The Battalion Secretary has advised the following times for picking up boys and officers for the Battalion Parade on Sunday, 24th March.
It is presumed that the pick ups will be in the normal places in the towns/villages mentioned
ONE WEEK TO GO! – DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARDONE WEEK TO GO! – DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD
The DofE classes for those who are signed up for Bronze and Silver DofE Awards will begin on Monday 25th March at Strichen Parish Church.
The DofE Advisor asks that parents attend this first evening to allow him to explain what will be required for the course and expedition.
After this initial week, there will be a break for the holidays before the 9 week course resumes after Easter.
BUILDING YOUR SKILLS – LEWISBUILDING YOUR SKILLS – LEWIS
Well done to Lewis from the 1st Fraserburgh who has completed his Building Your Skills Course online.
His certificate was presented to him by his Company Captain, Duncan Leel.
Completing BYS means that Lewis has taken a big step towards his President’s Badge, the second highest award in the BB.
Well done Lewis!
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!
HENRY DUTHIE MBE – MEMORIAL SHIELDHENRY DUTHIE MBE – MEMORIAL SHIELD
This morning the Battalion’s Anchors Chair received the Henry Duthie MBE Memorial Shield ready to be presented to its inaugural winners!
The Shield, donated by 4th Fraserburgh in honour of their late former Captain, will be the Championship Shield for the Anchors Competitions.
It has been wonderful to see the number of Anchors competitions increase in the last couple of years and it is great to see a Battalion award in honour of Henry!
We look forward to seeing its first presentation!
140 SLEEPOVER140 SLEEPOVER
Last night the 1st Fraserburgh, 4th Fraserburgh and 1st Rosehearty Juniors came together to celebrate #BB140 with their 140 Sleepover!
As you can see it was a busy night with three teams of Boys taking part in three stations! First it was team games in the hall; then pancake making with Mrs Duthie and Mrs Bruce in the Kitchen; and the assault course run by the 1st Fraserburgh Seniors.
Thanks to Mrs Leel who donated medals for the assault course competition with every members getting either a gold, silver or bronze depending on their teams performance.
It was a late supper of Pizza before bed, the idea being the Boys would fall asleep watching a movie! Nearly worked, but all quiet by 1.45am!
After breakfast this morning all Boys were presented with their 140 Sleepover Badge! Well done all for taking part!
Thanks to the 1st Fraserburgh for hosting at the OPC Centre Halls and thanks to the Leaders and young men for giving their time to ensure it could happen!
SYD NEWLANDS TROPHY – 4th FRASERBURGHSYD NEWLANDS TROPHY – 4th FRASERBURGH
Well done to the the 4th Fraserburgh Juniors who have retained the Syd Newlands Trophy – the Battalion Championship award for Juniors!
This means they scored the most points combined from across the Battalion competitions which this year included football, chess & draughts, unihoc, and the Quiz.
Final Scores were:
1st Place: 4th Fraserburgh – 12 Points
2nd Place: 1st Rosehearty – 9 Points
3rd Place: 1st New Pitsligo – 2 Points
3rd = : 1st Fraserburgh – 2 Points
3rd = : 1st Strichen – 2 points
6th Place: 1st Sandhaven – 1 Point
7th Place: All other Companies – 0 Points.
Well done to all for taking part and well done to 4th Fraserburgh for retaining the championship trophy!
CONGRATULATIONS! – QUEEN’S MENCONGRATULATIONS! – QUEEN’S MEN
Congratulations to Bailey Lynch (4th Peterhead), Jon Anderson (1st Fraserburgh) and Brody Tocher (1st Fraserburgh) who have successfully completed their Queen’s Badge work!
The three attended the North Scottish Area’s Completion course at Kincraig this week. Well done to all three for the high standard of work they put in to achieve the award.
We will look forward to seeing them received their badges at presentation nights in the very near future!
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.
