Magazine of The Church Lads’ and Church Girls’ Brigade

Spring 2010 No 52

A Company Limited by Guarantee No 1395966

Registered Charity No 276821

Most old and

large houses

are home to a

variety of spiders, of all

shapes and sizes and

their varied and intricate

webs. St Martin’s

House, Brigade

Headquarters is no

different in this respect.

However, over the last

year, St Martin’s House

has seen periods of

frenetic activity by what

appear to be our own

variety of web weaving

creatures, who have

become known as St

Martin’s spiders! They

have been seen at

various times of the

year, most usually at

weekends and in greater

or lesser clusters,

weaving their fascinating

web; the like of which

has previously been

unknown to any of us at

Brigade NHQ. So

fascinating in fact is

their web that we want

all Brigade members to

have a look at it and

have included a special

feature on it inside.

Could these magnificent

creatures really be St

Martin’s own special

breed of spiders? Take

a look and let us know

what you think.

Are these St Martin’s spiders?

BrigadeTH

E

Incorporating the LINK Magazine

More young members exploring the new Brigade website on the launch date.

Beverley Seniors making masks.

‘Penguins on Parade!’ at Christchurch Canon Burrows Company, Tameside.

2

A pictorial

overview of the

Church Lads’

and Church

Girls’ Brigade

events, awards,

presentations

and community-

based activities

THE MARTINS

THE JTC

THE SENIORS

THE Y TEAM

5 - 7 YEARS

7 - 10 YEARS

10 - 13 YEARS

13 - 21 YEARS

BrigadeTH

E

Young member explores new website.

3

HERE& THERE

HRH The Prince of Wales, meeting members from Oldham Battalion.

Young Leaders from Leicester Regiment pooling ideas for the new Brigade website.

Ulster Young Leaders presenting their ideal leader. Ulster Young Leaders in discussion.

Just last December

we held our

meetings of

Brigade Council, the

Staff and Finance

Committee and the

Annual General Meeting

of the Brigade. It is the

time of year when terms

of office for

approximately one third

of the Brigade Council’s

membership comes to

an end. When Brigade

Council was established

almost six years ago

now, it was done in such

a way that its

membership could only

serve two terms at most.

So we are now seeing

longstanding members,

indeed friends, coming

to the end of their

involvement with

Brigade Council and I

thank the retiring

members on my own

and your behalf for their

dedicated and

committed service to the

Brigade, via its Council.

This last year we said

farewell to Dave

Greaves and Richard

Hall from the North-

East, Don Nuttall MBE

from Manchester, Danny

Robinson from Ulster,

Stephen Robinson from

the Midlands and we

duly welcome John

Kennedy from Ulster

and Derick Jackson

from the North East who

have been duly elected

to join Brigade Council. I

also welcome John

Smith to the ranks of the

Staff and Finance

Committee, replacing

Don Nuttall as the co-

opted member.

Little did we know in

December that, come

March, we would be

attending Dave

Greaves’ funeral. Whilst

Dave had had to have

regular platelet

transfusions for some

years, he was always

bright and as energetic

as his illness allowed

him to be, never

complaining and

constantly positive and

philosophical. Often to

be seen wearing shorts,

whatever the time of

year, he liked nothing

better than to be active,

cycling, walking, boating

and the like. When last

seen, Dave was saying

how well he was feeling

and he certainly looked

it. Just about a year

ago, Dave’s Brigade

Company was placed

into temporary

dormancy, as Dave and

his fellow Leader battled

their individual health

problems and Dave, as

Church Warden, was

guiding and supporting

the Church through an

extended interregnum

but he was looking

forward to being well

enough to restart the

Company and with a

new Vicar in place.

Dave’s funeral was a

real testimony to how

much Dave was loved

and how many lives his

own life and example

had touched, indeed

shaped. There was

standing room only. The

altar was draped with

the St Mary’s Wombwell

Brigade Company’s flag

and Brigade uniforms

were in abundance.

