Not just a place to stay- the Industrial Brigades

 While the initial aim of the Charity on its inception in 1870 was to provide safe accommodation and food to orphan boys who didn’t have these essentials, it wasn’t long before the Charity started to broaden their aims. One of the first ways it did so was to provide boys with a means of employment by establishing a Shoeblack Brigade and a Messenger Brigade. These Brigades were in operation by February 1870, only a month after the Charity’s first refuge accommodation was opened on Quay Street, Manchester.

Shoeblack brigades were already well established in London, and with the permission of the authorities in Manchester boys in this Brigade dressed in scarlet tunics could occupy positions in twelve stands around the city and earn money by cleaning the shoes and boots of the city’s residents.

The railway had come to Manchester in 1830 and with the population of the city ever expanding the Charity spotted another opportunity with the establishment of their Messenger Brigade. This Brigade also required permission from the Manchester authorities to place messengers at Victoria Station and London-Road Railway Station (now Manchester Piccadilly). The Messenger Brigade charged 3 pence per mile for delivery of messages or parcels and were dressed in blue tunics, distinguishing them from the scarlet of the Shoeblack Brigade.

The Charity’s first annual report on the establishment of these Brigades in 1870 explains how they aimed to prevent boys from, ‘growing up to love a life of idleness and crime.’ The report does however indicate that it was not always easy to persuade the boys of the advantages of work referring to the ‘difficult of getting them to obey.’ In December 1870 one boy was reported to be throwing stones and causing a disturbance at London Road Station and was unsurprisingly removed and replaced on the Messenger Brigade (M189/4/1).

PH/4/1/14 Messanger Brigade c. 1915

In June 1870 there were 30 boys employed, each earning on average 8 shillings a week. In the early days those being accommodated by the Charity would go into the Shoeblack Brigade advancing to the Messager Brigade and then if successful to another occupation or trade. The aim of the Brigade seems to have been comparable to paid work experience which could be a stepping stone to more skilled work and higher earnings. From their Brigade earnings the boys paid for their board and use of the Brigade uniform and cap, a charge of between between 6 pence to 1 shilling a day. The boys kept any extra earnings.

The Brigades expanded in 1881 to include a News Brigade and in 1883 the Caxton Brigade which sold the Charity’s own magazine ‘The Christian Worker’ along with, ‘other healthy literature, amongst the home of the working classes’ (Annual Report 1885). These extra Brigades disbanded in 1895.

As the Charity grew and opened new and larger refuge accommodation their residents had the opportunity to work and learn a trade on site in one of the Charity’s own workshops including in printing, carpentry, shoemaking, tailoring or firewood making. Opportunities in the Shoeblack and Messenger Brigades were therefore increasingly offered to those boys not residing within the Charity’s accommodation, particularly for boys who would have spent much of their time on the streets but could not be received into the Charity’s care as their parents were still living. By January 1904 it was reported that even the Police had been, ‘introducing lads to the Brigade who otherwise might have become street loafers.’ (M189/1/1/40)

The scarlet and blue uniforms of the Brigades seem to have been an important part of the job and there was often concerns raised about the appearance of the boys. Coming from the poorest of families there was difficulty in ensuring the boys appeared tidy and with new firms offering similar services being established in the city, the Charity were concerned about losing out on business. The poverty of the boys is clear from comments suggesting that new boots given to the boys risked being pawned (M189/1/1/40). The scarlet tunics of the Shoeblack Brigade lasted only six months and there was a specific order in August 1904 for these to be cleaned at least once during this time. It must however have been difficult to keep clothes looking clean when the boys would have been outside in all weathers. In March 1905 the Highways Committee was contacted for permission to erect shelters for the Shoeblack Brigade, a request that was denied (M189/1/1/40).

By 1907 195 boys were employed in the Brigades (1907 Annual Report). Those in the Brigades could attend a voluntary Bible Class run by the Charity and there were annual events organised such as picnics. The boys were also able to attend the Charity’s annual summer camps.

The Charity's Annual Reports describe success stories including a Shoeblack who nine years later managed a city centre business and another who became a solicitor. There's also reference to the Brigades offering opportunities to those who due to illness or disability found it difficult to obtain other work (Annual Report 1909).

Messenger Brigade from 1911 Annual Report

Following the outbreak of the First World War there was a reduction in the work of the Messenger Brigade and in October 1914 the boys were placed on half time and half pay (M189/1/1/39). The war also caused demand for boy labour to rise meaning numbers in the Brigades dropped dramatically. After the war the Charity began moving their services out of the city centre. By this point the Brigades had for almost half a century given some of the very poorest residents of Manchester an opportunity to escape poverty through their own hard work.

To read more about the Together Trust's history, Andrew Simpson's book 'The Ever Open Door' can be purchased through our enquiry page.