Boys' Brigade Uniforms: Basic Approach


Figure 1.--This English Boys Brigade group was probably photographed about 1910. Notice the characteristic pill box caps and the fact that some of the boys wear a uniformed jacket. Generally the boys just wore a cap and belt over their own clothes. We do not see many uniform until after World War II.

The Boys' Brigade was the earliest boys' uniformed group, being founded in 1883. The uniform they adopted proved to be the uniform worn for a longer time than any other uniformed boys' group uniform. While the uniform was a basic part of the Boys Brigade program from the beginning, the basic approach of the Boy's Brigade to the uniform was to keep it simple and thus inexpensive. This mean that virtually any boy could participate and not just boys from middleclass families. The Boy's Brigade uses most of the same uniform garments as the other uniformed youth groups, but this was not always the case. We note that many early photographs of Boys' Brigade members show them wearing only a few uniform items rather than the full uniform. This was true even before World War II (1939-45). Boys during the first year of the Boys' Brigade only wore a rosette as a badge, and the officers wore a detinctly civilian-looking bowler hat. The following year the cap, belt, and haversack were brought together as the first uniform. The idea was to have a very basic uniform that every boy could afford. The boy bassically wore his on clothes, but added a few in expensive items to gice the unit a uniformed look.The basic uniform was the pillbox cap used by the British Army, a belt (often but not always with a round Boys' Brigade buckle and a shoulder strap), and a haversack. These items were worn over a boys own clothes, generally his best sut. This basic uniform continued to be worn by British Brigaders into the 1960s. We have however seen some Brigaders even before the 1960s in full uniforms, usually the adult leaders. We have noted some early units, however, in which some of the boys also had full uniforms. It was quite common for the adult leaders to have full uniforms, but much less common for the boys. The adult leader uniforms varied over time, the boys' uniform items were more standard. Note the boys here in full uniforms with fancy military jackets (figure 1). We wonder if the here boys in the full uniforms were not some kind of special ceremonial unit and thus specially uniformed. We are not sure how common this was throughout the Boys' Brigade or even if these were Brigade approved or local ad hoc uniforms.

Founding Approach

The Boys' Brigade was the earliest boys' uniformed group, being founded in 1883. While the uniform was a basic part of the program from the beginning, the basic approach of the Boy's Brigade to the uniform was to keep it simple and thus inexpensive. This mean that virtually any boy could participate and not just boys from middleclass families.

Garments

The Boy's Brigade uses most of the same uniform garments as the other uniformed youth groups, but this was not always the case. We note that many early photographs of Boys' Brigade members show them wearing only a few uniform items rather than the full uniform. This was true even before World War II (1939-45).

First Year

Boys during the first year of the Boys' Brigade only wore a rosette as a badge, and the officers wore a detinctly civilian-looking bowler hat.

Long-term Uniform

The following year the cap, belt, and haversack were brought together as the first uniform. This proved to be the uniform worn for a longer time than any other uniformed boys' group uniform. The idea was to have a very basic uniform that every boy could afford. The boy bassically wore his on clothes, but added a few in expensive items to gice the unit a uniformed look.The basic uniform was the pillbox cap used by the British Army, a belt (often but not always with a round Boys' Brigade buckle and a shoulder strap), and a haversack. These items were worn over a boys own clothes, generally his best sut. This basic uniform continued to be worn by British Brigaders into the 1960s. We have however seen some Brigaders even before the 1960s in full uniforms, usually the adult leaders. We have noted some early units, however, in which some of the boys also had full uniforms. It was quite common for the adult leaders to have full uniforms, but much less common for the boys. The adult leader uniforms varied over time, the boys' uniform items were more standard. Note the boys here in full uniforms with fancy military jackets (figure 1). We wonder if the here boys in the full uniforms were not some kind of special ceremonial unit and thus specially uniformed. We are not sure how common this was throughout the Boys' Brigade or even if these were Brigade approved or local ad hoc uniforms.

Full Uniform

The British Boys Brigade in the 1960s after an amazing 8 decades decides to change their uniform and adopt a full uniform, perhaps influenced by Scouting. The increasing affluence of British familes was probably another factor. Most families could now afford to buy the full uniform. We are not sure when a full uniform was adopted in other countries.







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Created: July 11, 2002
Last updated: July 11, 2002