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The
Baden-Powell Library. A Selection of excerpts from the works
of Sir Robert Baden-Powell and works relating to his life and
career. Text
Only Index |
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A
Baden-Powell Photo Gallery. A collection of photographs of
Baden-Powell with highlights from his "two lives" as a
career officer in the British Army and as Founder of the Scout
Movement. Text
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In 1919, when
the first Scoutmasters' Course at Gilwell drew to an end,
Baden-Powell presented each participant with a simple wooden
bead from a Zulu chief's necklace he had brought back from
Africa. In future years, these beads were to give the course its
name. The Wood
Badge Home Page highlights the program in the Boy Scouts of
America. |
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Published at the end of the
first year of the war, H. W. Wilson's With the Flag to
Pretoria devotes portions of three chapters to the Siege
and Relief of Mafeking. "Illustrated
mainly from photographs and authentic sketches taken in South
Africa," it includes several rare photos of
Baden-Powell. |
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"This
small place, which sprang in the course of a few weeks from
obscurity to fame ..." opens Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's
retelling of The
Siege of Mafeking. Author of the Sherlock Holmes
mysteries, Conan Doyle provides an excellent contemporary
account of the siege in his history, The Great Boer War: A
Two-Years' Record, 1899-1901. |
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Paintings
by Baden-Powell. B-P was an accomplished artist and most of
his published works are illustrated with his own drawings and in
some case, color plates from his paintings. His notebooks,
diaries, journals and letters are reported to be filled with pen
and ink drawings, and both pencil and water-color sketches. Here
is a small collection of illustrations of his water-color
paintings from illustrations in a variety of sources. |
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What does the
horn of an African antelope have to do with Scout training? The
Kudu Horn and Scouting explains a Scouting Tradition from an
African War. |
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Eileen K. Wade, The
Piper of Pax: The Life Story of Sir Robert Baden-Powell.
B-P's Confidential Secretary and administrative assistant wrote
this biographical account in 1924. It provides many selections
from B-P's diaries. Chapters 7-9 recount B-P's service in
Swaziland, Malta, Ashanti and Matabeleland. Chapters 10-12 cover
the period of B-P's service in South Africa during the South
African War. |
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"Enterprise"
by Hilary Saint George Saunders. This short biography of B-P
is much the idealized version of his life. Written shortly after
World War Two, this chapter on B-P provides a good capsule
biography and introduction to his "Two Lives."
Excerpted from Hilary Saint George Saunders, The Left
Handshake, 1948. |
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"Be
Prepared," an interview with Baden-Powell describing
the beginnings of Scouting, from an article published in The
Listener in 1937. |
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The
Cruise of the Calgaric, relates the story of a 1933
cruise to the nations of the Baltic by Lord and Lady
Baden-Powell and a contingent of 650 Guides and Scouts. This
"Argosy of Peace" carried them from England to the
Netherlands, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland,
Sweden, Norway and home. Words and photos from the cruise
provide a rare picture of Scouting in these countries prior to
the Second World War. |
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"Lord
Baden-Powell: Benefactor of Boyhood," an article on B-P
and Freemasonry |
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B-P's
Mother: Henrietta Grace Baden-Powell, 1824-1914. |
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"B.-P."
from Great Contemporaries by Sir Winston S. Churchill.
Perhaps one of the finest portraits of the significance of the
life and work of Sir Robert Baden-Powell. |
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A
Baden-Powell Photo Gallery. A collection of photographs and
drawings of Baden-Powell highlighting his life and works. |
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Olave
Baden-Powell, The World Chief Guide. In
1912, young Olave St Claire Soames married Robert
Baden-Powell. Her
boundless
energy led to her being
called "The Mother of Millions". Her unflagging
support of BP helped Scouting to grow even faster, and her own
vision saw Guiding become the largest organisation for girls and
women ever seen. |
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Major
Frederick Russell Burnham, D.S.O. Like
B-P, Burnham was military scout. After serving together in
Matableleland in 1896, he became a lifelong friend and admirer
of Baden-Powell. In his book Taking Chances, 1944, he
describes that first meeting when he and B-P scouted in the
Matopo Hills. He also describes a little known and interesting
historical event, the dedication of Mount Baden-Powell in the
Sierras in 1931. |
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On July 4th,
1911, 30,00 Scouts assembled in Windsor
Great Park for a rally and a review by King George V.
