, however, continued to operate privately, still badged as Bermuda Rifles, until amalgamating in the 1990s, I believe, with another pipe band made up of Bermuda Police Service and Bermuda Fire Service members - the "Bermuda Pipe Band" also in the list below the photograph...i believe the merged band is known by that name today) and notice something interesting, which is that the list of bands includes not only the COE "Church Lads' Brigade Drum and Bugle Corps", but also the "St. Andrew's Church Lads' Brigade Band". Bermuda was divided in 1612 into nine parishes that are both Church of England parishes as well as civil administrative parishes (there used to be both a "Church Vestry" for each parish and a "Parish Vestry", the latter of which has been replaced with "Parish Council". There were lots of Presbyterians, as well as Independents and some Quakers, in Bermuda (or the Somers Isles) during the 1600s, though...as in the rest of the English realm, they were treated as part of a presumed universal Protestant Church, the established "Church of England", 'til the Civil War made that fiction impossible to maintain....in Bermuda, the Royalists, with control of two battalions of "the Army"...referring to the volunteer artillery and the nine parish companies of "trained bands", won out...this was due more to the fact that Bermudians had their differences with the Somers Isles Company, originally an "under-company" of the Virginia Company formed in 1615 to separate the administration of the Somers Isles/Bermuda and hence surviving the dissolution of the Virginia Company, the absentee "Adventurers" of which were the only landowners able to vote in the company's general meetings as they had to be present in person in London...the landowners resident in Bermuda, which by then had seen many absentee landowners replaced by family-owned farms, consequently found the company's policies ever more divergent from their interests. The wealthy absentee Adventures in England were generally Parliamentarians and came down on the roundhead side....especially the chief executive of the Company, the Earl of Warwick...one of the largest landowners, and the namesake of Warwick Parish and the donor of the land in the parish for the school Warwick Academy, which still exists...Warwick had been attracted to Bermuda not for farming, but as a base for his privateers...an activity long associated with Bermuda. He was placed in charge of the navy and ensure Parliament controlled it. In Bermuda, the Royalists elected one of their own to replace the Company-appointed Governor, swearing him in with "the army" at his back, and the Independent Puritans, who were identical with the Parliamentarians, were forced into exile. In the process, this strengthened the Episcopalian hold on Bermuda. After the war, Bermudians took their gripe with the Somers Isles Company to the Crown with the eventual result that the restored Monarchy, keen to assert its authority over the moneymen, through its weight behind the Bermudians and the Royal Charter of the company was withdrawn in 1684, with the Crown taking over direct administration, appointing the appointed members of the local government which it had previously permitted the company to appoint, starting with the Governor.

 

....I very much digress. Point is, Bermuda was left after the Civil War firmly in the hands of the episcopalian Church of England. Presbyterians still existed there, but were no acknowledge officially, until the Union of the kingdom of Scotland with the Kingdom of England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, following which the Presbyterian Church, as Church of Scotland, was permitted to operate officially in throughout the new British realm, including Bermuda. They eventually built their own church in Warwick Parish, called "Christ Church" (not to be confused with the Church of England Parish church for Devonshire Parish, also called "Christ Church"...my brothers and I were raised Roman Catholic, as it happens, but our maternal grandfather was an Elder at this church, and his grandfather was Sexton there). This remained the only Presbyterian Church in Bermuda 'til the 19th Century, though its rural location must have been of great inconvenience to members scattered throughout the archipelago, but who presumably were most numerous in the newly established town of Hamilton in Pembroke Parish, to which the colonial capital would transfer from St. George's Town in 1815. A second Presbyterian Church was consequently established in Hamilton town, and named "St. Andrew's Church", which brings us back to the top of this lengthy missive (I will not touch on Methodism's introduction to Bermuda, or Roman Catholicism).

 

St. Andrew's Church is Presbyterian Church of Scotland, not Church of England....which begs the question of whether the Church Lads Brigade has been exclusively Church of England elsewhere than Bermuda?

Edited 12 July , 2022 by aodhdubh

[aodhdubh]

On 09/07/2022 at 13:40, cmf said:

For the sons of the elite, however, who attended ‘Public Schools’ and continued their education into adulthood, spiritual and physical discipline was instilled through religious education and military training.This was the programme social reformers wished to emulate for the sons of the working- and lower middle-classes, and from the 1860s the so-called ‘Brigade Movement’ emerged, as ‘Brigades’ of teenage boys were established across the United Kingdom, to instil Christian and military values. The Churches supported the movement, as it meant teenagers continued religious education; the government encouraged it, as it meant the State had a pool of military trained young men available if needed; and it was popular amongst teenage boys as it gave them access to a recreational activity full of purpose and the chance for adventure...

