Ada Sail was born on April 9th 1916 and lived with her parents at 39 Crabb Street. Her diary shows what an influence the Baptist Church in Park Road had on her life. She joined the Girls’ Life Brigade in April 1929, according to her diary, but the picture of the group was dated by her as being 1928. This was a 1931 G.L.B. diary and the details below are transcribed from the front pages; at the end of this diary is a page to keep a record of badges earned. Ada has ticked several and all at advanced level. She also lists her friends in the designated space in the diary as J Lamb, Winnifred Kathleen Sail, Kathleen Lilian Webb, all of Crabb Street, Stella Corby of Co-operative Row, Ena Bailey of Trafford Road and Joan Alice Tomlin of Brookfield Road.
Five Great Aims
- To awaken in girls, a sense of their responsibility in life.
- To help them to make the best of their powers of body and mind.
- To train them to be self-reliant, useful women.
- To influence them to dedicate all their powers to the Service of God.
- To keep them i touch with the Church and Sunday School during those years when they often become lost to both.
Methods
The discipline of the Girls’ Life Brigade is designed:
1. to develop a strong and healthy physical life by physical exercises of various kinds and instruction in personal hygiene.
2. to encourage by drill, training in first-aid, home-nursing and life-saving, the formation of habits of punctuality, promptitude and reliability; self-respect, self-control and courtesy; alertness, intelligence and presence of mind in emergencies.
3. by means of total abstinence, association with the church, the Company Bible Class and the fellowship and influence of the officers, to help girls consecrate themselves to the service of God.
The G.L.B. Law
Abstain from intoxicating drink.
Be regular at Sunday school or Bible Class.
Be clean in person, neat and tidy in dress.
Be pure and true in thought and word and deed.
Learn to be useful in emergencies.
Be kind and helpful to all.
Be straightforward, honest and truthful.
Cheerfully obey the orders of Officers.
Cultivate self-respect and courtesy.
Remember the G.L.B. motto “To Save Life”.
The G.L.B. Promise
“I promise to do my utmost to keep the G.L.B. Law in letter and spirit and to set a good example to my comrades and to all around me. I further promise to abstain from all intoxicating drinks so long as I am a member of the Girls’ Life Brigade”.
The badges they could work for were: