Baden-Powell's Background
Robert Baden-Powell was
born 22 February 1857. He
was, therefore 50 years old
when the Brownsea camp took
place. His many experiences
as a boy and as a soldier
played a part in the
formulation of this training
methods.
As a youngster - one of
ten children (six brothers)
- he spent his holidays
camping, hiking and sailing.
Tent pitching, map and
compass use, and wood-fire
cooking were but a few of
the skills he acquired. Near
his school at Charterhouse,
England, he used to sneak
into the forest, which was
off-limits; here he learned
how to hide his tracks,
climb trees and "freeze" to
escape attention if any of
the school masters entered
the woods.
In 1876 he went to India
as a young army officer and
specialised in Scouting,
map-making and reporting.
His success soon led to his
training other soldiers for
the work. B-P's methods were
unorthodox for those days;
small units or patrols
working together under one
leader, with special
recognition for those who
did well. For proficiency,
B-P awarded his trainees
badges resembling the
traditional design of the
north compass point. Today's
universal Scout badge is
very similar.
Later he was stationed in
the Balkans, South Africa
and Malta. He returned to
Africa to help defend
Mafeking during its 217-day
siege at the start of the
South African war. It
provided crucial tests for
B-P's Scouting skills. The
courage and resourcefulness
shown by the boys in the
corps of messengers at
Mafeking made a lasting
impression on him. In turn,
his deeds made a lasting
impression in England.
Returning home he found
that he had become a
national hero. He also found
that the small handbook he
had written for soldiers was
being used to teach
observation and woodcraft to
members of Boys' Clubs and
Boys' Brigade. B-P decided
to rewrite the book
especially for boys. The
1907 camp on Brownsea Island
was to test his ideas in
practise.
Read more about Robert
Baden-Powell.
Growth of the Movement
The success of "Scouting
for Boys" produced a
Movement that quickly –
automatically it seemed –
adopted the name of The Boy
Scouts and necessitated the
establishment of an office
to administer it.
By 1909 the Movement had
taken firm root. "Scouting
for Boys" had been
translated into five
languages. A Scout rally in
London attracted more that
11,000 Scouts. As a result
of B-P taking a holiday in
South America, Chile was one
of the first countries
outside Britain to begin
Scouting. In 1910 he visited
Canada and the United States
where it had already
started.
The coming of the war in
1914 could have brought
about the collapse of the
Movement, but the training
provided through the patrol
system proved its worth.
Patrol leaders took over
when adult leaders
volunteered for active
service. Scouts contributed
to the war effort in many
ways; most notable perhaps
were the Sea Scouts who took
the place of regular
coast-guardsmen, thus
freeing them for service
afloat.
The first World jamboree
took place in 1920 with
8,000 participants, and
proved that young people of
many nations could come
together to share common
interests and ideals. Since
that first World Jamboree at
Olympia in London, there
have been 17 others at
different locations.
During the Jamboree the
first International Scout
Conference was held with 33
national Scout organizations
represented. The Boy Scouts
International Bureau was
founded in London in 1920.
In 1922 the first
International Committee was
elected at the 2nd
International Conference
(Paris), where 31 national
Scout organizations were
represented. World
membership was just over 1
million.
Read about the Milestones of
World Scouting.
The Early Scout
Programme
Scouting began as a
programme for boys 11 to 18
years of age. Yet almost
immediately there were
demands by others to
participate. The Girl Guides
programme was started in
1910 by B-P. His wife Olave,
whom he married in 1912,
became Chief Guide.
A Wolf Cub section was
formed for younger boys. It
used Kipling's "Jungle
Book", to provide an
imaginative symbolic
background for activities.
For older boys, a Rover
Scout branch was formed.
The names and
characteristics of
programmes vary from country
to country: Cub Scouts,
Beavers, Rovers, Explorers,
Senior Scouts and many more.
In some countries boys can
start when they are six
years old. Some programmes
are open to girls and boys.
The World Wars
Between the two world
wars Scouting continued to
flourish in all parts of the
world - except in
totalitarian countries where
it was banned. Scouting is
essentially democratic and
voluntary.
The war came in 1939,
Scouts again carried on
under their patrol leaders;
they undertook many national
service tasks – messengers,
fire watchers, stretcher
bearers, salvage collectors
and so on. In occupied
countries, Scouting
continued in secret with
Scouts playing important
roles in the resistance and
underground movements. After
the liberation, it was found
that the numbers of Scouts
in some occupied countries
had, in fact, increased.
The '60s, '70s and
'80s
Many countries gained
their independence during
these years. Scouting in
developing countries
gradually evolved to be a
youth programme which was
designed by Scout leaders in
each country to better meet
the needs of their
communities.
Scouts, particularly in
developing countries, became
more involved with issues
such as child health,
low-cost housing, literacy,
food production and
agriculture, job skills
training, etc.
Drug abuse prevention,
life skills training,
integration of the
handicapped, environmental
conservation and education,
and peace education became
issues of concern to Scouts
around the world.
Post Communistic Era
In the 1990s Scouting has
been reborn in every country
where it existed prior to
World War II, and it has
started throughout the newly
independent countries of the
Commonwealth of Independent
States (formerly the USSR).
Since 1993, 35 countries
have joined, or rejoined,
the World Organization of
the Scout Movement.
What started as a small
camp on Brownsea Island is
today a growing Movement
with members in nearly every
country in the world. What
started as an outdoor camp
to teach skills is today a
programme that is used
successfully in such diverse
settings as developing
countries and metropolitan
inner-cities.