The 5th Cambridge Brownies celebrated their centenary with a party at St John’s Church, Hills Road – where the unit have held their meetings for almost all their 100 years – with former leaders and volunteers joining the festivities.
The Brownie unit, which first met on 31 May 1924, has a full complement of 24 current young members, aged 7 to 10. The 5th Cambridge Brownie unit has a strong history of adventurous activities, community service and providing diverse opportunities for girls and young women.
Former leaders who attended the 100th birthday celebrations included Gail Stephens, known as ‘Orinoco’ who was a leader from 1999-2010 and Sarah Martin, known as ‘Squirrel’, who was a young leader from 2002-2006, then an adult leader until 2010. Allison and Tracey, who were both young leaders with 5th Cambridge Brownies in the early 1980s and then adult leaders until early 90s, and Zoe Cundy, known as ‘Hedgehog’, who was a unit helper from 2017-2020 were delighted to be part of the celebrations.
Alison Lawlor was ‘Brown Owl’ at 5th Cambridge Brownies from 1982 onwards, giving 35 years of volunteering service to Girlguiding in total (including a stint at 39th Cambridge Brownies before returning to 5th Cambridge). We were also delighted to welcome Nell Whiscombe, who was a unit helper circa 2016 for 2 years, and is now assistant curate at St John’s Church, Hills Road, (where our Brownies meet), after being ordained priest in 2023.
Other guests included district president Phyllis Mills, who recently received the first ever 70 year long-service award for volunteering in Cambridgeshire East. Phyllis, who first became involved in guiding when she joined the 26th Cambridge Guides in 1954, has been a dedicated volunteer ever since, attended with her husband John.
Daphne Johnson, ‘Brown Owl’ in the 1970s and 1980s, and her daughter Fiona Johnson, (known as ‘Woodpecker’), who was a young leader at 5th Cambridge Brownies in the 1980s were disappointed not to be able to attend the occasion, but sent their best wishes, reflecting on some great memories of their time with the unit.
A wonderful 100th birthday video message was received from children’s author and former 5th Cambridge Brownie, Polly Faber, reminiscing, and telling us of her happy memories of 5th Cambridge Brownies.
Unit leader Shelly said: “It has been great to celebrate 100 years of our unit, with previous leaders and girls attending. The unit started strong and is still thriving, lots has changed but we are still here showing these girls that they can do anything they want to do and be anything they want to be. We aim to get them involved in planning what they want to do, from having exciting adventures to learning new skills and having lots of fun. I am proud to be part of the unit and of Girlguiding.”
One of the Brownies, Miriam Thackray, age 9, said, “Brownies is so fun because we get to do so many different things. My favourite event was sleeping under the aircraft at Duxford IWM with 500 other Brownies when I got my aviation badge.“
