“It was camaraderie and friendship… independence, discipline and skills.”
We moved around a bit when I was a child. I was actually born in Leicester, and then we moved to North Devon. Dad was retraining as an electrician after getting out of the pit.
My parents went to Barnstaple Baptist Church when they settled in Devon in 1972 and realised there was nothing in the area for young people. So, they set up a youth club on Saturdays with games – and 100 kids turned up! It was far more popular than they ever imagined.
After that, my dad decided to contact The Boys’ Brigade so he could turn the club into 1st Barnstaple Company. We still have a plaque somewhere commemorating its opening! There had been a BB group in the area in the past but it never got off the ground. My dad managed to resurrect it and lead it for the rest of the time he was living in the area.
I was too young to join that Company. But when we moved to Lanarkshire in Scotland, I joined 6th Airdrie, and spent many Friday nights in Broomknoll Parish Church.
The Boys’ Brigade just fitted perfectly into my life. Looking back, it was about camaraderie and friendship, but also about independence, discipline and skills. The organisation teaches you lots of things, but mainly it’s lots of fun!
I remember playing football… badly, but I was good at other things and certainly learned, I grew and I discovered the importance of belonging. It gave me the building blocks for a life of public service.
After leaving The Boys’ Brigade, I qualified as a dentist and then as a Consultant Oral Surgeon. I spent almost 15 years in government and was the National Clinical Director of Scotland until May 2024, It was an enormous privilege to carry out this role and work closely with colleagues across the health and care sector in service of the patients, their families and carers.
Working to help the country during the Covid-19 pandemic involved a lot of work across boundaries and sectors, as we tried to steer the country through the pandemic. I think I was also a time that highlighted just important third sector organisations, like the BB, are within local communities.
I hope that The Boys’ Brigade continues to go from strength to strength, maintaining the traditions while developing and innovating for the future. The skills it teaches are timeless and as valuable to a young person today as they were to me in the 70s!
