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Celebrating 123 years of Brigade
A SOCIAL group for boys which is one of the oldest in its movement is celebrating its 123rd anniversary.
The 1st Hartlepool Boys' Brigade was founded in 1887 and is one of the oldest branches of the organisation in the country.
The town branch was established just four years after Sir William Alexander Smith set up the first group in Glasgow.
Bertie Morison, who had the Headlan landmark Morison Hall named after him, was the first captain of the 1st Hartlepool Boys' Brigade.
The group initially met at the bandstand on the Friarage field before moving to Lisle's Mill, in High Street.
Then it set up home in Morison Hall before it was commissioned as an Army billet during World War Two.
The group moved to Carlton Terrace before returning to Morison Hall, then St Hilda's Church.
Its base is now the Borough Hall, where the group has been meeting for around nine years.
John Cambridge, warrant officer, has been involved with the brigade for 30 years.
He said: "I only went to help out all those years ago and I am still involved.
"It feels like I have been a part of it since it was set up more than 100 years ago!
"I couldn't get in as a lad because there was a waiting list.
"There have been lots of highlights over the years and I know the group received a visit from the Prince of Wales, who went on to become King George V, in 1932.
"We still camp at Castle Howard, in North Yorkshire, which we have been doing since 1891."
Mr Cambridge said lots of "well-rounded" town figures had been members of the 1st Hartlepool Boys' Brigade, including Air Commander Fred Jacques, who was also the first mayor of the borough when West Hartlepool and Hartlepool were amalgamated.
"We have had a lot of noted people through the doors," he added.
"We must have had over a million lads here over the years."
Two years ago, members of the brigade, which has 40 members aged between five and 18, travelled to Glasgow to help celebrate the national movement's 125th anniversary celebrations.
John's daughter, Penny Lowther, recently stepped down as captain of the brigade and was succeeded earlier this month by Mark Craggs.
Mr Craggs is only the seventh captain in the group's history.
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Weather for Hartlepool
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North east
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Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
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