1st Fraserburgh Boys BrigadeThe exhibition marking 100 years of the BB in Fraserburgh is set to open on the 1st July 2021 with Fraserburgh Heritage Centre.
The exhibition was originally scheduled to open in April 2020 but was delayed due to COVID-19.
It features photographs and artefacts pertinent to the beginning and early development of the organisation in Fraserburgh. This includes the four big shields of their day which are all in Fraserburgh together for the first time since the 1960s.
#OnThisDay in 1921 #100YearsAgo the 1st Fraserburgh BB Company was officially registered meaning today is their official 100th Birthday.
The Company is the oldest in the Buchan Battalion and has provided opportunities for thousands of our town’s boys!
All in the Battalion would like to wish our friends in the 1st Fraserburgh a very happy 100th Birthday and we look forward to seeing what celebrations they have lined up when restrictions are lifted.
Today we also look back and remember those who came before, to hand over the company, generation after generation, to the boys and officers of today.
Congratulations, and here’s to the next 100!
Hi everyone, we will be having another Virtual Quiz Fundraiser on Friday 27th November at 7:30pm, it will cost £10 per team and you have the chance to win a £25 Amazon Voucher.
To register a team please visit https://1fraserburgh.boys-brigade.org.uk/quiz/ and fill in the sign up form, then donate the £10 via our just giving page (Link is on the Quiz Webpage)
It will be a fun evening for all, so make sure to get signed and let all your friends and family know, the more teams the better!!
If you have any questions, please email 1stfraserburgh@thebb.onmicrosoft.com
Good Luck
Hello, after the success of the last quiz, we are planning to do another virtual Fundraiser!!
We were wondering if everyone would be able to complete the survey via this link to let us know if you want another quiz or something else https://1fraserburgh.boys-brigade.org.uk/bb-fundraiser
Thanks, Ross, Jordan & Nathan
Dear Boys,
We hope you have been enjoying the summer break and the good news is we are planning to get back to face to face BB evenings hopefully in September. This is of course under constant review and dependent upon church hall being ready for use. We will keep you posted when more details are available.
Well done to the boys already taking part in the Battalion Summer Challenge, your efforts are keeping us well placed in the leader board.
To add a bit of fun and interest we hope you will take part in a fundraising challenge before the end of September. As you can imagine we need funds to support activities and we may need different resources until BBs can resume fully in their normal format as well as funds for our planned 100th Birthday Camp abroad.
Set yourself an active challenge such as a virtual walk, run, cycle or climb. Encourage family and friends to sponsor you if possible. Challenges could include setting a virtual destination eg Fraserburgh to Badaguish (101 miles) where we normally go for summer camp and record your daily progress using pen and paper or a phone app or fitbit weekly report. If you choose a climb then you can use a mountain and use the stairs or a step to complete your challenge eg
• Snowdon – 1,085 metres elevation or 5,425 steps up
• Scafell Pike – 964 metres elevation or 4,820 steps up
• Ben Nevis – 1,344 metres elevation or 6,720 steps up
Once you reach your goal collect your sponsor money!
Post photos as you go on our Facebook page to let us know how you are getting on.
In the meantime keep safe and stay well.
Sponsor form is attached as a word document but if you need paper copies please let us know. (You can download from https://1fraserburgh.boys-brigade.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Summer-sponsor-form.docx)
Duncan, Yvonne & Staff😀👍⚓️
Since we 1st spoke about the possibility of going abroad to celebrate 100 years of our Company, a lot has happened!
However, we have continued to plan for this exciting trip and I can update you with the following details:
We plan to –
We decided to plan for the October Holidays instead of the Summer Holidays to help keep the costs down.
The cost per person will be between £500 & £600. The more fundraising we can do, the lower the cost will be.
This is open to all boys who are currently in Company Section and to boys who will be in Company Section when the 2021-22 session starts in September 2021.
Could all those interested in attending our Centenary Camp please let us know by commenting on the Facebook Post in the Company Facebook Groups, or by sending an email to 1stfraserburgh@thebb.onmicrosoft.com.
After we have final numbers and make the booking, we will require a £100 deposit per person.
Thanks,
1st Fraserburgh Boys Brigade’
We will be having a 1st Fraserburgh BB Quiz Fundraiser on Friday 3rd July at 7:30pm, it will cost £10 per team and you have the chance to win a £25 Amazon Voucher, to sign up please visit our Just Giving Page, make sure to select £10 as the donation and also remember to include an email address or whats-app number so that we can let you know how to access the quiz.
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/1stbbquiz
It will be a fun evening for all, so make sure to get signed and let all your friends and family know.