Fitting hymns and

tributes were included in

the Service and from

young and not so young

alike. I had the honour,

along with our

Treasurer, current and

former Brigade

Secretaries, to represent

the wider family of the

Brigade. It was truly a

Brigade emphasised

Service and a joyful

celebration of Dave’s life

and work. We will strive

to see that his Company

is restarted.

It is great news that our

Development Project

has been funded for a

further year. We are

blessed by our small

team of truly

enthusiastic and

dedicated Development

Workers, Audrey, Tracey

and Sister Anne and our

two supporting

volunteers, Maynard

Scott and John

Corbishley. When we

set out to recruit the

team, just over a year

ago, we didn’t know who

would apply for these

very part-time roles, at

least in employed (paid)

terms, but we have

been delighted with the

outcome and their

individual and collective

application to the task.

Their enthusiasm for the

Brigade is infectious and

that is just what we

need. (I am advised that

they too have been

nurturing and

encouraging St Martin’s

spiders in their web

weaving!)

Best wishes to you all.

Good luck and every

success and enjoyment

to you all for your spring

and early summer

Brigade activities.

Pamela Corbishley,

Governor.

Governor's Message

4

And the sun is

shining…….

Not unusually, this

item for the

magazine was

written in snatches, as

time and location in my

schedule permitted.

As I start to write this

article, I can see out of my

office window at Brigade

NHQ that the sun is

shining and that the crocus

and snowdrops around the

garden are in flower. What

a contrast to the dark days

that have been the norm

as of late. It reminds me

of the ‘dark days of Lent’

as we approach the

dramas of Holy Week and

the brightness that is

Easter Sunday.

I have arrived at NHQ to

find excited voices and a

bit of a commotion. Our

cleaner, Carol, has

discovered activity behind

one of our boarded in fire

grates. A woodpigeon has,

as often happens, made

its way down one of our

chimneys and is to be

heard in our meeting room

fireplace. Zoe, fully

committed bird feeder, is

‘elected’ to free the bird!

The woodpigeon is duly

clasped and released

outside. It seeks to fly

away but, after its

unknown period of ordeal,

attempts to fly to the top of

our boundary wall but fails

to reach the top. Smack!

Ouch! But it survives and

will probably live at least

another day and possibly

longer.

Another bright day at NHQ

and I am contacted by the

mother of a Brigade

Leader, apologising for

mithering me but asking if I

would support the

nomination of her son for a

community award, for his

Brigade work. I reply to the

effect that I am delighted

and honoured that she has

contacted me in this way.

He is a bright, enthusiastic

and energetic young man

and greatly innovative in

his Brigade work. I am all

for our young leaders

having real opportunities

for responsibility and

scope to develop our

Brigade. Once again I am

reminded of the fact that

the average age of the

pilots in the Battle of

Britain was 22 years and

average life expectancy in

their role was 3 weeks. So

if our young leaders are to

be our future, they must

have their opportunity,

sooner rather than later,

lest we lose them through

a lack of opportunities to

lead and shoulder

responsibility.

As Deputy Chairman of the

National Council for

Voluntary Youth Services

(NCVYS), I have asked

that Chief Officers of

Voluntary Organisations

and Trustees of NCVYS be

permitted and encouraged,

where appropriate, to bring

with them a young Trustee

to NCVYS meetings. I

pointed out that CLCGB’s

young Trustees (members

of Brigade Council) are its

future, I am not.

This morning started off

darkly enough, as I drove

to the secondary school

where I recently became

Chairman of the governing

body. I arrived at 7.30am

in order to be in place to

meet with the Lead

Inspector on a 48 hours’

notice monitoring visit. It is

an Academy, placed in

‘Special Measures’ last

summer after an

Inspection. It is a bright

new school and, as one

representative of the

Department for Children,

Schools and Families’

(DCSF) said during his

visit, “it doesn’t feel like a

school in Special

Measures”. People are

smiling and there is a

great sense of purpose

around the place but we

didn’t do too well on the

last monitoring visit in

December 2009. So with

lots of determination, staff

endeavour, some new staff

members and additional

governors, we hope that

we have done enough to

be moving the school

forward on its journey out

of Special Measures.