Gee had always emphasised that the C.L.B. and L.D.C.L.B. be militaristic in nature, as emphasised by its uniform; rank structure (within the C.L.B., Gee held the rank of Colonel and ‘Chief Staff Officer’); drill (including rifle practice); and its discipline. In 1911, the C.L.B. and L.D.C.L.B. accepted Cadet recognition by the War Office, with Companies of both organisations now able to apply for ‘Cadet’ status, and become constituent units of the ‘Territorial Cadet Force’. Some Companies did not become Cadet units, but most did. For those that did, this new status diminished somewhat their autonomy, as their military training was now administered by their local ‘County Territorial Force Associations’ (in 1908 the United Kingdom’s home defence forces had been reconstituted as units of a new body, the ‘Territorial Force’, with its units being locally administered by Territorial Force Associations in each county)...

Thank you very much for sharing that. It helps provide context for the organisation in Bermuda and Newfoundland...I have been trying to work out the organisation's history there, but it is not so well documented.

 

Many people mistakenly assume Bermuda to be in the West Indies...it is nearer Canada than the west Indies, though its nearest neighbour is the United States (640 miles from Cape Hatteras) and it was originally part of Virginia. The British Empire was administratively divided into a number of larger regions, and Bermuda was historically grouped with the continental colonies of North America as "British America" (the West Indies were grouped separately as the "Caribbee Islands"). The 1783 independence of the thirteen colonies that went on to form the United States left Bermuda as part of "British North America". These regions of the British Empire reflected the subdivisions of the "War and Colonial Office" (later two separate offices) that administered the colonies (but not India, which was administered by the East India Company, then the India Office, or the British Protectorates, administered by the Foreign Office). The colonies each continued to have their own civil governments, but Bermuda was tied very closely to the Maritimes under the Royal Navy, the British Army, and the Church of England (early in the 20th Century, Bermuda and Newfoundland were separated from the control of the Bishop in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and received their own Bishop, who moved back and forth between Bermuda and Newfoundland as best as he was able).

 

The Army links were severed when all of British North America except Bermuda and Newfoundland confederated in 1867 to form the Dominion of Canada. Although a small British Army garrison remained at Halifax to defend the Royal Naval Dockyard, military defence of the Maritimes transferred to the Canadian Militia and the British Army Commander-in-Chief for the region was abolished. At the time, there were four Imperial Fortresses: Bermuda, Halifax (curious as a city rather than a colony), Gibraltar, and Malta. In British North America, the main base of the squadron of the Royal Navy's "North America Station" (later the "North America and West Indies Station", then "America and West Indies Station" as it absorbed other stations) had alternated seasonally between the Royal Naval Dockyards in Bermuda and Halifax 'til about the 1820s. Halifax was vulnerable to overland attack by the United States and to attack from the Atlantic by any fleet strong enough to reach it, whereas Bermuda was impossible to attack overland, and almost impregnable behind a barrier reef, plus was in a more useful location to dominate the Atlantic Seaboard of the United States, so had thereafter become the main base year round. Although the British Government generally was much more miserly with its funding of the army compared to the navy, and always maintained a garrison at Bermuda that was understrength, it was actually exceedingly large for the size and population of the colony...purely due to its role as Imperial Fortress. After the 1860s, there was enough barrack space for three battalions of infantry (though generally there were only two present), multiple companies of Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, RAMC (though the medical branches had not become the RAMC yet...there would be a company there by the First World War), and detachments of various supporting corps, with stores and capacity to absorb more personnel in wartime if required. I digress...

 

The military link of Bermuda to the Maritimes was almost severed by the formation of the Dominion of Canada, which saw the moveable British Army military units of the Maritimes (other than at Halifax) replaced by Militia who could not be sent abroad if required, and over which the British Government did not have control....I assume the desire to maintain complete naval and military control of Bermuda is the reason it remained a colony and was left out of the confederation of Canada. Newfoundland was also left out, of course, and followed its own path to Dominionhood, back to a colony, and then joined Canada after the Second World War. The naval link between Bermuda and Halifax was severed in 1905 when the Royal Navy withdrew from Halifax (along with the last British Army personnel defending the naval yard), with the Royal Naval Dockyard there transferred to the Dominion government a couple of years later for the new Dominion naval service that was to become the Royal Canadian Navy.

 

As regards the Church Lads Brigade, Bermuda remained linked with Newfoundland under the Church of England. The diocese of Newfoundland and Bermuda was split into two dioceses in 1879, but both remained under the Bishop of Newfoundland and Bermuda through the First World War 'til a separate Bishop of Bermuda was created in 1919. One presumes the church Lads' Brigade in Bermuda and in Newfoundland must have been particularly connected, also. Certainly, the head of that organisation in Newfoundland leading up to the war was a Bermudian (the aforementioned Sir joseph Outerbridge: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Outerbridge).

