Category: General News

THE PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2023-24THE PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2023-24

Another busy year has passed by and once again we have had many notable highlights, a few of which I would like to look back on.

On 23rd April, the Boys’ Brigade had the largest attendance at the raising of the new Aberdeenshire flag in Fraserburgh. Despite the weather, it was great to see the BB colours lined up along with BB members of all ages. It was also great to see members and leaders from the Battalion volunteering at another community event; the Blue Light Festival in Fraserburgh. Being present at events like this help to raise our profile and are potential fundraisers, which we will rely on more, going forward.

In June, we held our first ever Queen’s Badge and President’s Badge Awards Event. This was hosted by 1st Fraserburgh Boys Brigade and was an excellent evening bringing all Companies in the Battalion together to celebrate the hard work and dedication of our young people who achieved higher awards within the BB. The Andrew West Memorial Trophy, for the Queen’s Man who goes above and beyond, was awarded for the first time to Andrew Strachan – well done Andrew!

In addition to these awards, a member of the Battalion – Noah Duncan (1st Rosehearty Boys’ Brigade) also received the President’s Commendation for his quick thinking and actions which helped to save his mother’s life when she fell unwell at home. Well done Noah!

On 2nd September, I was delighted to attend the Braemar Gathering, along with several leaders and members from Buchan. The day was extra special with the 140 Baton being handed over by H.M. The King. Three young members from our Battalion got to meet The King & Queen, a moment I’m sure they’ll never forget.

Buchan’s Baton – now called the #140Baton or King’s Baton – has been touring the NSA as part of our 140 celebrations. The Baton arrived in Buchan in November and stayed with us until January. During that time, it was great to see all the locations the baton travelled to and all the people who got to hold the baton and hear the messages from The King and NSA President. I must thank all leaders for their very imaginative ideas for getting the baton to as many places and into as many hands as possible while it was in our Battalion.

Companies in Buchan have also attended a number of 140 events and competitions. Well done to the team from 1st Rosehearty who won the Monopoly Challenge in Aberdeen. Well done also to all Companies who took part in the Juniors Sleepover. It looked like everyone had a great time, although I’m not sure how much sleep was involved!

Along with the conference in Inverness, the North Scottish Area Boys’ Brigade held four Executive Meetings. A lot of work went into celebrating our 140th Anniversary. It’s great to see the North Scottish putting so much effort into events like this. Buchan Battalion was well represented at the NSA Conference in Inverness at the beginning of October. The activities, presentation, Civic Reception & service along with the company were all excellent. We look forward to this year’s NSA Conference in Lossiemouth on the 4th-6th October.

In November, it was great to see such a large turnout once again from the Boys’ Brigade at the Remembrance Parade in Fraserburgh.

I attended 1st Rosehearty Parent’s Evening on the occasion of their centenary and was delighted to meet the Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire, Sandy Manson, who was the Inspecting Officer. My congratulations once again to 1st Rosehearty on reaching their Centenary.

I attended a service in Peterhead to celebrate the 65th Anniversary of 4th Peterhead. It was great to hear from former members and how much the BB had impacted positively on their lives. My congratulations once again to 4th Peterhead on reaching this milestone. In a year of anniversaries, I also congratulate 1st New Pitsligo Boys Brigade – Public page on reaching 75 years and 5th Fraserburgh on reaching 70 years. Both great achievements.

Well done to Martin Dunbar who was invited to attend the House of Commons to help celebrate the Boys’ Brigade’s 140th Anniversary. A great experience I’m sure for Martin!

We were all saddened to hear of the passing of our long-standing Honorary Vice-President, Tommy Whyte, in December at the age of 89. Tommy gave so much of his life to the Boys’ Brigade in Fraserburgh and Buchan and we thank his family for their kind donation to the Battalion from Tommy’s funeral.

I once again send my congratulations to Life Member and Honorary President, Jimmy Muirhead and his wife Patty on their Diamond Wedding Anniversary.