I left the Academy

following a helpful and

encouraging interview by

the Lead HMI, who

reported on a good first

day of inspections and

greater confidence and

satisfaction, at that stage

at least, in what was being

witnessed by her and her

colleagues but there was

still the best part of the day

to go. As I left the

Academy (to return at the

end of the school day, for

the end of inspection

feedback from the

inspectors, followed by a

meeting of the governors)

the sun was shining and it

was a good start to the

day.

My return to the Academy

found feedback from the

inspection team to be

greatly encouraging for

both staff and governors.

The last twelve weeks had

seen good progress since

Christmas, so we were

judged to be at the stage

that we should be at, if we

were making ‘Satisfactory’

progress towards coming

out of Special Measures,

and, guess what, the sun

was still shining!

Another bright and mild

day as I continue this item

at NHQ. It is 23rd March

2010 and we have just

received confirmation from

DCSF that we are to

receive the second (final)

year of funding for our

Development Project.

Subsequent years of

funding are never

guaranteed under DCSF

funding rounds. They are

subject to satisfactory

activity in the previous

year and the availability of

funding, not a foregone

conclusion. Given the

recession and prospects of

budget cuts, we are

heaving a tremendous sigh

of relief that our

secondyear of funding is in

place. (You will probably

5

The Brigade Secretary's Message

appreciate the precarious

nature of our situation with

three Development Officer

employees in post, entitled

to adequate notice of non-

continuance of

employment, when we

only receive notice on 23rd

March 2010 that funding of

their project from 1st April

2010 is now confirmed.

There is much goodwill to

be found amongst

employees in the voluntary

and charity sectors!)

I am also given the

opportunity to look for the

first-time at the spectacular

results of web weaving by

St Martin’s spiders. He

should be and I am proud

of their achievement.

Those who know me,

know that I am technically

challenged and will not be

surprised that I will treat it

as a rather fragile spider’s

web but I am assured that

our Brigade members will

find its silken filaments to

be as strong as steel and

as versatile as the

atmosphere. I am in awe

and ever grateful to our

‘spiders’. This is a vital

component in the

reinvigoration of the

Brigade and supporting the

work of our Development

Project, its Officers and

volunteers’ work.

I am now on the train from

Manchester to London, for

one of my regular visits for

meetings. (Whilst Brigade

NHQ and my office are in

South Yorkshire, as I live

in Lancashire, Manchester

is my nearest station to

commute from to London.)

I am taken by an article in

The Independent

newspaper (24th March

2010 page 8). It reports on

research from the Charity

Commission that illustrates

that one in four charities

could find themselves at a

“financial cliff edge” when

public sector spending cuts

begin to bite. Whilst it

illustrates the impact on

many charities, some of

them quite large, often

quite dependent on public

sector contracts for the

delivery of services, it

shows that 59% of

charities have been

affected by the economic

downturn and that many

are likely to ‘go bust’

because of their reliance

on public funding. The

Brigade continues to be

financially challenged but,

our Development Project

apart, we are not in receipt

of public funding to support

us. We just continue to

struggle financially

anyway! But the sun is

shining through as I write.

(I am reminded that

Monday evening in

Barnsley saw heavy hail

showers and yesterday

morning saw a heavy

frost!)

Yesterday afternoon at

NHQ, I was engaged in

negotiations with our

insurers and their loss

adjusters to try to move

progress on recompense

to the Brigade for the fire

damage to our

outbuildings after the

arson attack in October

last. There was a general

consensus that the

insurers’ agents could

have acted more speedily

and engaged with us more

since the fire.