 

I had been curious as to how the CLB existed in Bermuda alongside the Bermuda Cadet Corps. As an Imperial fortress, Bermuda's civil government was effectively subordinated to the British Army (though it had an elected House of Assembly), with the General Officer Commanding the garrison (usually a Major-General, subordinate to the Lieutenant-General who was Commander-in-Chief of the Maritimes 'til that latter office was abolished, and thereafter usually a Lieutenant-General..though General Sir James Willcock from 1917 through the remainder of the First World War) was also appointed civil Governor of Bermuda (this is usually expressed the other way around, "the Governor is also military Commander-in-Chief"...but as a serving military officer in complete control of the garrison, the Governor's first priority was military, not civil). The military obviously took a keen interest in various things in Bermuda, including the part-time reserve forces and the Cadet Corps. The Militia and Volunteers (no Yeomanry, but there had long been a Troop of Horse within the militia) in Bermuda had been allowed by the local government to lapse after the Napoleonic Wars and the American War of 1812, and had resisted all attempts by the national (ie British) government to induce it to re-new the necessary acts of the colonial legislature. Consent of the Secretary of State for War was required in the 1880s for United States investment in what was to be the Princess Hotel and for the widening of a shipping channel, both of which were perceived as weakening defence, and this consent was withheld until the local assembly enacted three bills drafted by the Secretary, no doubt, in 1892 authorising creation of a militia artillery company, a volunteer rifle corps, and militia engineers submarine mining company "providing they be entirely funded by the British Government". Only the first two units were formed (in 1895 and 1894, respectively..though a territorial engineering unit and another territorial infantry unit were created in the 1930s, also paid for by Army Funds from the War Office). In the British Isles, the War Office had taken control of the Yeomanry, Miltia, and Volunteer Forces from the Lords Lieutenant of counties, and had also replaced their local funding with Army funds. This had not been done for colonial part-time units. The only point of distinction between "a unit of the British Army" and "a British military unit that was not part of the British Army", whether raised in the British Isles or a colony, was accepted to be whether it received any Army Funds from the War Office or not. As the units raised in Bermuda were wholly funded by the War Office, they were part of the British Army ("Imperial corps") from the outset....generally, the British government tried to shoulder the burden of paying for local-service forces on the local governments of colonies (most of which lacked an elected legislature and were made up only of British government appointees, ironically, so unable to match the Bermuda government's eight decades of point blank refusal), so its funding the local-service units in Bermuda was highly unusual (there is another unusual tidbit regarding Imperial local-service soldiering in Bermuda during the interim between 1816 and 1894 which I'll omit as I am already digressing too far).

 

The Bermuda Cadet Corps was also something the War Office took great interest in as a way of boosting recruitment for the Bermuda Volunteer rifle Corps (unlike the Bermuda Militia Artillery, which engaged voluntary recruits for six years, "volunteers" could quit the corps with 14 days written notice, except while embodied, so keeping the unit up to strength remained a struggle 'til 1921, when it re-organised in line with the Territorial Army). The BVRC consequently provided officers to the Bermuda Cadet Corps, which wore its badge (although by the 1930s, this was re-organised with school teachers commissioned as Bermuda Cadet Corps officers..there would still be movement of the officers back and forth, though, with at least one Bermuda Cadet Corps officer recommissioned into the BVRC at the start of the Second World War as a Lieutenant, promoted immediately to temporary or acting Major, who was part of the June 1940 Contingent of the corps to the Lincolnshire Regiment, and who finished the war as a Lieutenant-Colonel on the Staff in the Far East...I also recollect that the Commandant of the BCC became Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Rifles (as the BVRC was belatedly re-named in 1949, twenty-two years after ceasing to be a volunteer unit) in the mid-1950s...but I digress again).

 

The Bermuda Cadet Corps began as the Saltus Grammar School Cadet Corps in 1902, which was given War Office recognition and expanded thereafter to the garrison and naval schools and a number of civil secondary schools. The BVRC did not re-organise along with the Volunteer force in the British Isles in 1908 into the Territorial Force (see previous reference to 1921, though the BVRC was never structurally part of the TF/TA), but it was administered with the Territorial Force by the same department of the War Office. The Bermuda Cadet Corps was also administered by the War Office along with recognised Cadet Corps in the British Isles. As no school that accepted coloured pupils was included in the Bermuda Cadet Corps until 1943, when the BCC extended to Berkeley Institute, coloured boys, as well as any other boys whose parents could not afford to send them to secondary school, had no option to join the Bermuda Cadet Corps, so the Church Lads Brigade was presumably the only option available to them.

