The Church Lads' and Church Girls' Brigade is a Church of England youth organisation with branches in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Barbados, Bermuda, Kenya, South Africa, Newfoundland and St Helena. It was founded in 1891 as the Church Lads' Brigade with its sister organisation, the Church Nursing and Ambulance Brigade for Young Women and Girls, later the Church Girls' Brigade, founded in 1901. The two Brigades amalgamated in 1978 to form the Church Lads' and Church Girls' Brigade.
The Brigade's Patron Saint is St Martin of Tours. A banner depicting St Martin, which was presented by the Brigade in 1921 to honour those members who lost their lives in the First World War, is kept at Westminster Abbey.
Members will arrive and be instructed, subs will be taken before moving onto badgework. This can last between 10 minutes and an hour depending on the age of the children (see Sections). The members are then instructed to fall in and do drill before moving onto games. Lastly, the Brigade Prayer is said before any notices are given out. Sweets are available at the end of the night.
Taking groups away is a large part of the Brigade, while there may be only two or three camps a year at company level, there are many more when escalated through battalion, regimental and national levels.
There are several national camps available, one being a trip to Butlins and another being 'spring adventure' (the location varies), these are both early in the year. While in these examples members are not in tents, many brigade companies choose to take their members on expeditions, sometimes working towards their Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Members are taught how to put a tent up, to cook for themselves and campsite etiquette.