Unfortunately, I do not

have any news to share

with you at this stage

about NHQ and our ability

to let or sell it in order to

improve the Brigade’s

financial situation.

However, and as St

Martin’s spiders have

brought to mind, Robert

the Bruce is reported as

having been galvanised to

action when he witnessed

a spider making attempt

after attempt to weave its

web and overcome

adversity. “If at first you

don’t succeed, try, try and

try again”. And my

keyboard is awash with the

sun’s rays as I type these

words.

I hope you all had a good

Easter and: May the

Peace of the Risen Christ

be with you now and

always.

Alan Millward.

Ps. Hon Archivist Rob

Bolton and Historical

Society member Johnny

Conn have recently

published new books

featuring the Brigade.

6

7

New Website

Adozen Brigade

members and

officers have

been working on an all

singing, all dancing

website to make

communication online a

more interactive and

exciting experience than

it has ever been before.

The new look site will

replace the current

pages on Thursday,

April 8th.

The working party

comprised a mixture of

our best young whizz

kids together with a

handful of experienced

Brigaders offering a few

insights, but largely on a

steep learning curve

provided by their

younger counterparts.

The new site will be

accessible on mobiles

as well as computers

and will contain many

features which will

enable officers and

members to ‘own’ the

website as never

before.

Amongst the features

under development are

members’ pages for

each of the sections, a

forum for raising issues

and discussions, an

online Stores service, a

chance to view CLCGB

videos via You Tube as

well as links to

Facebook and many

useful sites for

resources.

The site will be

managed by a small

team of administrators

who will update the site

on a daily basis,

ensuring the latest news

is posted asap and that

comments and

suggestions for further

development are

responded to

immediately.

The website will

become a major tool in

presenting the Brigade

to the world, marketing

what we have to offer to

churches and

communities, and

sharing news and views

across the whole

Brigade family – or at

least those who can

navigate the internet!

If you haven’t visited

www.clcgb.org.uk

recently – what are you

waiting for?

Martin Lambourne.

A selection of St. Martin’s spiders.

8

Are we offering our

young leaders

enough opportunity

to flex their muscles and

lead the Brigade into a

brighter future? That’s the

question I ask myself

when I meet with many of

the bright young adults

attending our young leader

training events around the

country. It’s so

encouraging to have a rich

wealth of youthful potential

in our Brigade family, but

we need to be investing in

that wealth far more than

seems to be happening in

reality.

Training days in the Ulster

and Leicester Regiments

have indicated that there

are young adults amongst

us who are willing to give

time and talent to work in

the Companies they

belong to and even in the

wider Brigade at Formation

and national levels. It is

also evident at camps

such as the North East

Camp and the Manchester

Regimental camps, that

there are young adults

capable of taking on

responsibility for activities

and groups.

One of the problems our

Development Officers are

experiencing is translating

the desire of ‘new’

parishes to have a Brigade

Company into the reality of

establishing one on the

ground. The major

stumbling block is the lack

of local leadership – or at

least any leadership with

experience of the Brigade

to head up a team of

willing volunteers. One of

the ways forward where

there are existing

Companies in the

neighbourhood is to

second Officers from those

Companies to help bed in

new leadership teams in

‘new’ parishes nearby – or

to leave the younger

leaders in charge at the

existing Company while

the senior Officer(s) helps

out with the new Company.

Leicester Regiment has

provided that kind of

support between

Companies with excellent

results. But whether it is

supporting new

Companies or leading

existing ones, we all need

to be thinking about

spreading the

responsibilities across our

leadership teams and

giving our younger Officers

a chance to prove

themselves. Our new

website would not

materialise if it were not for

the skill and enthusiasm of

our younger Officers.

Onwards and upwards!

