Spondon Girls' Brigade is among the oldest in Derbyshire and is celebrating its 90th birthday. Kelly Tyler reports.
IT was once feared that Spondon Girls' Brigade may have to call it a day due to a shortage of numbers.
But team leaders battled to save it and the company is now celebrating its 90th birthday.
The group, which meets at Spondon Methodist Church, in Lodge Lane, is the oldest company in the Derby and Dales District.
And the brigade held a party to celebrate on Saturday.
Pam Wood, who has been captain of the 1st Spondon Girls' Brigade for the past six years, said the celebrations were well attended.
The 45-year-old, of Chaddesden, said: "It's nice to feel that we are a small part of history.
"I started here when I was a girl and I can remember the brigade's 70th and 80th birthdays.
"It's not been easy. There was a time when numbers were as low as five, but we've kept going.
"We've picked up and we now have 11 girls. We've had a fresh start. We've never given up.
"We wanted to carry on and that's what we've done. Now let's hope we're still running for the centenary."
Pam's daughters, Emily, six, and Lucy, 10, are also members.
Her 15-year-old son, Chris, is a member of the Boys' Brigade, in Chaddesden.
At Saturday's celebrations, the youngsters performed a re-enactment, called Great Beginnings.
The show was about how the Girls' Brigade first came to Derbyshire in 1912.
The first Derby group was based at the United Reform Church, in Becketwell Lane.
Members performed a display of songs and dances from over the decades.
Jiving to Rock Around the Clock, from the 1950s, and singing along to The Beatles' Penny Lane, from the 1960s, were among the highlights.
There were also displays of old photographs and uniforms.
Video footage of when the brigade performed at the Assembly Rooms in 1982 was also shown.
Joy Tomlinson, who has been an officer with the brigade for 40 years, received an award at the church yesterday for her long service.
The other two leaders at Spondon are also celebrating anniversaries.
Pam is marking two decades with the brigade and Selina Halam-Eliott 10 years.
Joy said: "When I was a girl in the brigade, we used to have so much fun.
"I cannot remember what age I started but I must have been about eight or nine.
"I used to go the church's Sunday school and that's how I became involved.
"The brigade is more relaxed nowadays.
"We used to have to get our badges – spiritual, physical, educational and service – within about six weeks. Now it's not as intense.
She said one of her favourite memories was going on camp holidays.
"We used to have company holidays with the rest of the district, including groups from Chaddesden, Weston-on-Trent and Spondon," she remarked.
"We used to go to Weymouth, Sherringham and Matlock.
"I also remember one of the leaders, Miss Coxon, who would always come with her register and her books in this suitcase."
She pointed at the case. "It must be about 40 years old."
Former brigade member Christine Cameron was also at the event. She joined the Girls' Brigade in 1945 and was a member until 1958.
She said: "One of my favourite memories was going to the Royal Albert Hall and seeing the rally with all the other groups.
"Everywhere you walked, there were girls in their uniforms.
"The uniforms have definitely changed over the years. We used to have to wear black stockings and I hated it!"
Charlianne Sutcliffe, 10, one of the current members, said of the weekly meetings: "It's like a big girls' night out.
"Everyone is so much fun and we all bond like a family.
"We practised about six weeks for the performance. It was really good. I was a bit nervous, though."
And Rosie Bell, nine, said her favourite bit about the Girls' Brigade was "making new friends".
The group meets each Thursday in term time at Spondon Methodist Church, from 6.30pm to 8pm.
