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New to Scouting or interested in its history?
We've pulled together a brief history of Scouting from a variety of sources.
Contents
Contents
In the Beginning
In the Beginning
August 1907. Lieutenant-General Robert Baden-Powell (B-P) ran a week long camp for just 20 boys on Brownsea Island, near Poole in Dorset. The camp was intended to test the ideas he was including in his soon to be published book "Scouting for Boys". The camp was a success, proving to B-P that his training and methods appealed to young people and really worked.
January 1908. B-P published the first edition of "Scouting for Boys". First in 6 fortnightly instalments of approximately 70 pages each, and then in book form in May 1908. The book was an immediate success, and although B-P hadn't intended to start a new movement, following publication young boys were soon organising themselves into Patrols, running activities along the lines of B-P's book, and writing to B-P.
Did You Know 1 - Diversity
Did You Know 1 - Diversity
Although B-P's first camp was all boys, he was already an innovator, mixing boys from the various social classes. Although over half the boys came from the public schools of Eton and Harrow the other half came from the middle and working class. This at a time when the social classes didn't meet and interact on a social basis. And camp fees were means tested. Public school boys had to pay £1, the others 3 shillings & 6 pence. Whilst it's hard to make numbers from such a long time ago meaningful, relative to the average worker's wage that's circa £430 for the public school boys and £70 for the others. Perhaps not surprisingly the camp finished with a deficit!
B-P at Brownsea Camp
The Start of Scouts in Rugby
The Start of Scouts in Rugby
In Rugby, as in so many towns and cities, Patrols were springing up inspired by B-P's book. Some of the first Patrols in Rugby were called Cuckoo Patrol, Rooks, Kangaroos, and Wolves. Some Patrols didn't last, but in 1908 the 1st Troop came into being with the Rooks, Kangaroos, and Wolf patrols. In early 1909 the 2nd Troop started at Lower School, and by February 1910 there was also 3rd Rugby Troop, 4th, and 5th (British Thomson Houston).
6th Rugby - Origin
6th Rugby - Origin
The first mention of 6th Troop is April 1910. Just 7 years after the Wright Brothers' first powered flight, there was a £10,000 prize on offer for flying from London to Manchester in under 24 hours with no more than two stops.
Claude Graham-White left London 23 April, taking off about 5:10 am. He made his first, scheduled, stop in Rugby, about 7:15 am in a field at the foot of Normandy Hill. A large crowd had gathered in anticipation and the Rugby Advertiser reported "...the crowd were kept at a distance from the machine by the St. Matthew's troop of Boy Scouts from Rugby, under Scoutmaster A. G. Day, whose poles formed a very effective barrier." Unfortunately Graham-White didn't win the £10,000.
Graham-White's Plane Landing in RugbyWitnessed by members of 6th Rugby?
We know A.G. Day was Scoutmaster of 6th Troop thanks to the Rugby Advertiser's report of a memorial service held in Rugby for King Edward VII a month later. "Attended by 133 Boy Scouts and a number of Scoutmasters including Mr Day of 6th Troop."
Membership Badge Used Before 1967
The Founding of The Scout Association
The Founding of The Scout Association
The Scout Association (TSA) was formed in 1910, and incorporated by a royal charter in 1912 under its name of The Boy Scouts Association.
Originally, TSA's programs were for boys aged between 11 and 18. However, many girls and younger boys wanted to join in.
Diversification 1
Diversification 1
So later in 1910, a separate organisation, the Girl Guides, was created by B-P and his sister Agnes. In 1916, TSA launched Wolf Cubs, for boys aged 8 to 11, and in 1918 Rover Scouts for those over 18 who had grown out of Scouts but wanted to be remain connected. Agnes beat B-P to it. She'd started Rosebuds, later becoming Brownies, in 1914.
The demand from younger siblings to be able to join in didn't stop. The first pre-Cub scheme was set up in Northern Ireland in 1963 and was initially called The Little Brothers. But it wasn't until 1982 that Beavers was introduced throughout the UK.
By 1976 Rover Scouts had become Venture Scouts and it became the first Section to be open to female participants. In 1991 TSA began the transition to being fully co-educational at all levels. At first it was optional for Groups and sections. Then from 2000 all new sections were required to be co-educational, and by 2007 all sections of all Scout Groups were co-educational.
And the expansion continues. Northern Ireland again leading the way with the independent Squirrel Association feeding local Scout Groups. TSA started it's own pilot scheme, and influenced by COVID-19 and its impact on young people, launched Squirrels for 4-6 year olds September 2021.
