One of East Lancashire’s oldest charities is celebrating 125 years of helping young people across the region.
Burnley Boys’ Club, now known as Burnley Boys’ and Girls’ Club was formed by Henry Riley, whose family home is still in Briercliffe today, 125 years ago.
The family were weavers in Burnley, and Henry wanted to support the young boys of the community, by giving them a focus and mentoring them to better themselves.
Over the next 16 years from 1898 to 1914, Burnley Boys’ Club grew to having 600 members, and when the call came to join the First World War effort in 1914 they all signed up, becoming members of the Accrington Pals and stood together as pals of the Club.
Henry Riley became Captain Riley and went over the top beside his young men in the fourth wave at the Battle of the Somme on July 1, 1916.
Sadly, all 125 of them, including Riley, were killed, never to return home to Burnley.
And although Riley’s body was never recovered, his memory, as does the memory of the 125 fallen club members, lives on in the community hall that now serves as a function, eatery and dancing venue to thousands of people every year, with every penny spent going back to support the work Henry started more than a century ago.
The next chapter of the club was just as important to the people of Burnley, who after the Great War decided not to have a memorial to the fallen but to pay £5,000 for a club to support the young people of the town instead.
The club is still supporting hundreds of young people weekly and still lives by the same ethos Henry Riley started 125 years ago.
Today, Burnley Boys’ and Girls’ Club supports young people from every walk of life with a huge array of different issues and some very complex needs, with the focus still on support and mentoring them to bettering themselves so they can reach adulthood with as many opportunities as possible.
With the support of brilliant organisations over the last six years in particular, the club has transformed to becoming a lead representative in supporting young people across the county.
The development work planned for this year at the Barden Lane site in Burnley along with the extension of sites across the Ribble Valley and South Ribble means the original Boys' Club is now one of the largest youth organisations across Lancashire supporting thousands of young people.
If you require the services BBGC or would like to support the charity in any other way, you can call 01282 424038, email info@bbgc.org.uk, or visit bbgc.org.uk
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