IT’S a case of 50, 60 and 70 for MBE recipient Tommy Hanlon – 50 years in charge of a Boys Brigade junior section, 60 years’ association with the BB man and boy, and reaching the milestone of being 70 years old in a fortnight’s time.
And neither Tommy nor his wife Phyllis, who has been his right-hand officer for 45 of those years, have any notion of retiring from their invaluable roles as youth leaders, even though they have eight grandchildren, “with the ninth imminent!”.
“We love this all-consuming role,” said Tommy, a retired manufacturing manager.
“We have enjoyed every minute of our service to this superb organisation, and the Good Lord will decide when we retire – either through infirmity or being six feet under!”
Portadown man Tommy thought someone was “taking a hand out of me” when he learned he was included in the New Year’s Honours List, but was convinced by Phyllis he fully deserved it – and the parishioners of St Mark’s Church of Ireland certainly have no doubt it is warranted.
As a boy, he was in the ranks of nearby Drumcree BB, and after a short break was invited by brother Earl to join him as an officer in St Mark’s (3rd Portadown BB).
“The laugh was that Earl stood down a year later, and then I found myself in charge of the juniors,” said Tommy.
“But I’ve been thankful to him ever since, and sadly he died just last year.”
As any BB officer knows, it not just a case of being there once a week on the designated night.
It also involves all sorts of active pursuits – like training the football squad, preparing the lads (in the 7-11 age group) for cross-country running, swimming, archery, bowls, horse riding, going on annual camps and figure marching. Plus, of course, with the BB being a church-linked organisation, the Christian element is a major part of being in the Brigade.
Tommy was also training officer for the Northern Ireland Battalion, and chairman and secretary of the Portadown Junior BB Council.
“But I couldn’t have done it without the backing of a tremendous group of officers over the years – especially Phyllis, who is the longest-serving,” he says.
He recalled that, at the heyday of the Junior BB in the 1970s, exactly 100 turned up one night, “although nowadays, we average around the 30 mark”.
Tommy added, though, that one of the greatest boosts he ever had was when an ex-member recently called at his home to tell Tommy and Phyllis that he had recently become a Christian through the inspiration of his days at the BB.
“The young man has a high-powered job with the IT section of Virgin, and that really gave us a wonderful feeling,” said Tommy.