Charles Bannerman

Part of it was probably the institutionalised drill and the military system of ranks added to the fact that up until that time and a little later many of the officers would have played their part in the downfalls of Kaiser Bill and Adolf Hitler. I used to get pretty pissed off with the bullshit of having to polish my belt, Brasso the buckle and whiten the two bits of braid round my pillbox. Just an afterthought... but if someone told me that IHE WASN'T in the Boys' Brigade, I would tend to believe them!!

You are correct!!!

As it happens I sort of came from a BB family since my dad was captain of the 1st Company. I had somewhat mixed feelings about the organisation because while I did get a great deal out of it, I was deeply sceptical, even in the 60s, about performing - and getting exams on for the Queens Badge - 19th century army drill exercises whilst dressed in 19th century army uniform. On the other hand I was pretty involved in the BB in the late 60s/early 70s and still hear bits and pieces about what has been an organisation in decline for some time now. I do know that in Inverness, at least the 1st St Columba, 7th Queen Street, 8th West and 11th Merkinch Companies have not existed for several years and none of these churches exists as such any more. The former West Church has not been demolished by the way - it has been converted into flats. The other companies in Inverness were the 2nd Ness Bank, 3rd Crown, 4th Old High, 5th East Church, 6th as already discussed, 9th Hilton, 10th Methodist and 12th Dalneigh. I think there may also still be be a 1st Culloden company attached to the Barn Church. I believe that most, if not all of these still exist. Certainly that BB legend Peter Home has been captain of the 4th since way back in 1968. Former Caley legend, the late Rodwill Clyne was captain of the 9th for a time as well while John Beaton started as a boy (sorry... Boy - they used to be quite fussy about the capital letter!) in the 12th before joining Jackie Sutherland in the 7th, then the 10th. It's strange that in Scotland BB companies, which have to be associated with a church, tend to be attached to Churches of Scotland. The only exception in Inverness was the 10th. In contrast the Cathedral used to have a Boy Scout troop. I used to reckon that one of the problems with the BB was that they used to think they were still guarding the Empire.... while the Scouts used to think they were still ruling it! CB you got that last sentence all wrong, the BB was about health, fitness, discipline and living and an honest and fair life. I too came through the ranks and being in your era Jock, I remember the drill hall marching competitions and the PE competitions. and yes there was one year you pipped us in both of these but we held our own with the best. I also coached a PE team to win a competition, strangely I got a bigger thrill bein g in a winning team than coaching one. I think it was the 7th Coy that were our main rivals in my days. Bill and Herb MacDonald were the two stalwart officers of the time and I remember the fun we had sitting in the back of one of Bill's lorries on our journeys to Carrbridge to camp and the runs up to Loch Morlich for our treks in the Cairngorms. "The advancement of Christ's Kingdom among boys and the promotion of habits of obedience, reverence, discipline and self respect and all that tends towards a true Christian manliness." Honest... I didn't have to google that BB motto because it was drummed into us verbatim year after year! Yes indeed BM, I do agree with what you said on what the BB was about, but there was also this possibly rather unfortunate militaristic aspect to it - well back in the 60s and I suspect before that there was. Part of it was probably the institutionalised drill and the military system of ranks added to the fact that up until that time and a little later many of the officers would have played their part in the downfalls of Kaiser Bill and Adolf Hitler. I used to get pretty pissed off with the bullshit of having to polish my belt, Brasso the buckle and whiten the two bits of braid round my pillbox. On the other hand the Scouts used to have all these District Commissioners and Area Commissioners supervising camps in remote places and all of that was rather reminiscent of ruling the Raj and the Empire. I think it would also be fair to suggest that the Scouts were rather more middle class than the BB. In replying to an earlier post about the 8th Company, I forgot to mention Bill MacDonald who was an absolute stalwart there. Bill was a great bloke who, quite late in life, married a lady who was happy to accept that the third party in that relationship was the BB! I do believe that Herb MacDonald was Captain of the 7th Company before Jackie Sutherland took it over?

Yes, the 1st Company was always associated with the St Columba High church, or its predecessor establishments and the Boys' Brigade company met in the Dr Black Hall just along Bank St from the church. The premises you are thinking about on Hamilton St appear to be Washington Court which was the HQ of the Inverness Battalion and it was from its upstairs hall that church parades etc got under way. I don't know if anyone remembers the late Lamont Graham who was known as "Scoobies" for reasons too complicated to relate and was also Billy Urquhart's father in law? Scoobies was captain of the 5th Company (of which Billy was also a member) as well as Battalion adjutant. As such it was his job to get everyone into line in Washington Court for a church parade. If there was undue unrest in the ranks, Scoobies would quell it with a wonderful turn of phrase - "Stop gu'ureen" (Which, for the benefit of those not familiar with the Invernessian glottal stop, translates as "guttering")

1972. Can anyone name the film that was showing at the time?

Disagree. I saw him in the Union Square Nando's along with Hayes and Rooney setting fire to an ICT scarf. So it was YOU who also saw Butcher, Malpas and Marsela in the Heathmount on their way to Dingwall to accept the County job back in September?

