Woodvale Presbyterian Church

Belfast, Northern Ireland

The Girls' Brigade

Woodvale Girls’ Brigade

70th Northern Ireland Company of the Girls’ Brigade

       (formerly the 38th N.I. Coy. of the Girls’ Brigade)

 

The Girls’ Brigade is a Christian youth organisation for girls of all ages, backgrounds

and abilities. It is a uniformed organisation and each group has their own uniform to

identify the section to which they belong.

There are 4 sides to our programme:-

Spiritual:                     Understanding the basics of Christian faith.

Physical:                     Learning how to care for oneself and participate in physical activities.

Educational:     Increasing knowledge and understanding, developing new skills which

will equip girls for adult life.

Service:                        Learning to relate to others and work as part of a team.

 

In 2004 our Company has 17 Officers looking after 62 girls in total.

We meet in the Church Hall on Monday evenings.

 

The Tiny Tot section:

Five years old and under. They meet from 5.45 - 6.45 p.m.  They enjoy singing, games and     skipping etc.

The Explorer section:

Six to eight year olds, who meet from 6.30 - 8.30 p.m.  Their programme includes PE, Choral Speaking, Bible stories and games.

The Junior section:

Nine to eleven years, who meet from 6.20 - 8.30 p.m.

The Senior and Brigader:

Twelve years and over, who meet from 7.00 - 8.30 p.m.

The Junior, Senior and Brigader sections cover Bible Study, Choral speaking, PE, Cooking,   Entertaining, Hand Crafts and a host of other activities.

We are very proud of our Explorer section, which gained 1st place, and our Junior section, which gained 2nd place in the 2003/04 District Choral speaking competition. 

During the session the Senior section and their Officers went camping in Tullymore Forest Park.  The Company section spent a weekend at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.

We held our Annual Display at the end of the session to let the parents, friends and

supporters see what the girls achieved throughout the year.

Woodvale Company was set up in 1950 by the then minister, the Rev R G Craig and his wife Mrs Isobel Craig.  At our 50th Anniversary celebrations, which were held in May 2000, we had the pleasure of the company of the founder Chaplain, Captain, Officers and Members, also Past Members and Chaplains.  During our 54 years the following have served as Company Captain:-

1950 -57 Mrs Isobel Craig

1957 -59 Mrs Dorothy Gray, nee McConnell

1959 -61 Miss Sally Ireland

1961 -62 Miss Nora Walker (deceased)

1962 -70 Mrs Marion Lamont nee Boyd

1970 -74 Mrs Ruth Davey, nee Megarry

1974 -79 Mrs Margaret Allen, nee Donnelly

1979 -85 Mrs Wilma Williams, nee Cordiner

1985 -87 Mrs Sharon Snowdon

1987 -     Mrs Elaine Duncan, nee McCullough

We still get good support from our ‘Old Girls’.  It is a pleasure meeting up with them and hearing stories from the past, particularly from those who moved away from Northern Ireland.  It is great that they still come to their home church when they come back to Northern Ireland to visit.