Diversification 2
Diversification 2
B-P introduced the Scout Promise and Scout Law in his book "Scouting for Boys". And writing his book for youth groups in the United Kingdom in the first decade of the 20th Century, the vast majority of his intended audience that practised a religion was Christian. Very different to the UK of today. So perhaps not surprisingly the Scout Promise as originally written by B-P references "...duty to God..." and the book references Christianity.
However, as the Scouting movement spread rapidly around the world, whilst B-P continued to see God as part of a Scout's life, he didn't dictate any specific faith.
B-P's gravestone has no religious symbol. Instead it bears a circle with a dot at the centre. The trail sign for "Going home \ I have gone home".
Today TSA allows members of any religion, or no religion at all. There are a number of different versions of the Scout Promise for members of different religions, and for members who are Atheist, Humanist, or of no faith background. All Scouts are expected to abide by TSA's religious policy which promotes mutual acceptance of beliefs within the Movement such as by encouraging young Scouts to explore their own beliefs as well as making general provisions and considerations for members.
B-P & Wife Gravestone
Did You Know 2 - Groups, Sections, etc.
Did You Know 2 - Groups, Sections, etc.
These days Scouts are organised into Scout Groups. Scout Groups can have any number of Beaver Scout Colonies, Cub Scout Packs, and Scout Troops. Sometimes an Explorer Scout Unit is attached to a Group. And most recently Squirrel Scout Dreys can be part of a Scout Group. A Scout Group is led by a Group Scout Leader, often abbreviated to GSL.
Similar to the way the first (Scout) Troops were organised into Patrols, Beaver Colonies can be organised into Lodges, Cub Packs into Sixes. Scout Troops are still organised into Patrols.
Scout Groups are part of a District. In the case of 6th Rugby, we're part of Rugby District. There are 13 Scout Groups in Rugby. Mainly in Rugby, but also Dunchurch, Long Lawford, and Stretton-on-Dunsmore. Districts are then part of a County. Rugby District is one of 8 Districts in Warwickshire County.
At their Investiture, after they've made their Promise, young people and adult leaders are given a 6th Rugby name strip plus District and County badges to attach to their uniform.
6th Rugby - Past & Present
6th Rugby - Past & Present
The first iteration of 6th Rugby Scout Troop lasted just a couple of years, closing in 1911.
The second iteration of 6th Rugby was formed in 1917 and lasted almost 40 years before closing again in 1956.
1961 And All That
1961 And All That
Fast forward to September 1961 and 6th Rugby (St Margaret's) was formed, initially with just a Wolf Cub Pack "...under Dr Shields...". It wasn't until May 1962 that the Scout Troop met for the first time. And in October 1962 the paperwork caught up and 6th Rugby Scout Group's registration from TSA was received. By 1965 a Mr Stuart was Group Scoutmaster, and the Group had grown to 24 Cubs and 15 Scouts.
St Margaret's was one of the churches that as a result of the 1972 union of the Presbyterian Church of England and the Congregational Church in England and Wales became a United Reformed Church, and 6th Rugby became 6th Rugby (URC).
Mrs Barbara Coleman, Cub Master
Did You Know 3 - Warrant
Did You Know 3 - Warrant
Scout and Cub Masters were issued with warrants personally signed by the Chief Scout.
One of our earliest Cub Masters was Mrs. Barbara Coleman. Appointed September 1962.
And Then There Were Beaver Scouts
And Then There Were Beaver Scouts
In March 1985 6th Rugby started the first Beaver Colony in Rugby District. And our Group was complete. And over 60 years after 6th Rugby began it's meetings in the church hall in Hillmorton Road, we're still there.
Did You Know 4 - Neckers
Did You Know 4 - Neckers
Scout scarves or neckers have been part of Scout uniform from the beginning. It's thought B-P copied the idea from a gentleman called Frederick Russell Burnham whom B-P worked with when he was in the British Army in South Africa. B-P admired Burnham's practical form of dress which included a loosely tied handkerchief around his neck to prevent sunburn. In "Scouting for Boys" B-P wrote "Every Troop has its own scarf colour, since the honour of your Troop is bound up in the scarf, you must be very careful to keep it tidy and clean."
We don't know the colour of the first 6th Rugby Troop's necker, but the second 6th Rugby Troop started with a "dark green" necker before changing to "Scout green". And then when the current 6th Rugby Group formed, a necker of "scarlet and emerald green" was selected.
The woggle, worn to secure the necker, wasn't invented until the 1920s. Before then Scouts would tie knots in their neckers to secure them. These days many Scouts combine a woggle and a knot, often the friendship knot. And woggles themselves can be as diverse as plastic duck superheros to hand-decorated minature clogs. 6th Rugby's woggle celebrates it's relationship with the United Reformed Church and bears the Christian symbols of a cross and a fish. (Woggles without the Christian symbols are also available.)
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