10 CELEBRATION Girls’ Brigade mark 125 years of service
Birthday party fun
Around 200 East Kilbride Girls’ Bridgaders came together on Saturday to mark the uniformed youth organisation’s 125th birthday.
And the five companies across the town showed the movement was as strong and as relevant today as it was more than a century agao with the girls banding together to celebrate the milestone with fun-filled parties at Calderwood’s Moncreiff Parish Church.
The Brigader section, which traditionally welcomes secondary school girls, enjoyed a neon party in the evening with a clubbercise session, neon make-up and brightly coloured mocktails.
Meanwhile, the primary schoolage girls enjoyed games, party food, balloons and birthday cake throughout the day.
The history of the organisation was celebrated but they continue to look to the future by recruiting girls and officers alike throughout the town.
The first Girls’ Brigade company arrived in East Kilbride in 1967 at the West Kirk in the Village – and the newest company was the 7th East Kilbride Girls’ Brigade at Mossneuk Parish Church, which opened its doors 25 years ago.
Suzanne Bennie from the East Kilbride district of Girls’ Brigade said: “It’s great to be able to celebrate 125 years of the Girls’ Brigade on such a grand scale and have the girls of all five companies come together to understand they are a part of something much bigger than just their weekly company nights.
“Girls’ Brigade continues to be incredibly popular and has stood the test of time, evolving over the last 125 years to be as relevant and beneficial to young girls as it was when it was first established.
“We continue to work hard to keep it thriving and maintain its legacy in East Kilbride.”
Look out for more pictures in next week’s News. 125 not out