St Mary’s marks its 70th anniversary
ST MARY’S GUIDES have celebrated their 70th birthday – and the Rainbows group has reached its quarter-century.
Guides, Brownies and Rainbows have been taking part in celebratory activities throughout the year, and they all got together with friends, family and past members to enjoy a piece of birthday cake after church recently.
The other activities have seen the Rainbows taking part in Pirate Gold and enjoying a birthday tea afterwards, while the Brownies went on a pack holiday and the Guides camped in Sark.
Among those joining the girls for their celebrations was Isabel Hills, who was present at the first meeting of the group in 1948.
‘It’s all changed a lot now,’ she said. ‘We all used to go off to camps in the back of a lorry.’
Mrs Hills said there were about 12 Guides at that first meeting: ‘We started off in the vestry and we then had to move to a building behind the North British Legion.’
Rainbows leader Colette Merrien started the group 25 years ago, about six years after the groups for five- to seven-year-olds were introduced into Guiding.
She said Rainbows was launched because younger girls were seeing their big sisters joining Guides and wanted to be a part of it too.
Former Guide leader, now assistant leader, Val Mechem, has been involved with the St Mary’s group since she was seven: ‘All the leaders in Guides and Rainbows now were my Guides,’ she said. ‘We’re a very strong group – we’re one big happy family.’
