Medallion - Queen Victoria Jubilee The Band Of Hope Movement Jubilee

Reverse

Busts of the two founders.

Script: Latin

Lettering: JUBILEE OF THE BAND OF HOPE MOVEMENT 1897, FOUNDED IN LEEDS 1847 BY MRS ANNE JANE CARLILE AND REV J TUNNCLIFF

Edge

Plain

Comment

The medallion is holed, it was meant to be worn with a ribbon and was issued on Queen Victoria's Jubilee which coincided with the 50th anniversary of the charity's first initiative.

Founded in 1855, the Band of Hope (now Hope UK) was first proposed by Rev. Jabez Tunnicliff, who was a Baptist minister in Leeds, following the death in June 1847 of a young man whose life was cut short by alcohol. Its objective was to teach children the importance and principles of sobriety and teetotalism. In 1855, a national organisation was formed amidst an explosion of Band of Hope work. Meetings were held in churches throughout the UK and included Christian teaching.
Set up in an era when alcoholic drinks was generally viewed as a necessity of life, next only to food and water, the Band of Hope and other temperance organisations fought to counteract the influence of pubs and brewers, with the specific intention of rescuing 'unfortunates' whose lives had been blighted by drink and teach complete abstinence.
In 1887 the movement had about 1½ million members out of 8 million young people in Britain of Band of Hope age. By 1891 it had 2 million members and in 1897, Queen Victoria's Jubilee year, the estimated membership was 3,238,323.