100 Years of Scouting - A Brief History
There can't be many people who have never seen the symbol above. It is on the badge of the Scout Association, the biggest mixed sex organisation in Britain for young people. In 2007 Scouting will be 100 years old and still going strong.
But how many people know how Scouting started and it's history.
Before we can write the history of Scouting we have to know about it's founder, Robert Baden-Powell and how he founded the movement so we have divided the story into several sections.
1. The early years of Robert Baden-Powell
2. His life in the army
3. Mafeking
4. Aids to Scouting and the beginning
Part 2 Scouting from 1910 to 1980
Part 3 1980 and beyond
The Early Years of Robert Baden-Powell
Baden-Powell (called BP for short) was born in 1857 in London. His father was a vicar and he and BP's mother christened him Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden Powell.
BP was good at drawing and by the time he was 8 he could draw and write with either hand. He went to his local school and when he was 13, he won a scholarship to Charterhouse (a posh school for boys). He joined in everything he could, being a great hit at the school concerts as he could sing, play the fiddle, mouth organ and piano. He was also good at imitating people, as he could speak different languages.
In 1872, when he was 15, the school moved from London out into the country. Here BP would wonder off into woods and taught himself woodcraft. He learnt how to creep up on animals without alarming them, how to look at prints in the mud to work out which animals were around and to know when other people were about. BP also loved sport and sailing.
When he was old enough to leave school he was asked what he wanted to do and he told his headmaster that he had thought about being either an actor or perhaps a missionary as he loved travelling. His headmaster showed him an advert in a newspaper about joining the army so he applied.
Out of 700 applications who took an entrance exam he took 2nd place for the cavalry and 4th place for the infantry. So he joined the cavalry and became a 2nd Lieutenant in the 13th Hussars (The Lilywhites).
So on 30th October 1876, at the age of 19, BP joins the rest of his troop and sets sail for India.
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His Life In The Army
BP reported to Lucknow, India and joined the rest of his regiment. The following day he went hunting for wild boar and saved the life of an Indian helper, Buldoo, who was being attacked a boar by jumping of his horse and killing it. Luckily Buldoo was only injured.
BP returned to England as he was suffering from a fever but soon returned and found himself and his troop on the North West Frontier defending the border against the Afgans. The Afgans would raid the British camps at night and try to steal their horses. By using tricks he had learnt as a youngster BP helped drive off the Afgans and so secure the border.
After being in India for 8 years the regiment leaves India. BP now a Captain visits Africa whilst on leave, but he then has to return to Britain. After 4 years of being on home service, in January 1888, the regiment is sent to the Zululand in Africa.
Here there are rebel Zulus led by Dinizulu (pictured above) who are besieging a fort. BP spots some Zulus and follows them to Dinizulu's camp. He walks in to the camp and tells Dinizulu that he is his friend. He persuades the Zulus to stop fighting and they do. BP is a hero and is used by the army many times to sort out problems between the British and the Zulus. Dinizulu trusts him and knows BP's word is to be trusted. BP is promoted Brevet-Major.
In 1889 he goes to Malta and is appointed Intelligence Officer for the Mediterranean area. One of his jobs is to spy on other countries. On one of his missions he dressed as a butterfly collector. He spies on their forts finding out where the guns are. He then draws pictures of butterflies and makes patterns on the wings which are really plans of the forts. Everyone thinks he is a mad Englishman and he gets away with it.
In 1895 BP is sent back to Africa as there is a nasty ruler called Prempeh who rules a country called Ashanti. Prempeh is attacking all the other tribes and even kills his own people. The other tribes ask for his help, so BP realises that the best form of defence is attack. He marches into Ashanti but Prempeh will not fight. Prempeh meets BP and says he is not a trouble maker. BP breaks into the Ashanti treasure house and finds proof that Prempeh has made money from selling slaves. As punishment they burn Prempeh's village and exile his people. The local Africans make BP their hero.
BP helps stop lots of tribal wars in Africa by getting the chiefs to sit down and sort their problems out. They name him Impeesa, the Wolf that never sleeps.
He is sent back to England but soon finds himself back in Africa as Britain is at war with the Boers in South Africa.
BP in his army days
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Mafeking
BP is sent to protect an important town called Mafeking. He collects supplies and as many men as he can but cannot get enough men to fully protect the town. Soon the Boers attack Mafeking and BP is hard pressed to look after the town. Mafeking is under siege for week upon week with the people having to eat things like rat soup. As his men are killed by the Boers, BP has to use his first-aiders, messengers and ammunition carriers to fight. He asks the young boys in the town if they can help and they take over the jobs doing things like carrying ammunition to the soldiers and carrying important messages whilst under fire from the Boers. Eventually BP manages to lift the siege and the Boers surrender. BP is a hero, not only in Africa but in Britain as people know if Mafeking had fallen, Britain would have lost the war.
BP held out for 7 months at Mafeking. When the news reaches Queen Victoria she sends him a telegram thanking him for what he did.
BP's next job is to organise a new mounted police force and he uses them to hunt down the Leaders of the Boers. Once captured the rest of the Boers give up the fight and sign a peace treaty on 31st May 1899. Eventually in 1903 BP returns to England and goes into semi-retirement from the army.
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Aids To Scouting
To pass his time BP, in 1899, had wrote a book called Aids to Scouting. In it he wrote about tracking, pioneering, observation and woodcraft. It was a training manual for army scouts. The book sold quite well.
One day he was out walking and he spotted a group of boys in a wood sneaking around. He went up to them and asked them what they were doing and they told him they were practising what they had read in the book. They did not know it was BP.
BP spoke to his friends about what he had seen and they persuaded him to hold a camp to see if a Group of youngsters could be taught how to be scouts. So during the first week of August 1907 he chose 20 boys from London and Bournemouth, and took them to Brownsea Island, in Poole Harbour, Dorset. Some of the boys were from rich families and some from poor ones. This camp has been recognised as the first moment of Scouting in the World. The boys spent a week doing things such as sports, games, woodcraft, swimming and rafting. The camp worked so BP knew that youngsters could learn how to be scouts. So he set about writing a younger version of his book Aids to Scouting. He called it Scouting for Boys.
The book was published in 6 parts published every fortnight. This made it more affordable to youngsters. The Scout Magazine is started on 14th April 2008. Soon groups of boys were forming Patrols of Scouts and were copying the things they read in the book. They asked adults to look after them and become their Leaders and teach them Scouting. Within a few months Patrols up and down the country formed into Troops. In 1909 BP formed the Scout Association and in 1910 the association opened it's first offices. BP also retired from the army to concentrate on helping the Scouts.