Welcome to the first blog of 2011!
The
image above is a recent acquisition to the Archive and leads me neatly
in to announcing that the first tranche of our art collection is
available to view on our Catalogue page. This will be added to over the
coming months until all the art works have been included so keep coming
back to see what has been ad
Expedition to the Lakes
Happy New Year to all our readers.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a very happy and peaceful 2011.
We have been very lucky recently to have ben given a collection of photographs taken by the late Bill Carden. The ones we are featuring here were taken by Bill on an expedition he took part in to the Lake District in 1951. The first photograph shows some expedition members toiling up a path with typical Lake District mountains as a backdrop. The second one shows a view of the Honister Pass, one of the more remote parts of the area. This is wild country!
Happy New Year to all our readers.
We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers a very happy and peaceful 2011.
We have been very lucky recently to have ben given a collection of photographs taken by the late Bill Carden. The ones we are featuring here were taken by Bill on an expedition he took part in to the Lake District in 1951. The first photograph shows some expedition members toiling up a path with typical Lake District mountains as a backdrop. The second one shows a view of the Honister Pass, one of the more remote parts of the area. This is wild country!
Bill
lived in the picturesque village of Chalfont St. Giles in
Buckinghamshire and joined the 1st Chalfont St. Giles Group in April
1947, after a stint in the Boys' Brigade. He became Assistant Scout
Leader in February 1950 and promptly left to carry out his National
Service! After a spell in the R.A.F., he returned to Chalfont St. Giles
and was appointed Group Scout Leader in July 1958. Despite his
enthusiasm and commitment to the movement, Bill continued to develop his
photographic skills. The top one below shows the expedition at the
summit of Skiddaw and the view from there, while the one beneath shows
the members of the expedition having a well-earned breather.
Bill
resigned as Group Scout Leader in late 1965, for family and health
reasons, but was prevailed upon to take up the post of Assistant
District Commissioner (General Duties) in January 1966. He finally
resigned in April 1968, after 20 years' service to Scouting. Although
this marked the end of his active involvement with scouting, he
maintained a lively interest for the rest of his life. Retiral from the
Scouts meant though that he could devote himself to his other major
hobby, photography.
The
photographic record of the 1951 expedition to the Lake District gives
us a glimpse of one of the most beautiful parts of the United Kingdom
before it became over-exploited. The weather seems to have been
unseasonably wintry - the expedition took place at Easter! - but this
gave Bill the opportunity to create some excellent photographs. Look out
for some more in the next blog!
Claire Woodforde, Archive & Heritage Assistant
18 January 2011 January / 2011Hello again and welcome to the second part of our blog about the late Bill Carden's photographs. We're showing a selection of the black and white photos he took on an expedition with senior scouts to the Lake District at Easter 1951. I hope you'll agree that the pictures capture the grandeur of this magnificent area of Great Britain.
Bill was also skilful at juxtaposing individuals against the scenery and the next photos are good examples of this. In this picture, I think he has captured the serenity of the lake and the mountains with the girl in the foreground, reflecting perhaps on her surroundings, almost to perfection. Perhaps the girl, however, was thinking more about her boyfriend rather than the beauty of the area!
04 January 2012 January / 2012
Royal Charter Anniversary
One
hundred years to the day a Royal Charter was granted to The Scout
Association the legal right to undertake Scouting within the United Kingdom
and around the world within British influence by His Majesty King
George V. From this document of a few pages was born a Movement that
has grown to number 28 million members providing opportunities for
adventure, culture and leadership for all young people regardless of
faith or culture.
To
celebrate the event I will be giving a presentation on London's
Scouting Heritage at the London Metropolitan Archives on Thursday 5
January at 6pm.
The
above image is our first donation of 2012, a painting generously given
by the family of the Scout shown. The plaque given with the painting
reads 'Donated to The Scout Association by the family in loving memory
of Bernard Statham (1922-2011) who is 'The Boy Scout' painted by Charles
Roodhouse in 1935.'
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
06 January 2012 January / 2012
Royal Volunteer
With
the Duchess of Cambridge volunteering with a Scout Group and the
centenary of the Royal Charter in the same week I've arranged to
digitize all the Royal Charters which can see at the link below.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
25 January 2012
January / 2012Hello everyone and a belated Happy New Year to all our users.