I was delighted to attend a Burns Supper at 1st Strichen which was an event for the whole Company. It was great for everyone to hear the pipes and drums, listen to the Address to a Haggis and then enjoy an excellent Burns meal, prepared by the leaders from 1st Strichen. I was also very pleased to present 2 President’s Badges that evening. My thanks to Stevie Wilson for inviting me to this event.

On the 24th of March, the Battalion Parade was held in St. Combs, with the Service held in Lonmay Kirk. I was delighted with the large turnout and to see lots of spectators line the streets to see the BB march through St. Combs. My thanks to the flute band for leading the parade and to our Chaplain, Rev Colin Strong, for conducting an excellent service.

My congratulations to Kyle Strachan for completing his DofE Silver award and to Ruary McDonald for completing his DofE Gold award, both a brilliant achievement. Well done also to Marcus Stuart who completed the Gold hike and will complete the award soon. Thanks to Stevie Wilson and all leaders who assist with the preparation, training and assessing.

Congratulations to the 3 young men who have achieved the highest award in the BB this session. Their hard work and dedication have paid off and I have been interested to learn of all the volunteering and skills they have been working on over the last 2 years. Thanks to Michael Strachan, Queen’s Badge Advisor, for ensuring the Battalion’s QB record books are being kept to a high standard. Our newest Queen’s Men include: Bailey Lynch (4th Peterhead), Jon Anderson (1st Fraserburgh) & Brody Tocher (1st Fraserburgh).

Well done to 1st Rosehearty and 1st Fraserburgh for taking part in the Escape Room Challenge, achieving 2nd, 3rd, 9th & 10th for the whole of the UK is a great achievement.Unfortunately, the Scottish Cross Country Championships were cancelled this year, but it was great to see we had 10 members who had entered and were ready to take part. It is very encouraging to see members of our Battalion taking part in nationwide events.

I am delighted that Michael Strachan has been appointed as the Rep for North Scottish Area on the Scotland Committee. I’m sure Michael will do a great job – well done and congratulations!

I was thrilled to present long service awards to 3 stalwarts within Buchan. Captain Sandy Gavryluk of 1st St Combs Boys Brigade received his Bronze award, Captain Andrew McLeman of 1st Sandhaven received his Silver award and Captain Elaine Michie of 1st New Pitsligo received her Gold award. They all put a huge amount of work into their Companies and thoroughly deserve their awards – well done all!

I wish Kenny a happy retirement and thank him for his 14 year’s service as a leader with the 4th Fraserburgh Anchors – well done!

In ending my report, I would like to thank all who have advised and supported me over the last year and to all for the huge amount of hard work you put into our Battalion. I would particularly like to thank our Battalion Secretary, Yvonne Duthie, for the great amount of time and work she puts into the Battalion. Yvonne has now been Secretary for 11 consecutive years, a record!

Marc Thomson

President

Boys’ Brigade Buchan Battalion

SCOTLAND COMMITTEE NOMINATIONSCOTLAND COMMITTEE NOMINATION

This morning the President of the Buchan Battalion submitted the relevant paperwork to nominate Michael Strachan to be the North Scottish Rep on the Scotland Committee.

The nomination was supported by the Captains of 1st Fraserburgh, 4th & 5th Fraserburgh Boys’ Brigade, 1st New Pitsligo, 4th Peterhead and 1st Strichen as well as endorsed by the Battalion Secretary.

With some reluctance the nomination has been accepted by the candidate. If another candidate is nominated an election will be held.

Michael Strachan has served as the Captain of the 1st Rosehearty Company for the past 5 years and is King’s Badge Advisor, Junior Section Chairman and a past President of the Buchan Battalion. He also currently sits as Vice-President of the North Scottish Area, having served the NSA Committee for much of the past decade.

We send our best wishes with this nomination!

NEW YEAR MESSAGENEW YEAR MESSAGE

Dear All,

As we approach the end of 2023, we can reflect and look back with great pride.

During the year, we have witnessed our Battalion and Companies continue to return to something approaching normal as the effort to rebuild after Covid continues.

