Prevention Is Better than Cure: The Rise and Fall of the Band of Hope

When the Band of Hope was established in Leeds in 1847, its aim was to convince children that alcohol consumption would damage their health and life chances. Membership was confirmed through the signing of a teetotal pledge that required parental consent. The movement’s founders could not possibly have envisaged the extent of its impressive growth throughout the United Kingdom, with particular strengths in northern England counties. Immediately before the start of the First World War in 1914, membership reached 3.7 million spread among over 33,000 societies.

Being closely linked to church Sunday Schools, when numbers of scholars declined, Band of Hope membership also fell. The huge numbers of wartime deaths and serious injuries, and the consequent loss of many former volunteers, exacerbated the membership decline. That decrease accelerated through the latter decades of the 20th century, despite strenuous efforts by countless dedicated people.

A reconstituted organisation named Hope UK was established in 1995, which continues to work tirelessly with young people on alcohol and drug prevention.

John K Lander spent most of his working life in senior capacities within the banking industry. When he enrolled with The Open University as a mature student in 1989, he did not envisage that his study would lead to a PhD in 2000. Since then, over 30 books and papers for specialist journals have been written, mainly covering aspects of nonconformist church history and the teetotal movement since the nineteenth century. He chairs a Winchester-based housing association, is a member of his local history group, and is a church trustee.