Boys' Brigade Uniforms: Activities--Camping

Figure 1.--This is a Boy's Brigade Camp in 1904. It was located near Whitstable, a fishing village on the Kent coast. The boy's appear to have sone first class tents, but no fixed facilities.

The Boys' Brigade was very keen on taking city boys away to the wholesome air of the countryside. In fact the first summer camp held by a uniformed youth group was held by the Boys' Brigade in Scotland during 1886-fully two decades before Baden Powell's Brown Sea Island camp in 1906 which launched Scoting. Brigade camps in England followed soon after the first camp in Scotland. The camps were so popular that the Boys' Brigade considered launching a Scouting program. But what is fascinating about early Boys' Brigade camps is that the boys on these expeditions appear to have dressed up in suits! They may have been only their every day suits. Boys at the time did not have extensive wardrobes of casual clothing. Suits were worn for many activities. Many boys look like they are wearing their best suits, often three-piece suits, in available early photographs. But presumablu mum sent them to summer camp in their every day suits. We do note that Eton collars are not as common as we would have expected, especially at summer camps. Presumably they were not deemed appropriate for camping, or to much trouble for the boys to bother with. Probably for more formal occassions when they were at home, mums would have insisted on Eton collars. We have only a limited number of Boy's Brigade camping images, but they show the boys wearing suits even at camp. Now as a camper and camp counselor, I find that almost inconceivable, but that appears to have been exactly what the Boys' Brigade did. We can't help but thinking what mum must have said when those boys came back home after camping in their suits--even their every-day suit.

High Priority

The Boys' Brigade was very keen on taking city boys away to the wholesome air of the countryside. In fact the first summer camp held by a uniformed youth group was held by the Boys' Brigade in Scotland during 1886-fully two decades before Baden Powell's Brown Sea Island camp in 1906 which launched Scoting.

Brigade Camps

Brigade camps in England followed soon after the first camp in Scotland. The camps were so popular that the Boys' Brigade considered launching a Scouting program. We have few details about the individual camps at this time. They do not appear oto have been fixed facilities, but rather grounfs the Brigade got permission to use.

Clothing

What is fascinating about early Boys' Brigade camps is that the boys on these expeditions appear to have dressed up in suits! They may have been only their every day suits. Boys at the time did not have extensive wardrobes of casual clothing. Suits were worn for many activities. Many boys look like they are wearing their best suits, often three-piece suits, in available early photographs. But presumablu mum sent them to summer camp in their every day suits. We do note that Eton collars are not as common as we would have expected, especially at summer camps. Presumably they were not deemed appropriate for camping, or to much trouble for the boys to bother with. Probably for more formal occassions when they were at home, mums would have insisted on Eton collars. We have only a limited number of Boy's Brigade camping images, but they show the boys wearing suits even at camp. Now as a camper and camp counselor, I find that almost inconceivable, but that appears to have been exactly what the Boys' Brigade did. We can't help but thinking what mum must have said when those boys came back home after camping in their suits--even their every-day suit.

Image

Here we not only have a good view of an early Brigade camp, but some details about it (figure 1). This was a photo postcard. It was posted from Whitstable, a fishing village on the Kent coast. It was mailed August 4, 1904. The card was addressed to Mrs Simpson, (Road name obscured by postmark), Lavender Hill, London S.W. The text is a classic boy's camp letter. The boy wrote, "Dear Ma, Just a line to let you know that enjoying myself very much. Ernest and Len are also enjoying themselves. I cannot stop any longer as it is dinner time so I will say goodbye Yours affectionately - D."