The Church Lads’ Brigade was founded on St. Martin’s Day (11th November) 1891 in London by Walter Mallock Gee. Christ Church, Leeson Park, Dublin, was the Pioneer Company in Ireland, enrolled in 1893. St Luke’s, Belfast, was the first company in what is now Northern Ireland, enrolled in 1895. Four companies in the Ulster Regiment have celebrated centenaries…St Patrick’s, Ballymena, 1897, Holy Trinity, Portrush, 1899, Seagoe, 1902, and Christ Church, Lisburn, 1906.
The Church Girls’ Brigade began in London in 1901 as the Church Red Cross Brigade. Its founder was Rev Thomas Milner, assisted by his wife, Florence Nightingale Milner. In 1911, the words ‘Red Cross’ had to be dropped so the name changed to the Church Nursing and Ambulance Brigade. It became the Church Girls’ Brigade in 1922. The first company in Ireland opened in 1929 for St. Barnabas’, Belfast, but closed in the early 1940s, a victim of the Belfast Blitz. Seagoe CGB, Portadown, opened in 1945 and is the oldest surviving company.
The CLB and the CGB amalgamated in 1978, becoming the Church Lads’ and Church Girls’ Brigade.
For more on the history of the CLCGB and to look back through our archives, visit our history website.
