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童軍運動創辦人貝登堡(1857-1941)，原名羅拔，史提芬遜‧史密夫‧包維爾(Robert Stephenson Smyth Powell)，1857年2月22日出生於英國倫敦。由於當時有日耳曼血統及複姓的英國人往往被視為顯要，故其家族的姓氏便由包維爾改為貝登堡(Baden- Powell)。貝登堡年僅19歲便投考軍校，由於騎兵及步兵考試成績優異，因而豁免軍官學校的訓練，直接被任命為第13輕騎兵團(13th Hussars)少尉。貝登堡在偵察及射擊訓練表現尤為卓越，經歷多次的調升和在不同的地點駐防，在1897年，年僅40歲時便晉升為上校。
Robert Stephenson Smyth Powell (1857-1941), founder of the Scout Movement, was born in London on 22 February 1857. In quest of social status, the family name was later changed from “Powell” to double-barrelled “Baden-Powell” (aka B-P). At the 19, B-P entered an open examination for the Army, where he performed exceptionally well for cavalry and infantry. He was therefore commissioned straight into the 13th Hussars as a second lieutenant. With his excellent performance in shooting and reconnaissance, after several rotations and promotions B-P was appointed Colonel in 1897 when he was just 40.
1899年，貝登堡受任命到南非動盪不安的梅富根城(Mafeking)擔任駐防司令。在駐防期間，貝登堡將其多年偵察經驗，編寫及出版一本叫《警探術》(Aids to Scouting)的書本。同年10月11日波爾戰爭(Boer War)爆發，貝登堡奉命在梅富根抵禦波爾人(荷蘭裔南非人)的入侵。當時大約8,000名波爾人將梅富根重重包圍，駐守的英軍相對少得可憐(比例約為一對五)。因此貝登堡召集城鎮內的青少年，教授他們一些基本軍事技能，包括：偵察、坼堠及傳訊等，協助守軍在偵察及傳訊等防衛工作。這支少年軍以小隊為編制，由年齡相若的隊長作領導。貝登堡及其他軍官都非常信賴這支非正式的部隊，令他們能英勇忠誠地執行任務。經過217天的堅守抵抗，被圍困的梅富根終於在1900年5月17日得以成功解圍。貝登堡不單成為全國英雄，還得到維多利亞女皇的讚揚並晉升為少將。
In 1899, B-P was appointed as Garrison Commander for Mafeking, South Africa, where turbulence and instability existed. During the garrison, B-P compiled Aids to Scouting, a little military manual in reconnaissance. When the Second Boer War broke out on 11 October 1899, B-P was ordered to defend the besieged Mafeking against the Boers, whose number was five times that of the British garrison. B-P therefore mustered local youths and equipped them with fundamental military skills such as reconnaissance, pioneering, and message dispatch, so that they could help the British garrison as boy-messengers. Boys of similar age were organized into Patrols, each led by a Patrol Leader. Fundamental and other officers put their trust in the boys, who at the same time were able to complete their tasks loyally and gallantly. After 217 days of siege, Mafeking was at last relieved on 17 May 1900. Hailed hero of the war, fundamental was commended by Queen Victoria and promoted to the rank of Major-General.
1903年，即波爾戰爭結束後翌年，貝登堡返回英國。梅富根一役使他成為國家英雄，不少年輕人視其為英雄偶像。貝登堡感到當時的英國青少年萎靡不振，極需要培育及訓練，從而帶出助人和愛國精神。故此貝登堡接受朋友的建議，為青少年重新編寫《警探術》(Aids to Scouting)，並將之撮要成《童子警探》(Scouting for Boys)一書，並稍後連載於《基督少年軍會刊》(Boy’s Brigade Gazette)內。
Following the end of the Boer War, B-P returned to England in 1903 as both a national hero and a youth idol. Noticing the physical and moral decline of the British youth, B-P believed the urgent need to provide them with training in citizenship and patriotism. Invited by his friend William Smith, B-P revised Aids to Scouting to suit the younger audience, and first coined the phrase Scouting for Boys in his article published in the Boys’ Brigade Gazette in June 1906.
貝登堡為實踐理念，在1907年7月29日至8月9日，聯同一位梅富根戰友及任職出版社編輯的好友，帶了20名青少年及其姪兒到英格蘭南面之白浪島(Brownsea Island)舉辦實驗露營。營內，除了教少年人生火、炊事、追踪、偵察等野外技能外，更有連串以小隊為單位的遊戲和比賽。貝登堡更將這次非常成功的試驗露營經驗，重新編寫其《童子警探》一書，並在1908年分階段出版。這六小本單行本推出後，大受青少年歡迎，並紛紛寫信給貝登堡要求成立童子軍隊伍，且得到社會各界支持，童子軍運動於1912年1月在英國正式成立，並得到英皇佐治五世及社會各界支持，漸漸推廣至英聯邦各地，以至世界各國。
To try out his ideas, B-P led a group of 20 boys and his nephew to camp on Brownsea Island in southern England from 29 July to 9 August 1907. The boys were divided in to different patrols and learnt Scoutcraft such as fired lighting, backwoods cooking, stalking and pioneering. A series of inter-patrol games and competitions were also run. Following the great success of the experimental camp, Scouting for Boys, a rewrite of B-P’s earlier books Reconnaissance and Scouting and Aids to Scouting, was published in six fortnightly parts in 1908. This book gained popularity almost instantly among the youths, many of whom wrote to B-P about their wishes to form a Scout Troop. With the support from King George V and the society. The Boy Scouts Association was incorporated in January 1912 throughout the British Commonwealth and soon spread to other parts of the word.
沒有人知道童子軍運動何時傳來香港，一般說法大約在1909年開始有非正式的童子軍運動，由英國駐軍或商人子弟組成，規模細小且沒有正式註冊，也許是看過波爾戰爭英雄貝登堡將軍所著的《童子警探》後之自發組織。最早有文字記載的香港童子軍活動可追溯到1910年，多份本地英文報章曾有相關報導。九龍尖沙咀聖安德烈教堂史賓教士(Rev. Spink)在其基督少年軍隊內，組織了首隊具規模的童子軍。據1912年8月份的英國童子軍官方期刊Headquarters Gazette記載，共有40名隊員穿著童子軍制服和接受童子軍訓練。這在早期的童子軍運動中，並非罕見。在英國，很多基督少年軍內均有童子軍訓練，並成立童子軍小隊，穿著童子軍制服，與基督少年軍相類之Church Lads’ Brigade亦曾有具其特色的童子軍隊伍。
How Scouting spread to Hong Kong has remained a mystery. It is generally believed that informal , small-scale Scouting activities were first introduced into hong Kong in 1909 by British merchants and military personnel who have read B-P’s Scouting for Boys. The earliest evidence of Scouting activities in Hong Kong could date back to 1910, when Rev. Spink of St. Andrew’s Church Kowloon in Tsim Sha Tsui formed the first unit of Scout within its Boys’ Brigade Corps. According to the Headquarters Gazette published by The Boy Scouts Association in August 1912, “Rev. Spink had a company of 40 Boys’ Brigade whom he trained and dressed as Scouts”. During the early days of Scouting, this way of forming Scout units was quite common even in Britain. Apart from the Boys’ Brigade, similar youth organizations like the Church Lad’s Brigade also once had Scout Patrols with their own characteristics.
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