Sixty Years of GB! 

Back in 1954 in the village of Annalong by the sea
Annalong G.B. was formed and with it came lots of glee!
An eager group of girls met up in the Old Church Hall
And our Heavenly Father's presence was there in the midst of all!

Miss Chambers, (the first Captain), and loyal helpers too
Taught the girls Christian values through the badge work they would do,
The Old Church Hall was buzzing with activites, song and prayer,
And in the midst of everything - our God was there!

More faithful Captains followed - Elizabeth, Martha and Jean,
During their many years of service, God's blessing we have seen
Girls came faithfully every week and as the Company grew.....
At the end of every GB year - not one Display BUT TWO!

In 1996 came our impressive New Church Halls,
With so many rooms and so much space you felt a sense of awe,
Each GB section had lots of scope for activities anew,
"With God All Things Are Possible!" - isn't it so very true?

Our present Captain, June has served from 1991,
And in that time of leadership we've all had lots of fun!
And so to June, and her band of leaders, we thank God for all of you
And pray that you'll knkow His blessing in the important work you do.

Our Company has grown from strength to strength during those sixty years,
The oldest to the youngest girls come through the doors with cheers,
One hundred and thirty girls in all and many leaders too,
At the end of every G.B. night it feels like time flew!

It was sixty years ago when the Company began so small
That first met all those years ago up in the Old Church Hall,
It was then that the tiny seeds of faith and love were sown,
And since that, thanks to the grace of God - G.B. just keeps on growing!

By Mrs Alison McConnell

Annalong Girls' Brigade was founded in 1954 and accepted
by Head Quarters in 1955. Miss Violet Chambers (Mrs Dowie)
was the first Captain. Then Miss Elizabeth Gordon (Mrs Bell)
took over from her in 1959 followed by Mrs Martha Hanna in
1960. Martha served in the Company from the beginning and
after being appointed as Captain she held this position for
24 years. Miss Jean Agnew (Mrs Kernoghan) then took over
from Martha in 1984 and served for seven years.

The present Captain Mrs June Forsythe took over from Jean in
1991. Many officers and leaders have supprted the Captains
and served the Company faithfully throughout this time.

Down through the past 60 years, Annalong GB has always
thrived and currently has 130 girls and over 20 leaders. Girls'
ages range from 3 to 18 years. A varied programme is delivered
by the leaders under the headings: Spiritual, Service, Educational
and Physical. Using these headings to guide them in setting the
programme for the year helps them to fulfil the aim of the Girls'
Brigade "To help girls to become followers of the Lord Jesus Christ
and through self control, reverence and a sense of responsibility,
to find true enrichment of life".

Girls also enter District competitions for Unihoc, Duster Hockey
or Team Games etc., and on a number of occasions Annalong
has won; with an Explorer Team going on to win at Northern
Ireland in 2012. They have also won the District Scripture Shield
on at least 2 occasions.

For the first time ever, in 2010, one of our girls, Ruth White was
awarded the "Queen's Award". This is gained over a two year
period and involves Community Service, Company Service, two
Initiative Tests, an Exam paper on The Monarchy, Government,
GB International and GB Knowledge, a project of their choice, a
presentation and interview at GBHQ. We currently have five girls,
Lynn Campbell, Jemma Gordon, Anna Hill, Sarah Hill and Victoria
McConnell working towards this award, which is the highest
Award in Girls' Brigade.

In 1996 when the New Halls opened, our work was made easier
with so much space to enable us to divide the girls into smaller
groups. We often wonder how we ever managed in the Old Hall
with a group of girls in each corner of the Main Hall, a group or
maybe two in the Minor Hall and one in the kitchen! Those were
the days............Who can remember in the 1960's sitting in the
Old Church Hall huddled around an old stove (which didn't always
light!) knitting or making lampshades?