Scouting 1910 - 1980
This page tells the second part of the story of Scouting from 1910 onwards
1. A Movement is born
2. The death of a hero
3. A change is due
A Movement is born
As stated in the previous page, in 1910 BP left the army to concentrate on Scouts. He was Knighted by the King who encouraged him to leave the army and concentrate on the Scouts. He changed the name to Boy Scouts and set some rules such as the age range for Scouts, the uniforms that they could wear and he also set out how the Scouts would be trained. They did a census of the number of Scouts and in 3 years the numbers had gone from nothing to over 100,000.
A lot of the early Leaders were ex-army officers and some of them even sponsored Troops. Quite a few of them moved abroad to retire and took Scouting with them. Within one year of writing Scouting for Boys (1908) Scouting had spread to Australia, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Guyana, India, Ireland, Malta, New Zealand, Russia, Sierra Leone, United States and Zimbabwe. Within five years Scouting had spread to 49 countries.
The Scouts wore were brown shorts and shirt, long socks and a hat. They also wore a neckerchief tied with a knot. Scouts also carried a small wooden staff but this change to just Patrol Leaders who had a small flag on it with the Patrol Emblem. If they could they also carried a whistle which they could use like the police to summon help.
In 1909 a rally of Scouts was held at the Crystal Palace (11,000 Scouts turned up!) and BP came across a Patrol of girls calling themselves Girl Scouts. At that time it wasn't really allowed for boys and girls to mix and do things like Scouting together so the following year BP, with the help of his sister, Agnes, set up the Girl Guides. Another rally was held in Scotland and 6,000 took part.
Just before the outbreak of the war there were 300,000 boys aged 11 to 18 years old in the Scouts.
When the First World War broke out many men volunteered to fight so there was a shortage of labour. The Scouts were asked to help at home and they put into practise what they had learnt. Sea Scouts became like the Coat Guard, rescuing people of shipwrecks, looking after the beaches and guarding boats. Air Scouts, who had only just started, helped guard airfields, repair aeroplanes, cook food for the pilots, etc. Land Scouts were used as air raid wardens, first aiders, rescuers, messengers, and also carried out service such as gardeners and helping old people.
Many younger brothers of the Scouts wanted to help and join the Scouts, so in 1916 BP started up the Cub Section for boys aged 8 to 11 years old. He called this new Section the Wolf Cubs and based the theme of it on the books of Rudyard Kipling who wrote stories about India and it's jungle. Names were given to Leaders based on Jungle Book story. Names such as Akela, the Leader of the Wolf Pack, Baghera (the Black Panther) and Baloo (the Bear). The younger boys loved being Wolf Cubs and their numbers grew as quick as the Scouts. They were divided into Packs and each Pack was split into Sixes with a Sixer and Seconder. A Wolf Cub uniform consisted of dark shorts, a green shirt, long socks, neckerchief and cap. By this time woggles started to be introduced so each six wore a different woggle. Also the cubs started to have badges to sew on their uniform plus name tapes to identify their Packs. The Cubs did almost the same as the Scouts, activities such as first aid, woodcraft, knotting, etc but they also played a lot of games. They also spent a lot of their time during the summer doing activities out of doors. They went tracking, swimming and started to go camping.
Cubs was for younger Scouts but there was nothing for Scouts who were too old so in 1917, BP sets up the Senior Scouts which in 1918 he renames them Rover Scouts.
One of the most exciting things
Scouts do is to go camping and a each year Troops went away to camp were they
could. (The first official Scout Camp took place at
Humshaugh Northumberland in 1908). Counties started having their own sites where the youngsters put into
practise what they learnt during the year, things such as woodcraft. Cooking was
done on open fires, toilets were basic, tents were based on the what the army
used. Scouts spent a lot of time helping plant trees and looking after the
countryside. They helped repair walls, bridges, etc, plus they also looked after
the less able in their communities
In 1920 the Association held it's first every World Scout Jamboree having missed their 10th anniversary due to the First World War. Over 6,000 camped in Richmond Park, London. The Jamboree was held indoors at The Olympia Stadium. Scouts came from 20 countries plus the ones from the British Empire.
The next Jamboree was held 4 years later in Copenhagen, Holland and took the form of a huge outdoor camp with hundreds of activities going on. Since then every 4 years the Scouts have held a World Jamboree.
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The Death of a Hero
One of the last formal pictures taken of BP was in 1937 showing him with all his medals. He had been made Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell in 1929. Gilwell is the Headquarters of Scouting in the UK and was bought for BP by the Scouts. It is in Epping Forest, Essex and is open to all Scouts to visit, camp there and is our Spiritual Home.
BP was made the Chief Scout of The World, the only one there has and ever will be.
In 1938 due to failing health he moved to Kenya to live out his last days. On 8th January 1941 he passes away. The following morning the Kenyan Scouts who have looked after him, lower the flag to half mast and play the last post. They make a vow to look after his grave for all time and each one makes this promise
"Impeesa, The Wolf That Never Sleeps, is but resting. Kenya's true sons shall watch over him, but the whole world shall remember and love him".
They still care for his grave even today and it is visited by thousands of Scots from around the world each year.
When they checked his bags they found a last note he had written for the Scouts. It read
Dear Scouts - if you have ever seen the play 'Peter Pan' you will remember how the pirate chief was always making his dying speech because he was afraid that possible, when the time came for him to die, he might not have time to get it off his chest. It is much the same with me, and so, although I am not at this moment dying, I shall be doing so one of these days and I want to send you a parting word of goodbye.
Remember, it is the last time you will ever hear from me, so think it over.
I have had a most happy life and I want each one of you to have a happy life too.
I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be happy and enjoy life. Happiness does not come from being rich, nor merely being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. One step towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy, so that you can be useful and so you can enjoy life when you are a man.
Nature study will show you how full of beautiful and wonderful things God has made the world for you to enjoy. Be contented with what you have got and make the best of it. Look on the bright side of things instead of the gloomy one.
But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best. 'Be Prepared' in this way, to live happy and to die happy - stick to your Scout Promise always - even after you have ceased to be a boy - and God help you to do it.
Your friend,
Robert Baden-Powell
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A Change is due
By the early 1960's Scout HQ decided it was time to change Scouting as it was nearly 60 years old. So they set up a committee who came up with several changes which were put into practise in 1967.
For Scouts, out went the brown shorts, hat and shirts and in came green shirts, green berets and mushroom coloured trousers. The age ranges changed too. Instead of being a Scout and then a Senior Scout until 18 years old, then becoming a Rover Scout, the ages altered. You became a Scout from 11-16 years old, a Venture Scout from 16-20 years old and over 20's joined the Scout Guild. Ventures and Leaders would have a fawn shirt and the trousers.
For the Wolf Cubs, Wolf was dropped and they became Cub Scouts. Out went the shorts, green shirt and cap and in came green sweaters and trousers.
The badges changed for all sections. Cubs worked towards their Bronze, Silver and Gold arrows as well as being able to gain Proficiency Badges. New badges came in as the Cubs in the 1960's had a lot more chance to do activities than say in the 1920's.
Scout Badges changed as well. Instead of First and Second Class Scout Awards in came the Scout Standard and Advanced Scout Standard. The Queen's Scout Award was gained by Venture Scouts. Scouts still did Proficiency Badges like the Cubs.
Each Section had to learn a new Promise and the Scout Laws were changed to reflect changing times.
The new Cub badges lasted only 11 years before they were altered but they still kept the same name. instead of a Cub having to do set things to earn an Arrow they were given a choice of activities to complete it. This made it much more flexible.
The next changes in Scouting came in the 1980's. Please read Part 3.