Baden-Powell referred to this event as "was one of the most
thrilling moments of my life." B-P describes the scene in
his book Adventures and Accidents, 1915. |
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Honors
and Decorations: Sir Robert Baden-Powell, O.M., G.C.M.G.,
G.C.V.O., K.C.B., Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell. B-P's military
and civilian honors included several Knighthoods, a Peerage,
recognition for service to the Sovereign, his country and his
fellow man. |
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In 1876, Baden-Powell was posted
to his first regiment, The
13th Hussars, a cavalry regiment with a long tradition. They
were perhaps best known for their part in the Charge of the
Light Brigade before the guns at Balaclava in the Crimean War.
The regiment continues today as part of The
Light Dragoons, an armored regiment of the British Army that
saw service in Desert Storm. |
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Baden-Powell's
painting "South Africa, August 21st, 1900."
When C. R. B. Barrett was writing the History of the XIII
Hussars, he looked to one of the most distinguished
veterans and serving officers of the 13th Hussars,
Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Baden-Powell. The two volume set
has several color plates, some done exclusively for this
history. Volume II is introduced with Baden-Powell's painting
"South Africa, August 21st, 1900." It depicts
a member of the 13th Hussars offering a "hand up" to a
dismounted Hussar during an engagement near the Buffalo River.
The regimental history reported the events of the day. |
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B-P's first
Commanding Officer, Sir
Baker Creed Russell, 13th Hussars. |
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An noteworthy portrait of Baden-Powell
as Colonel of the 13th Hussars compliments this web site
devoted to the
British Empire with interesting and rare details of several
regiments of the British Army. Biographies of the Colonels of
the 13th Hussars and regimental history are included. |
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Chief
Dinizulu of the Usutu. Russell Freeman's Scouting with
Baden-Powell provides an easy to read and enjoyable account
of B-P's two lives -- as a serving officer in the British Army,
and as the Founder of the World Scout Movement. His chapter on
B-P in South Africa in the 1880's gives a good second-hand
account of B-P's service there. It includes a description of his
pursuit of Dinizulu during the Zulu civil war of 1883-1884. |
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On March 25,
1897, Baden-Powell was appointed to command the 5th
Dragoon Guards. He served with the Regiment in India until
June 1899. |
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Lessons
from the Varsity of Life is Baden-Powell's most
complete autobiographical account. Here he presents interesting
and enjoyable stories of his "two lives" in Soldiering
and in Scouting. |
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A
Baden-Powell Bibliography. Laszlo Nagy, who was the Chief
Executive of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM),
developed this detailed bibliography for his book 250
Million Scouts published in 1985. |
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"My
House in the Woods, 1911" From a water-color painting
by Sir Robert Baden-Powell.
[Please
note, this graphic is over 170K] |
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E. E. Reynolds,
B-P: The Story of His Life, is a major source of
biographical information about B-P. It is one of several works
by E. E. Reynolds documenting the life of the Chief Scout and
the early days of the Scout Movement. |
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Around
the World with Baden-Powell: Words. Pictures and Links. A
collection of links derived from my travels about the World Wide
Web and specific searches using the Alta-Vista, Lycos, Web
Crawler, and InfoSeek Search Engines. They represent a
work-in-progress and are by no means complete. |
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Baden-Powell
always tried to provide youth with guidance on living life to
its full. Success and Happiness were two important elements he
described in Rovering
to Success. |
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What
Scouts Can Do: More Yarns for Scouts is one of several
books of "yarns" -- stories about subjects he thought
would be of interest to Scouts. It was first published in 1921
and reprinted a number of times. It was one of B-P's more
popular books. Here are some yarns from Chapter VII. He talks
about the techniques of stalking, the Scout's staff, and the
"Thanks Badge," surprisingly in the form of a
swastika. |
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Baden-Powell
traveled widely. He enjoyed the open road and had a keen sense
of adventure. In his book, What Scouts Can Do: More Yarns,
he says "I want every Scout to be happy, and one of the
best ways I know of being happy is to go for a good bike ride.
In Biking in
Bosnia he provides a fascinating picture of this
war-torn land before the two World Wars. |
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Stevens
Publishing of Kila, Montana has a wonderful selection of
reprints of many of B-P's writings. These include, among others:
Aids to Scoutmastership, Lessons from the Varsity
of Life, Memories of India and My Adventures
as a Spy. There are works about Scouting, about B-P's first
career as a soldier, and about B-P's views on Scouting and life.
Stevens also publishes reprints of works by Ernest Thompson
Seton and Dan Beard, two founders of the Boy Scouts of America.
They are a unique source of information on Scouting. |
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Sources for B-P
Biography & Bibliography from Randy Wooster's Scouting
History and Traditions. |
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