A social
history of the BB in Glasgow photos and memories preserved on
GlescaPals for future generations. www.glesga.ukpals.com
John N Cooper BB
Officer.......I
first met John in the late 1970s when he was
involved in Boys' Brigade Bands at
Glasgow Battalion level. He was in charge of
the Glasgow Battalion Brass Band and the
Bandmaster of the 32nd BB Company Brass
Band. At our first meeting his love for
the BB and his love of music was very evident.
BB bands are and were very difficult to
maintain, for the simple reason that Boys
grow-up, leave the company, putting the band
back to basics as you continually strive to
bring new boys through to keep the band
'alive'.
My BB company ( 219th
Glasgow ) was working very hard to keep
our flute band 'on the road' and John was a
great inspiration to me by encouraging me to
bring my Boys along to various local and
Battalion events. This stimulated great
interest with the Boys and from 1978 to
1983 my band was ever present with The
Glasgow Battalion Brass Band...and John
.
"Mr.Anderston" John N Cooper, Oct.2005.
photograph by webmaister
I have thanked him for all his help in those
days,
he really was and is a wonderful
Glaswegian.
Now through GlescaPals we have been
reunited
and I am delighted to have the opportunity to
tell the
world about this book/CD he has written.
Anyone who was a member or friend of a
Boys' Brigade Company will love his
book/CD,
the full history is chronicled from 1883 and
the life
and workings of the movement is seen through
the
activities and photographs of the
Glasgow Anderston BB companies. .......
Webmaister.
All
Part of the Story A CONCISE HISTORY of
THE BOYS’ BRIGADE
in the ANDERSTON DISTRICT of GLASGOW by John N Cooper
Photograph
-Sergeants
of the 32nd
Glasgow taken
- 1892
Numerous histories have
been written recounting the story of The Boys’
Brigade (BB), indeed a number of BB Companies
have produced localised versions of their own
history. To date, no attempt has been made to
record the collective presence and work of the
various BB Companies who were active in the Anderston
area of Glasgow . With the
invaluable collaboration of Jim MacKenzie,
current Captain of the 231st
Glasgow Company (a former Anderston Company),
and contributions from a number of other ‘BB
people’, I am taking this opportunity to bring
together our collective knowledge of The Boys’
Brigade in the area in which we grew up -
Anderston.
Wherever friends gather, thoughts and
conversation often turn to the ‘old days’. Few
take time to consider that unless such
reminiscences are recorded, they simply
disappear. The very mention of the BB will
invoke memories of time spent in the
Organisation among every ex-member, who will
have recollections particular to specific
interests be it, Football, Camp, Band etc..
Thinking back to the days of our lost
youth is what makes memories, or nostalgia, so
potent. Those days cannot be brought back,
but memories can be revisited. That is
partly the reason why this history has been
written but, perhaps more importantly, it is
an account that will be available to future
generations. This record of the BB in
Anderston will provide not only documentary
evidence, but will offer insight into how the
Organisation worked and what it meant to be a
member.
Every BB Company had to have a Church
connection and, whilst the future of the BB in
Anderston today may be somewhat uncertain,
what is not in doubt is the tremendous
influence the Organisation has had on
thousands of youngsters who passed through the
ranks over the years. It is well nigh
impossible to fully measure the impact The
Boys’ Brigade had on the youth of Anderston;
suffice to say the Organisation offered
thousands of young lads direction and a
positive outlet for theirs energies. The BB
was an important part of growing up for many
Boys and, through membership of the
Organisation, countless lifelong friendships
were established. The opportunity for Boys to
develop and express hidden untapped skill was
encouraged by their Officers, every one of
whom was an un-paid volunteer. The positive
influence of the Officers and Leaders, who
often became role-models to the Boys, is
incalculable.
This history is dedicated to the thousands of
Officers, Instructors and supporters who
devoted their time, skills, energies and
resources to the work of the Boys’ Brigade.
Whilst this history is primarily focused on
the Anderston district of Glasgow, many of the
reminiscences will no doubt be applicable
wherever in the world the BB had a presence
for they, too are “All
Part of the Story”.John N.
Cooper,Glasgow,
October 2004.
.
.All part of the Story
is available in book & CD
format and can be seen at the Mitchell
library.
...
.... I met
John in July 2022 ....
In August 2021 he redrafted
a strictly limited edition
of the original version of
'All Part of the Story"
It is with very sad hearts we let
you know that John Cooper our
archivist and Link editor passed away on Sunday
19 February 2023 after a long and
courageous battle against pancreatic cancer.
John had a long
association within Glasgow Battalion serving on
Band & Drill Committees as well as being a
member of the Battalion Executive.
As a Boy he started in the Life Boys of the 32nd
Glasgow, moving on to the Company Section where
he stayed until 1963. Church unions in the
Anderston area resulted in John serving as an
officer with the 17th Glasgow (an amalgamation
of the 17th and 32nd), the 41st Glasgow (who
then merged with the 17th and 227th) before
another number change resulted in him being back
with the 32nd!
John's contribution to the work of Glasgow
Battalion and the Glasgow Stedfast
Association is unprecedented within the BB
movement. He had amassed the most amazing
archive covering brass band work, camping
exploits, uniforms, badges, programmes of
major BB events and literature over a period
of some 45 years. His activities were not
confined to Glasgow but were world wide with
very strong links in Australia and New
Zealand and in particular with Keith Young
in Brisbane with whom he had a close working
BB connection.
The number of booklets and leaflets he has
written on the history of the Founder and of the
development of the BB since its birth in 1883
was very important to John who was keen that the
present generation of BB Boys knew and
understood what previous generations had done to
promote the Object of the BB and the ideals of
our Founder. They had to understand what the
very first uniformed youth organisation had done
for Glasgow, the UK and World Wide during the
140 years of our existence and to thank previous
generations of men and women who had carried Sir
William Smith's vision forward to successive
generations of Boys (and now Girls).
He had a long history with music and assisted
with the formation of a number of Company and
Battalion Bands, taking part in local events at
the Kelvin Hall, performing during the Brigade
Centenary and regularly taking part in Scottish
Band Concerts as well as parades at Edinburgh
Castle Esplanade and Royal Mile.
Most
notable among John's achievements was his
leadership in promoting Brass Band work within
Glasgow Battalion as leader and conductor of the
Central Band and his meticulous organising
skills brought to bear with the Scottish Bands
Committee who owe him a great debt of gratitude
for all his hard work.
For John all pain
and suffering is now over as he is at rest with
his Lord and Master. To Heather his wife, his
daughters and grandchildren we offer our deepest
sympathy at their loss and assure them they are
in our thoughts and prayers, as we give thanks
for all that John did during his very full life
and his commitment to The Boys' Brigade.
Funeral will be held at
11:00am on Friday 10th March, 2023 at the
History
of the Boys' Brigade in
Anderston
