2nd Gourock Centenary 1898 - 1998
Centenary Display |
Church Parade |
"Old Boys" Dinner
Camp |
Flower Bed |
Civic Reception
In 1998 we celebrated our centenary with a large number of events based around the weekend on the 1st March.
On Saturday 28th February we held our annual inspection and presentation of prizes. The inspecting Officer was former Captain John Young and his wife, Joy, presenting the prizes.
And on the morning of the 1st March the Company Section, Junior Section, Anchor Boys and "Old Boys" paraded to St Johns. At the service the 2nd Gourock stained glass window was dedicated.
That evening there was a dinner for everybody associated with the 2nd Gourock.
All three sections were represented at this display which was started off by singing from the Anchor Boys followed by a rendition of Happy Birthday.
W/O Ian Purdue then put twelve of the company section boys through their paces in an excellent drill program, with not a foot out of place.
The Junior Section boys then "performed" some of the history of our Company in a funny and informative manner.
After a quick change into shorts the Company Section were on the "Ladders" ,for anyone unfamiliar as to what the ladders are, it is simply a pair of wooden ladders that are mounted
on a base and the the smaller boys go up them at different angles while the older boys hold them steady (see Ladders section).
The ladders were followed by the vault which was performed by St John's Gymnastics Club, which is a mixture of boys from 2nd and 3rd Gourock companies. Next up was
a Junior Section funny sketch about an antique shop. Fourteen boys of the company section then performed the "Ring" (for anyone that doesn't know the ring is a large metal hoop, about 10 feet across, that boys hang off and do tricks, see Ring section).
All members of the Company Section created three pyramids followed by the squash. Skipper's speech was next giving the boys a chance to get changed back into their kilts and get their spats on. The band played a slow march followed by some
more well known tunes. The evening was concluded with the closing service and remarks from John Young.
Top of the Page
The morning of the 1st March 1998 was a miserable morning. It was snowing and there was a layer of snow on the ground so it wasn't the warmest March day. With 107 boys, 14 officers and helpers and 55 "Old Boys" parading it was quite a long parade.
The band had some difficulty clearing the path for everyone else especially going down John Street and going up Bath Street.
At the service the stained glass window (top right) was dedicated. The colours in the design represent the three sections; red for the Anchor Boys, blue for the Junior Section and the green and blue for the Smith tartan of the Company Section kilts.
A bigger picture of the window and the description on the stand below the window is available here.
In the evening there was a dinner for the "Old Boys" and invited guests, which included some of the senior boys of the company.
Captain Aitken gave a welcome followed by Grace by Rev Neil McNaught, after dinner Lieutenant Alastair Liddell gave a toast to the Queen.
Past Captain John Davidson gave a toast to the 2nd Gourock and after the "Entertainment" their was an Old Boy's Revue by past Captain John Law.
Captain Aitken brought the night to a close with The Not So Old Boy's Revue.
It was a really good evening and meeting so many Old Boys was an experience. There was a very large age range of Boys there, the youngest was a 15 year old lance corporal and the oldest was in his 90s.
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