Stowmarket Camp
Wednesday 21st August 20192019 marks 100 years since the 1st Stowmarket first Company camp at Southwold as recorded in this extract from ‘A History of Boys’ Brigade in Stowmarket’ by Steve Williams.
‘In 1919, with World War One over, the Stowmarket Company with staff returning from the forces, took up the challenge of organising a camp. The site chosen was the common at Southwold. For the next twenty years the Company made Southwold its camping home when war brought it to an end. The equipment from Battisford was loaded onto a farm wagon and pulled by farm horses. They left on a Thursday for Southwold. The village of Dennington was reached for an overnight stop, a rest for the men and horses, before reaching Southwold on Friday afternoon. The boys left on Saturday morning. They gathered in full uniform at the Congregational Church and proceeded to the railway station.’
Over the weekend of 28th to 30th June 2019 they recreated the full experience (excluding the horse!) starting with a parade from Stowmarket United Reformed Church to the station on Friday evening. They took the train as far as Darsham and Buckland Coaches provided an extra surprise by bringing a vintage 1960’s coach for the final leg of the journey to Southwold Common.
