CLCGB logo
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Motto | "Fight The Good Fight" |
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Formation | 1978 |
Headquarters | Wath-upon-Dearne, Rotherham, United Kingdom |
Key people
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Her Majesty The Queen (Patron), The Archbishop of Canterbury (President) |
Website | www |
The Church Lads' and Church Girls' Brigade is an Anglican youth organisation with branches in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Bermuda, Kenya, South Africa, Newfoundland and St Helena. Its origins lie in the formation in 1891 of the Church Lads' Brigade with its sister organisation, the Church Nursing and Ambulance Brigade for Young Women and Girls, later the Church Girls' Brigade, founded in 1901. The two respective founders were Walter M Gee and the Reverend Thomas Milner. The two brigades amalgamated in 1978 to form the Church Lads' and Church Girls' Brigade.
The Church Lads' Brigade was one of the founding members of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services (NCVYS), and the Church Lads' and Church Girls' Brigade remains a member by virtue of its work towards the personal and social development of young people.
The brigade's patron saint is Martin of Tours. A banner depicting St Martin, which was presented by the brigade in 1921 to honour those members who died in the First World War, is kept at Westminster Abbey.
The brigade is structured by location. Each location (normally a diocese, for example: Manchester) has a regiment or a diocesan battalion, this then divides into battalions (South, Central, North East - Durham, Oldham, Rochdale, Bolton, Tameside) and then into companies. Generally, each regiment has more than one battalion and each battalion has more than one company.
In Newfoundland, the brigade is composed of the Eastern Diocesan Regiment, split between the Avalon Battalion and the Trinity-Conception Battalion. Those battalions are further split into companies. There once were many more battalions, but unfortunately the brigade has seen a decrease in membership in recent years and many companies have now become defunct.
The brigade is split into groups. These correspond with the age of the members:
Members can become leaders and staff and continue to contribute to the CLCGB for long periods of time.