5th East Kilbride Company

Potted History

 On the 4th of October, 1883, at the North Woodside Mission Hall in  Glasgow, the First Boys' Brigade Company was formed by William Alexander  Smith, born in 1854 near the town of Thurso, Caithness. In 1868 William came to Glasgow where he later joined the Free College Church. He became  a Sunday School teacher, when he realised he had a problem, "How to keep boys from causing havoc within Sunday School". In October 1883, William  Smith invited the boys of the Sunday School to attend a parade night of  the Boys' Brigade. 59 joined in the first few weeks and 35 remained to form the 1st Glasgow Company of the Boys' Brigade.

The 2nd East Kilbride Company existed in the West Kirk prior to the 5th  being formed but this Company transferred to the South Parish Church in  Baird Hill in the Murray with the minister and half the congregation  when that Church opened around 1957 or thereby.

The 5th East Kilbride Boys Brigade Company was formed in October 1960, by George Johnstone, an Elder in the West Kirk.

The Life Boys catering for boys aged 8-10 were started around 1960 in  the West Kirk by Bill Boyle also an Elder of the Church. This later  became known as the Junior Section of the Company when the Boys’ Brigade was reorganised in the mid 60’s.

The West Kirk also catered for the younger boys in the West Mains area when the Shipmates was started by Agnes Thomson and Ida Boyle in 1962 as  a feeder section for the Life Boys. This age group catered for boys of 6 to 7 years old and eventually was transformed in to the Anchor Boys.

The 5th East Kilbride Company was part of the East Kilbride Battalion  until 2006 when the Battalion was disbanded. All the companies in East Kilbride are now part of Glasgow Battalion, but retain their original  names and numbers within the Glasgow Battalion setup.