Investing in our Future by Martin Lambourne

Scouting for

Church Scouts has

been written to

mark the 100th

Anniversary of the

founding of three

Scouting

organisations in

1909, namely the

Incorporated

Church Scout

Patrols, (organised

by the Church

Lads’ Brigade) the

1st Notts Battalion

Boy Scouts, and

the London

Diocese Boy Scout

Corps. isbn:- 1-905546-

56-4

Also, see page 6, Rob

Bolton’s new book,

Wilder than Panthers and

as ignorant as the

Heathens isbn:095213814X

This last two years

has seen

mammoth

changes in the way the

Duke of Edinburgh’s

Award is being run,

especially relating to

expedition training,

supervision and

assessment.

The internet is

changing the way

many of us work and

eDofE is one major

example of how that

affects our Companies

working with the Award.

Out have gone the old

logbooks – except for

those who use them at

present. In comes an

online way to compile

your experience in the

Award and your

assessors’ comments

and section

completions. Each

participant now receives

a User Name and

Password from NHQ in

order to log-in through

the Award website and

compile and update

information as they

progress through the

Bronze, Silver and Gold

Awards. Company DofE

leaders, together with

sectional assessors can

also contribute

information to each

participant as well as

communicating online

between meetings.

Participants have control

of their own records and

the system is

maintained in a secure

environment. This new

system will help the

Award keep track of

data as well as letting

participants and leaders

get on with the Award at

their own pace in their

own time.

Expeditions have seen

the greatest number of

changes. EX2 is a

training programme

which can be

downloaded from the

website for Expedition

Supervisors to use in

the training programme

for participants. It

contains PowerPoint

and other resources to

help with map reading

etc. NHQ has licenses

for Companies wishing

to use this valuable

resource.

Last year we began the

process of accrediting

Expedition Assessors,

mainly in the North of

England. That process

is continuing and we

hope to offer the

Assessor training in the

rest of the constituency

in the next few months.

Although Expedition

Supervisors do not have

to be accredited with

DofE, there is now a

brand new training

programme for

Supervisors which we

are also offering to

leaders this year which

will enable us to

establish a register of

our own qualified

Expedition Supervisors.

The Award continues to

be one of the most

worthwhile programmes

any young adult can

engage in. It also

provides Seniors in the

Brigade with the

opportunity to pursue

our own Achievement

Awards leading to the

Archbishop’s Award in

parallel with the DofE

Award. Watch out for

dates for leader training

on our new website.

Give Martin

Lambourne a bell if you

want someone to run

something in your

Formation.

9

Keeping up with DofE

10

In Memoriam

We have been saddened to hear of the following loss within our Brigade fellowship and

send to Dave’s family our heartfelt condolences. “May the souls of the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God, rest in peace and rise again in glory.”

Dave Greaves: George Horner writes “It was a great shock to hear on Monday, 22nd February that

David had suddenly died. Only on Saturday, at the induction of the new Rector of Darfield, he had said

he was feeling better than he had felt in a long time.

I have known David for over 52 years from when he was a junior in the Brigade. There is a picture of him

in his best suit on the Whit Monday Sunday School walk. I was in my uniform as C.S.M. but not in the

band and we were walking along Blythe Street, Wombwell. It’s probably the time that I was taller than

him!

He was one of a group of teenagers who had grown up whilst I and others of my age group, had been

doing National Service. Dave stood out as the tallest of them and has always been known as “Big Dave”.

This name is not just about his height but also says much about the man - big hearted and always willing

to take on another job.

Throughout the 1960’s and 70’s, he was my right hand man in the Church Lads’ and Church Girls’

Brigade, at St. Mary’s, Wombwell. He later took over the Company when I was Sheffield Diocesan

Commander. We have spent many hours together with lightweight camps and also the annual

Regimental camps at the Isle of White. He played the bass drum in the Band, because at the time, he

was the only one capable of carrying it and playing it at the same time!!

Dave always had an “idea” such as “Can we climb Snowdon?” this we did during the new Spring Bank

holiday in 1971; another was “What do you think about taking the JTC camping to Edale?” This was the

very cold Easter of 1972, it felt like sleeping on a block of ice. My hip was welded to the ground.

