Since its inception, the uniform of The Boys' Brigade has undergone several remodellings, from a formal military-styled uniform to a modern much more casual variant. Early uniforms were often based upon school uniforms, jacket, tie and trousers with dress shoes with the simple addition of a brown belt with brass buckle and a white haversack and a
pillbox hat (a common cap in the
British Army of the 19th century). The pocket functionality of the haversack later disappeared and dummy rifles used for drill and parade purposes were eliminated on the Brigades' amalgamation with the Boys' Life Brigade which objected to the symbolism of weapons.
Lord Baden-Powell's interest in the organisation and the introduction of scouting led to some units of Boys' Brigade scouts being formed in the early years with a similar uniform to that seen in early scouting but in blue. In the 1960s the uniform was updated with the replacement of the pill box with a
forage cap and, with many schools no longer using a blazer in their uniform, from the 1970s the jacket was gradually dispensed of in favour of dark blue or white shirt variants with no jacket. Many companies adopted a blue shirt with epaulets for officers ranks. A full company section uniform for boys' from the 1980s to mid-1990s could be daunting. Blue shirt, forage cap, brown leather belt with brass buckle, white lanyard under the left shoulder attached to the left breast pocket, white haversack (red sash for Colour Sergeants or brown leather haversack and stick for Staff Sergeant) over the right shoulder, main armband with rank on the upper right arm (right cuff for Staff Sergeant) and achievement badges, on the left arm band. The rank insignia for NCOs imitated that of the British Army with one to three downward pointing chevrons being used from Lance-Corporal to Sergeant. The four up-pointing chevrons on the lower right cuff for Staff Sergeants continued to imitate the insignia used by senior sergeants in the British Army up until the
first world war. Trained officers (Lieutenants and Captains) wore a metal Boys' Brigade anchor on each of their upper lapels (epaulettes in shirt dress), a black Glengarry cap with silver badge on a black rosette and brown leather gloves. A Captain was distinguished by his cane carried under the right arm. Warrant Officers (adult leaders not having gone through the formal officer training) wore a metal badge in place of the anchor which featured the letters BB in a surrounding laurel. The modern uniform is more relaxed with a choice of polo-shirt and pullover or shirt and tie with variations for ranks and sections. Headgear is optional. Up until the last uniform change around the turn of this century, it was common for presentation of the uniform to be marked at meetings and at camp. For example, Brasso on the white haversack would see points deducted, as would boot polish on the belt buckle. These points competitions were often fiercely fought between squads. :''More
Boys' Brigade - History'' ==National structure==