The Elgin District Badge:

The Right Honourable - The 10th Earl of Elgin and 14th Earl of Kincardine, KT, CMG, TD - granted our District the privilege of using the Bruce tartan as the background for our badge, this being the personal tartan of Lord Elgin, a descendant of King Robert the Bruce. In 1852, this section of the Talbot Settlement was named in honour of Lord Elgin's grandfather who was Governor-General of Canada from 1847 to 1854. Since the District derived its name from the County and thus ultimately from Lord Elgin, the use of the Bruce tartan is very appropriate. The irregular white area outlined in green geographically depicts the unique shape of the County. The shield in the upper left hand corner is taken from the seal of Elgin County. This shield pictures a small beaver which is indigenous to this area and it is flanked by a spray of three maple leaves in yellow, red and green, representing the feature of these prominent trees to change the colour of their foliage with the seasons. Designed in 1958, this badge has been proudly worn by the youth and their leaders to many countries of the world. Elgin District is proud of its heritage of serving youth since 1921, and looks brightly into the future of helping our youth grow and mature through the Scouting Spirit


The history of Scouting in Elgin goes back to about 1910, when Mr. William Joseph Yorke-Hardy became the first Scoutmaster in St. Thomas. As far as we know, this took place at Trinity Anglican Church.