 

My research on the Church Lads' Brigade in Bermuda and Newfoundland is ongoing.

 

The earliest reference I have found to the organisation in Bermuda, thusfar, is the notice in Bermuda's newspaper, The Royal Gazette, shown below from the 18th of March, 1913, concerning a sports day. I have also attached an article from the same newspaper from the 22nd of August, 1916, with part two of an address from the Bishop of Newfoundland and Bermuda...note the section on the Church Lads' Brigade and the mention of the Newfoundland Regiment, which the CLB (and the aforementioned Bermudian Sir Joseph Outerbridge) was instrumental in forming. Hopefully the resolution is not reduced too greatly.

Edited 12 July , 2022 by aodhdubh

[FROGSMILE]

A very interesting rundown of both how Bermuda evolved from an Imperial naval station and fortress over several centuries, and how the CLB fitted in to that story.  Thank you for posting.

Edited 12 July , 2022 by FROGSMILE

[aodhdubh]

1 hour ago, FROGSMILE said:

A very interesting rundown of both how Bermuda evolved from an Imperial naval station and fortress over several centuries, and how the CLB fitted in to that story.  Thank you for posting.

 

De nada. My pleasure. The Bermuda Cadet Corps was re-organised in 1965 along with the territorial units, adopting that badge. It no longer exists as the Royal Bermuda Regiment (which had its own Junior Leader programme that it dispensed with in the 1990s to focus on the supporting the Bermuda Cadet Corps) re-instated the junior Leaders about 2013 and the BCC was consequently disbanded.

 

https://www.bermudaregiment.bm/junior-leaders

[FROGSMILE]

3 minutes ago, aodhdubh said:

De nada. My pleasure. The Bermuda Cadet Corps was re-organised in 1965 along with the territorial units, adopting that badge. It no longer exists as the Royal Bermuda Regiment (which had its own Junior Leader programme that it dispensed with in the 1990s to focus on the supporting the Bermuda Cadet Corps) re-instated the junior Leaders about 2013 and the BCC was consequently disbanded.

 

https://www.bermudaregiment.bm/junior-leaders

It’s interesting that more British Army influence has remained than I would have imagined, although in Britain Junior Leaders were part of the regular army and in essence a form of full-time apprenticeship.

[aodhdubh]

37 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said:

It’s interesting that more British Army influence has remained than I would have imagined, although in Britain Junior Leaders were part of the regular army and in essence a form of full-time apprenticeship.

It's a slight misnomer in the case of the Royal Bermuda Regiment as it's not an early entrance scheme...Although part of the Royal Bermuda Regiment (which was not the case with the Bermuda Cadet Corps) and training at Warwick Camp rather than in schools, if Junior Leaders want to continue serving as adults, they must engage on becoming adults. It has turned out quite a few soldiers who went on to leadership positions over the decades, including at least two Commanding Officers of the RBR. There were no Junior Leaders during the First World War, though the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps certainly enlisted boy soldiers as Buglers as shown in the below photo (circa 1901/2). I also know of a Boy Bandsman in the Bermuda Militia Artillery circa 1960. The Royal Bermuda Regiment, strictly speaking, is still part of the British Army, inspected annually by the MOD (usually the defence attache in Washington flies in), with PSIs, Staff Officer, and often other positions filled by the Royal Anglian Regiment (a First World War carry over), officers completing the territorial/reserve officers commissioning course at Sandhurst, Sergeants required to complete the Platoon Sergeants course at Brecon Beacons (I believe originally begun in the 1960s for airborne Sergeants by a Bermudian, Major-General GCA Gilbert, when he was Regimental colonel of the Parachute Regiment), and JNCOs and other ranks having various options to train in Britain, all of which is designed to keep the RBR as close in organisation and practice at least to a Territorial Army/Reserve battalion as possible (though its organisation has been impacted by the post-Baby Boom decrease in potential recruits, requiring the loss of an entire company).

Edited 12 July , 2022 by aodhdubh

[FROGSMILE]

All interesting points.  I did not know that about the Brecon course connection with a Bermudian officer, although I was serving at the time and recall the transition from Parachute Regiment battle school to the infantry platoon sergeants and then section commanders battle course.

It would’ve been entirely normal for Bermuda forces to have had Boy entrants, it’s often overlooked that they were recruited in the same small numbers by all elements of Britain’s armed forces, regular, militia and volunteers.  Almost forgotten now, but the Royal Navy relied upon Boy entry on a much greater scale, with the vast majority of ratings commencing their service in that way.  As regards the Army, the Royal Artillery (as so often with organisational changes) were the first arm to establish centralised training depots/schools for boys and were so successful that the rest of the Army gradually emulated them, albeit with the infantry the last to fall into line.

Edited 12 July , 2022 by FROGSMILE