Much hard work has taken place by our dedicated leaders and helpers to ensure that our Companies enjoy a varied program of activities.

Battalion competitions continue to thrive with more Anchor competitions taking place, which is very encouraging to see. Several Leaders from Buchan met with friends from other Battalions at the annual NSA Conference in Inverness which was an enjoyable weekend for all.

We were saddened by the loss of long time Hon. Vice-President Tommy Whyte who dedicated much of his life to the 5th Fraserburgh and Buchan Battalion.

I was delighted to present Hon. President & Life Member, Jimmy Muirhead and his wife, Patty, with a card and flowers from the Battalion to mark the occasion of their Diamond Wedding Anniversary.

At this time, I would also like to congratulate all our young people who achieved their Duke of Edinburgh, President’s or Queen’s Badge this year. Hard work and commitment is required in order to attain them all, and so you should be very proud of your achievements!

To celebrate the 140th anniversary of the Brigade, the NSA Baton Relay has been underway since it was presented by HM the King to a member from Buchan Battalion at Braemar on 2nd September. Another 2 members from Buchan met The King & Queen that day and I’m sure it will be an experience the 3 of them will never forget.

The Baton has already passed through countless hands, and the letters from The King and NSA President, which are contained within the Baton, have been read at some very interesting landmarks. This will continue, as it makes its way through Buchan and then onto Banffshire, Moray, Highland, Orkney and then back to Aberdeen & District.

The Baton has reminded me of how the BB in Buchan is like a family and I hope all are able to spend as much time with family & friends during this festive break.

May you all have a very happy, healthy and prosperous 2024.

MARC THOMSON

PRESIDENT

DIAMOND WEDDINGDIAMOND WEDDING

All in the Buchan Battalion send our best wishes to Mr and Mrs Muirhead on the occasion of their Diamond Wedding anniversary!

Jimmy and Patty received a card and flowers from the Battalion to mark this very special anniversary.

This afternoon the Diamond Couple were also paid a visit by The Honorable Kate Nicolson, Deputy Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire, and Cllr Ann Bell of Aberdeenshire Council as well as Battalion President Marc Thomson. Among cards sent from many well-wishers was a very special one from Their Majesties The King and Queen.

As is known Jimmy is the Honorary President of Buchan Battalion who received his MBE for services to the BB in 2017. Meanwhile Patty was a founding Officer of the 2nd Fraserburgh Girls’ Brigade who served for over 30 years. The youth of Fraserburgh owes them a great debt for their time and talent.

All in the Battalion sent their hearty congratulations to Jimmy and Patty.

MINIBUS FUNDRAISER!MINIBUS FUNDRAISER!

MINIBUS FUNDRAISER!

The Battalion is running a Lucky Squares Fundraiser to help towards the costs of our minibus!

Each square is £2 with random numbers given. To get your squares you can buy them via PayPal on the link:

https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8ZGvcuetSW

The prize is a Scentsy Little Garden Warmer & 3 wax bars.

The minibus has proven to be a fantastic resource for our Battalion! Help us by helping to support it!

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY – FRASERBURGH DISTRICTREMEMBRANCE SUNDAY – FRASERBURGH DISTRICT

Companies in the old Fraserburgh District of the Buchan Battalion are invited to attend the Fraserburgh Remembrance Sunday Parade and Church Service.

This will take place on Sunday, 12th November. Boys and Girls should meet at the Fraserburgh Royal British Legion (Hanover Street) for 10am, the parade leaving at 10.15am for the Old Parish Church.

The service is expected to take about an hour (10.55am-12pm), after which the parade will march to the war memorial for a wreath laying ceremony. After this the parade will then return to the Legion building for approximately 12.45pm.

The Companies of the old Fraserburgh District include 1st, 4th, 5th Fraserburgh, 1st Sandhaven and 1st Rosehearty. Companies are parading under Battalion colours.

We look forward to seeing you on the 12th November.

Companies who normally attend commemorations at their own villages are encouraged to do so again this year, if commemorations are proceeding.