I didn't know Norman was an 8th BB boy. Gordie was 8th company through and through and went on from being an NCO to become a young officer. On the way to camp at Carrbridge there would frequently be outbursts of chanting in his honour - "Gordy Bus cha-cha, Gordy Bus cha-cha....." Neither of them with us any more and both sorely missed from the Caley Club among other places.

Unlike the Board of Directors, you are obviously fortunate enough to know how a club with a £3 million turnover and a bedrock 3000 fanbase can hold on to such players by outbidding competitors who at least double or triple both these numbers. What do you want to do first? Email the Chairman with this magical secret, or tell your fellow posters on here? Presumably you have decided to email your secret to Kenny Cameron first FJ, hence the delay on here. We are all waiting with bated breath to find out how a club retains potentially high earning players within the scenario described.

So are you Spartacus as well? I think the Tourist Board was in there before the pet shop. That photo kind of looks a bit 1950s. I don't remember the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home though.

Jock - as it happens a couple of months ago Peter gave me one of the volumes of "The Famous Fourth", his history of the company and a fair bit of what you are saying there is referred to. It may indeed be RodwEll. I stnad to be corrected on that one.

Unlike the Board of Directors, you are obviously fortunate enough to know how a club with a £3 million turnover and a bedrock 3000 fanbase can hold on to such players by outbidding competitors who at least double or triple both these numbers. What do you want to do first? Email the Chairman with this magical secret, or tell your fellow posters on here?

As it happens I sort of came from a BB family since my dad was captain of the 1st Company. I had somewhat mixed feelings about the organisation because while I did get a great deal out of it, I was deeply sceptical, even in the 60s, about performing - and getting exams on for the Queens Badge - 19th century army drill exercises whilst dressed in 19th century army uniform. On the other hand I was pretty involved in the BB in the late 60s/early 70s and still hear bits and pieces about what has been an organisation in decline for some time now. I do know that in Inverness, at least the 1st St Columba, 7th Queen Street, 8th West and 11th Merkinch Companies have not existed for several years and none of these churches exists as such any more. The former West Church has not been demolished by the way - it has been converted into flats. The other companies in Inverness were the 2nd Ness Bank, 3rd Crown, 4th Old High, 5th East Church, 6th as already discussed, 9th Hilton, 10th Methodist and 12th Dalneigh. I think there may also still be be a 1st Culloden company attached to the Barn Church. I believe that most, if not all of these still exist. Certainly that BB legend Peter Home has been captain of the 4th since way back in 1968. Former Caley legend, the late Rodwill Clyne was captain of the 9th for a time as well while John Beaton started as a boy (sorry... Boy - they used to be quite fussy about the capital letter!) in the 12th before joining Jackie Sutherland in the 7th, then the 10th. It's strange that in Scotland BB companies, which have to be associated with a church, tend to be attached to Churches of Scotland. The only exception in Inverness was the 10th. In contrast the Cathedral used to have a Boy Scout troop. I used to reckon that one of the problems with the BB was that they used to think they were still guarding the Empire.... while the Scouts used to think they were still ruling it!

Yes there's a strong link with the Holy Trinity, but also with the fact that historically there were three congregations. http://trinityinverness.org.uk/about/ In terms of BBs, the 11th was quite a short lived company from the "Mission" down in Thornbush Road and I think it had effectively been absorbed by the 6th before that then merged with the 7th to form the 6th/7th which hence catered for the BB interests of all three original congragations. However the real driving force behind the 7th, Jackie Sutherland, moved on to the 10th company which in effect became the "new" 7th in that this was now the company which attracted all the promising young footballers in particular.

There is a document which appeared about 20 years ago on a variety of Merkinch topics. "For The Right Reasons", the Merkinch community charity, were interested in trying to publish it and gave me a copy a couple of years ago in the hope that I might be able to knock it into a format that could be published. However I'm afraid the required surgery would have been so fundamental that I felt that it wasn't practicable for me to do anything with it. Jock, for an exile you are fairly well up to date on your Inverness church names since Trinity is a relative newcomer as a title! I seem to recollect that the church by the riverside, opposite the old baths, was called the Merkinch Church (and had the 6th BBs) but there was also Merkinch St Marks (with the quite short lived 11th BBs) down in Thornbush Road. Now I BELIEVE that the Queen St Church (7th BBs which effectively became the 10th) formed the third part of the "Trinity" when it and Merkinch St Marks closed, possibly late 60s/ early 70s.