If you have any questions, please email 1stfraserburgh@thebb.onmicrosoft.com
Good Luck,
1st Fraserburgh Boys Brigade
The funeral of Henry Duthie will take place on Saturday 20 June at Alexander Buchan & Sons at 10am. This is restricted to invited guests.
The hearse will travel from Alexander Buchan’s around 10.30am and travel up Watermill Road to pass by Gallowhill Terrace, along West Road and up over Dennyduff Road past the West Church and down to the trafic lights, turning right heading to the roundabout at Tesco’s before heading to Kirkton Cemetery.
The Boys’ Brigade have been asked to form a Guard of Honour from the gates at the Cemetery back towards Lidl’s and depending on numbers back towards roundabout ensuring we adhere to the social distancing rules.
All Boys’ Brigade members past and present who would wish to pay their last respects to the great BB man should be in uniform (past or present). Please be in the area to form the guard of honour by 10.30am on Saturday.
Martin Dunbar
Captain, 4/5th Fraserburgh BB
BB Companies, Battalions and Districts are advised to suspend all meetings and activities with immediate effect across the UK.
The Boys’ Brigade has been carefully monitoring the outbreak of the Corona-virus across the UK and keeping up to date with advice issued by UK Government and other relevant authorities.
Following new Government advice issued today that everyone should stop non-essential contact with others and stop all unnecessary travel, it has been concluded that all BB weekly meetings/activities, events and trips should be immediately suspended.
We are currently exploring how we continue to provide opportunities for young people in the BB family to learn, grow and discover over the challenging weeks and months ahead. We will continue to use this page and our social media channels to provide updates.
We wish every member of the Brigade family every blessing.
https://boys-brigade.org.uk/coronavirus-managing-the-risk/
JOE WATT
1938-2019
All in the Battalion were saddened to learn of the passing of BB stalwart, Mr Joe Watt, at the age of 81.
Mr Watt’s service in the BB started on 1st October 1950 when, at the age of 12, he was enrolled in the 1st Fraserburgh Company. He served through the ranks until 1956 when, reaching the upper age limit, he was discharged having given ‘good service’ to the company. A skilled gymnast he competed with the crack PT teams, winning the Town Council Shield in his final year.
After national service Joe returned to help his company, being officially enrolled as Lieutenant with the Company in 1964. This saw a tough time for the company, which fell into temporary abeyance in 1969. What followed afterwards was perhaps Mr Watt’s greatest accomplishment in the BB: a leading officer in the Company Joe worked hard to revive the 1st Fraserburgh from a Company in abeyance to one of the strongest companies in the area. During his stint as Officer-in-Charge of Company Section from the 1970s until 1989, the section regularly enrolled 40-50 boys.
In 1988 he became Captain of the 1st Fraserburgh, taking over as “Skipper” from his old friend Alastair Sinclair. Serving in that post for 4 years he was clear who the most important people in the company were: “the boys – without you there would be no Boys’ Brigade”. He saw the BB as an important means of delivering new skills to boys and, most important of all, to deliver them to a personal relationship with Christ.
When he retired in 1992, he did so believing it was now the turn of the next generation to lead.
His retirement was, however, virtually non-existent as the next chapter of his BB career opened instantaneously as a bandsman. Between 1992 and 2001 he taught and led the buglers of the award winning 1st Fraserburgh Bugle Band. He briefly served as bandmaster 2001-02 following the death of his great friend Mr Sinclair.
Joe also carried out a great deal of work for our Battalion. While the posts of Battalion high office never appealed to him, Joe worked for many years behind the scenes on the training committee and also as a member of the Company Section committee. By doing so he again worked hardest for the most important people in the organisation: the boys.
Following his second retirement in 2002 Joe did take more of a back seat but remained a dedicated supporter of the BB. As a respected Elder of the Church and BB he was often called upon as Inspecting Officer and his wife Sheila always had a job for him at the Anchor Boys parents night. There are hundreds of young men – and some not-so-young – around our Battalion who owe a great deal to Joe Watt for the time he gave in the hope of improving their chances in life. He is responsible for equipping a generation with new skills which undoubtedly gave them greater opportunities in life.
Upon becoming Captain in 1988 he remarked: “When the Company was started again 18 years ago, we had only a handful of boys. Many a Friday night we went home thinking, is it worth carrying on?”. We are grateful that he persevered!
At this sad time all at the Buchan Battalion offer our sincere and heart felt condolences to Mrs Sheila Watt, Joe’s devoted wife of 55 years, and their children Tracy and Peter, and grandchildren.
Capt M. A. W. Strachan
1st Rosehearty Coy.