Battlefield East Church

Throughout a long and distinguished history the Company had almost always had a Company band of one type or another, ranging from bagpipes, bugles, brass to drum and bugle corps style. Even when we had our Drum & Bugle Corps, we retained a bugle band (B^b) for parades etc. consisting of nine, silver plated, B^b bugles, two snare drums and a bass drum. The nine Silver Bugles were donated by one of our ex-members to mark the centenary of the Boys Brigade movement in 1983.

Early in 1975 the Company Captain with the approval of the Company Staff decided to resurrect a band to give our immanent 75 year celebrations in November 1976 a major boost, this was achieved by, initially, purchasing several imported B^b bugles, a couple of snare drums and a bass drum. This venture was under the control of the newly appointed band officer a certain Barry Barr, whose name became well known in band circles and was synonymous with the 3^rd Glasgow.

The very first time this small band appeared in public was at our Annual Summer camp to Oban in 1975. Band work in the Company evolved from then on.

In 1976 we brought a new sound to Scotland when we re- equipped with E^b Soprano and Bass cavalry instruments and Bell Lyres. This was to be the forerunner of modern youth band work in the American idiom, which we embarked on in August/ September 1980; it was at this point we added a Colour Guard.

Throughout this period from 1975 to June 1994 band work in the company was a major activity although the Company Staff always made sure that it was a traditional BB Company first which had a good band as one of its many and varied activities.

Many people, members of staff and helpers assisted in all sorts of ways, too many to mention specifically, however, a major influence throughout the period 1975 to 1994 in band work in the Company, as well as other activities was Gordon Gillespie. Who incidentally was still on the company Staff until cessation on 31^st August 1997.

The years particularly from 1976 to 1994 were full of prestigious band events far too numerous to mention. Some major highlights were recorded as

March 1977: Our very first actual competition win at the Glasgow Battalion

                         indoor Bugle band contest.

April 1977: Our appearance in the first Boys Brigade National Band contest

                         at Stafford, we were placed 14t^h in the Contest class.

Our visits to the BB Nationals became an almost annual event, we missed only 1982, 83 and 1984 over the period from 1977 to 1994.

April 1978: We gained 1^st place in the Contest class

April 1979: After moving up to Championship class, we gained the runners

From 1985, when we gained the title Supreme Champions UK, we remained undefeated at the Boys Brigade National Band Championships right through to June 1994, on seven occasions as Supreme Champions UK. On the other occasions in a rebuilding situation we had two wins at contest class and one in novice class.

In 1989 we gave what was to be our last big band performance at BB nationals, there after we re-trenched with smaller numbers using B^b bugles. In June 1993 the supreme Champion tittle was again awarded to us, the first time ever this had been achieved with a B^b bugle band, a feat we were to repeat in 1994 which, sadly, was the last ever outing of the band of the 3^rd Glasgow.

Turning away from this purely BB competition, the 3^rd Glasgow participated in many events and won many competitions both in and out with the BB movement, appearing all over Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Jersey. One early highlight was a visit to the Royal Albert Hall in London on 24^th March 1979, where we gained 1^st place in the Enfield Band Competition (contest class).

On the 18^th December 1979 half of our band broke away and formed , what was to become the highly successful Glasgow Blue Barons. The other half remained as the 3^rd Glasgow. In January 1982 we registered as a member of DCUK.

Perhaps the pinnacle of band work in the 3^rd Glasgow in the period 1975 to 1994 was reached when we appeared in the National Finals of the British Youth Band Championships at Wembley Arena on the 9^th November 1987. We were acclaimed as British Youth Band Champions, the first and only time this tittle has been out of England. We almost repeated this success in 1988 but on count back were placed second behind the Bristol Unicorns. Our thirteen-minute "Swan Lake" programme was widely acclaimed.

27^th September 1986 saw our highest place achieved in DCUK finals, at the Hawthorns in West Bromwich, 7^th. At the BDCF finals, 1^st October1988, we came 2^nd, just behind Concorde. With the cessation of the 3^rd Glasgow on the 31^st August 1997, came the end of an era.

1988

Those of us involved in band work within the Company remember, with affection, all the hard work and dedication necessary to perform consistently at the highest level. The many friends made in the course of our travels in our attempts to portray the high ideals of The Boys Brigade movement.

Although no longer functioning, the 3^rd Glasgow still has an active ex-members association, which has been in continuous operation since 1934. Currently we have a mailing list of well over 100, however we are largely short of young men from the halcyon days of the 70's, 80's and 90's.