I think I may have explained that in an earlier post, but in 1954 what is the current front gate in the centre, down the steps from the front door, was established (rather belatedly) as a War Memorial Gate. At that point the gate shown in that photo, and I believe an equivalent one on the corner at the top of Stephen's Brae, were removed and the wall filled in. Even to this day, if you look at the wall where the gate is shown in the photo you will see a hint of a different colour where the filled in bit is.

I worked there, in Anderson St, as a student during my holidays of 1971-72 when Vince's dad Tommy Robb was in charge and Roy Lobban was his number two. Thery gave me a van or a small truck to go round the Highlands getting new customers. The wages were £10 a week plus 5p per dozen commission. On one occasion Tommy handed me the keys of Vince's Cotrina to go on an errand and it was only when I found myself at the other end of the street that I realised how souped up the thing was!

There seems to be a lot less infrastructure at the Clach Park than in later years up to when the stand (AHEM ) "spontaneously combusted". There were eventually three enclosures/ stands but I can only see one. I do recollect hearing that what Clach got from the sale of some of their great players of the late 40s helped fund the purchase of Grant St Park but this may also have helped buid some of the other structures?

I suspect that the answer to that is - farmers. It would appear to be Hamilton's Mart before it became the Eastgate Centre in about 1982/3 with Safeways (now Morrisons) opening further out Eastgate in 1999. Towards the top of the photo you can see the Hayloft etc and the houses up on Auldcastle Road.

Nowadays they would get closed down for that by the Politically Correct Thought Police!

I can sing like Calum Kennedy, I can sing like Calum Kennedy, I can sing like Calum Kennedy And there is no f-ing remedy! Great to see a photo of the old Empire although Jackie Pallo and Steve Logan in the wrestling would have been a hell of a lot more entertaining than Calum Kennedy and his caterwauling clan. The MacTrapp Family Singers.... or rather The MacCrap Family Singers!

I don't suppose anyone has a photo of this individual or better still a video with sound which could be used on Social Media to shame and potentially name him?

I wondered if I should have started this thread in the Olde Inverness section which is going great guns just now, but since it refers to one of ICT's predecessor institutions, I thought I would put it here. Today's Courier has in its "From the Archives" section a feature on the garden business Howdens which has reminded me of the period (apparently from 1961-65) when Howdens was on the corner of Union St and Church St where that coffee shop is now. Since I was pretty young at the time, this is something of which I was only vaguely aware at the time and of which I have now been reminded. However what is relevant about Howdens on here is that I never really realised that the company didn't move to Telford St until 1965. I started going to Caley games in about 1964 so this "new place" called Howdens obviously set up shop next door to Telford St Park quite soon after that. On the other hand, a new plant nursery isn't exactly something which would catch the eye of an 11 year old going to a football match. So the point is that at this stage in the mid 60s the legend of "The Howden End" didn't actually exist and I would suspect that it must have been the late 60s at least before the name caught on. As a result I have discovered today that The Howden End is a rather more recent feature than I actually realised. That will probably be appreciated by the over 60s among ex-Caley fans, but I'm not sure how aware the relative youngsters are that The Howden End had not been a feature since time began and in fact only existed under that name for a relatively small portion of Caley's histort, right at the end. I suppose this also calls into question just how Immortal any Howden Ender could be

Ninety seconds? You speak for yourself son

Intriguing! I think a lot of people are learning a lot about old Inverness from this set of threads. I certainly remember the change from operator service to STD in the late 50s/early 60s. When we lived in Kenneth St until 1958 it was the old "which number please" and if we didn't move straight to STD in Dalneigh we got STD (so to speak ) very soon after. Younger members should understand that Dalneigh wasn't a particular den of iniquity because in these days "STD" stood for "Subscriber Trunk Dialling" and not for the range of afflications which now enjoy the acronym "STI". In the days when STD merely referred to phones, the other problem was simply called "VD" (Venereal Disease). The only difficulty there was that VD also stood for Voluntary Officers' Decoration. That's why, on the Royal Academy War Memorial, there is this rather unfortunate entry which states "Col James Fraser VD"

That now explains something I hadn't been able to work out. The original, sandstone part of the Telephone Exchange, on the corner of Friars Street, has a date 1949 on it but it is joined to the bulk of the present building which looks somewhat newer. This will be the part which was started in 1958 and opened in 1961.