Consequently after that we always went when it was warmer. The one we never managed was “what

about swimming the English Channel as a relay team”

He became known to the wider Brigade as the Sheffield Sports Officer and later as a member of the

Brigade Council and Trustee of the Organisation, a role he held up until December 2009.

It is not just the Brigade work that he will be remembered for but his work as Church Warden, looking

after the fabric of St. Mary’s Church and also using his experience as an electrician, as a former member

used to say about him; “he’s got the papers for it”.

He was also good at getting people involved or volunteering them to do things. His latest, only last week,

was to say that he was reforming the ‘Hall Committee’ and that I was still on it.

He and Joan have made a fantastic team working within the community in Wombwell; Joan has supported

him in whatever he wished to do. They have also brought up two fine sons, Michael and Andrew, of

whom any parent would be proud.

We have known his health has not been good over the last few years and he has faced the uncertainty

over his future stoically and without giving in and tried to carry out his duties without using his health as

an excuse for not turning up or doing his best.

We have all lost a good friend; ‘Big Dave’ cast a big shadow, but brought light into many people’s lives.

The Brigade has lost a member of the ‘A’ Team who cannot be replaced; we haven’t even got a

substitute.”

11

I heard the sadness and I sat and I thought,

I thought about all the kindness you brought,

Just look at the lives you managed to

change,

To know you're no longer here makes me feel

strange,

The Great Lord decided that now was your

time,

You've sadly finished life's incredible climb,

And I know that you'll be sat on that cloud,

Watching over us, feeling so proud,

Because everything that everyone is here,

Is probably due to your immaculate cheer,

You saw no bad when you looked into a

man's eyes,

Obviously because you were an angel in

disguise,

But now you can wear your halo and your

wings,

And help the Lord look after all living things,

Memories of you will never ever fade,

I'll always remember the good times in the

brigade,

With you at the sidelines, cheering us on,

When we won Cheltenham, your face shone,

Shorts in all weather was your style,

That managed to make everyone smile,

Everyone loves you for the great person you

are,

You are a legend, a twinkling star,

Everytime I look into the night's sky,

I will think of you and know that this isn't

goodbye,

Because you will always be in my heart,

Even if we are worlds apart,

And I know that you will guide me through

life,

And make your presence known when I'm in

strife,

So I guess today is my time to say:

Thankyou Dave Greaves, we'll meet again

someday!

Charissa Leigh-Taylor

Investment and Return

There’s not much return on savings these days. Makes you wonder if it is worth saving money and

what it is worth investing it in.

Dave Greaves invested much more than money in the youngsters he nurtured through the Brigade

at Wombwell for so many years. You cannot put a price on the hours, the effort, the care and

concern, the total commitment to ensuring the members had a safe and secure environment in

which to enjoy growing up together.

And for what? Was it worth it? The only response to those questions is to listen to the heartfelt

words spoken bravely at Dave’s funeral service by one of his young members – now a teenager.

Some return! What more would you want?

Sunset at Brightlingsea harbour.

There is a CLCGB Company at Brightlingsea, St

James’, and JLGB regularly hold camps on the

shoreline at Mersea.

12

Training Opportunities

The Brigade Training Team

comprises National, Formation and

Development Team personnel who

can provide training wherever it is

needed.

If your Formation needs input from

the team, please contact Martin

Lambourne at NHQ for help with:

• Young Leader

Training,

• Expedition

Supervisors and

Assessors Training,

• Training Officer

Training, etc.

More Core Skills

Training Event

Core Skills is an ecumenically

recognised basic leader training course

for all people working with children in the

churches in Britain and Ireland.

At this special weekend, participants can

take the whole six-module course, take

the six-module extended course or

explore subjects linked to the ‘Voice’ of

children in the church.

Booking forms are available from NHQ

for anyone interested in this unique

opportunity.