I was rummaging through some files last week and came across a book produced in 1918 to celebrate 10 years of scouting in Birmingham. Interesting in its own right but what made it especially useful (and very poignant) is that there is a list of Birmingham scouts and scouters who lost their lives in the First World War. I cross-checked all the names with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records and have now been able to add a number to our First World War Roll of Honour. As we approach the centenary in August 2014 of the outbreak of the War, we are very keen to try to make the Roll of Honour as complete as we can so if anyone has any names which aren't included do let us know and we will do our best to include them.
Daniel is also working on the Second World War Roll of Honour and, hopefully, that will be complete in the next few months. Again, though, if anyone has information regarding scouts or scouters who aren't included, please let us know.
I hope you all have a very peaceful 2012 and all your endeavours come to fruition.
Claire
January / 2012Hello everyone and a belated Happy New Year to all our users.
I was rummaging through some files last week and came across a book produced in 1918 to celebrate 10 years of scouting in Birmingham. Interesting in its own right but what made it especially useful (and very poignant) is that there is a list of Birmingham scouts and scouters who lost their lives in the First World War. I cross-checked all the names with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records and have now been able to add a number to our First World War Roll of Honour. As we approach the centenary in August 2014 of the outbreak of the War, we are very keen to try to make the Roll of Honour as complete as we can so if anyone has any names which aren't included do let us know and we will do our best to include them.
Daniel is also working on the Second World War Roll of Honour and, hopefully, that will be complete in the next few months. Again, though, if anyone has information regarding scouts or scouters who aren't included, please let us know.
I hope you all have a very peaceful 2012 and all your endeavours come to fruition.
Claire
4 February 2011
February / 2011
February / 2011
Scouting International
In
my blog from last year I promised to reproduce a Latvian Scout notebook
which had been donated to the Archive. I'm happy to say the images
from the notebook are below with an explanation of the context by the
donor of the item. You can also find images of international Scouting
on our catalogue page.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
Dear Mr Scott-Davies
I
come from a long-established scouting family in Newport, Mon. I am
now 77 years old, but remain conscious of the debt I owe to the Scout
movement which dominated my youth, and gave me so many lifelong skills,
interests and friendships. I am particularly cognisant of the
international dimension of the movement, from my attendance at the 6th
World Jamboree at Moisson-sur-Seine in 1947, and to my own subsequent
career in youth work, from which I retired in 1993 as Chief Youth
Service Officer (MoD), based in Germany.
Recently
a small and very unusual metal bound notebook, with a small metal
Latvian scout badge on the cover, has been passed to me by the family of
a Latvian scout who subsequently was inducted into the 6th Newport (St
Julian's) Scout Group in Newport, Monmouthshire, in 1947. The name of
this man was Arvald Martin Kalnins who came, I believe, from Riga by
way of the Displaced Persons' Camp at Ostenfeld, West Germany [there is a
sketch of the camp in the notebook]. As you will know, following World
War II, many citizens of the Baltic States (and others) were
incarcerated in DP Camps by the Allies as they were unwilling to take
their chances back in their own countries, then controlled by the
Soviets. I understand that Martin Kalnins was a Master Mariner, and
was accompanied by his wife (Mudite) and two children (Eve and John).
Somehow, in Newport, he made contact with my father's Rover Scout crew
and, in due course, was inducted into that Crew. I remember in the
years 1947-1950 the Kalnins family coming to dinner at our house, and
this hospitality being reciprocated. There was also another Latvian
family, that of Georg Krumins, whom I believe was a Minister in the
Pre-War Latvian Government, and who subsequently moved to the Wirral,
where he became a successful shipping importer. I do not believe Georg
Krumins was associated with the Scout Movement. I went away to
university, my parents moved out of Newport, and I lost touch with the
Kalnins family, though I understand Martin later took employment as a
Pilot on the Suez Canal.
The
families of the original Rovers who befriended this Latvian scout have,
I've just learned, since maintained contact with the Latvian families
through several generations, which is - in itself - an indication of the
quality the Movement inspires in its members and their families to
befriend those in need. The notebook is very interesting, being written
partly in Latvian and partly in English. It clearly shows the
importance that Scouting played in Martin Kalnins' life and in his
adjustment to his new life in Britain. He writes out the Scout Law and
Promise in English, and describes his induction into the Rover Scouts at
'The Cabin'. This was the 6th Crew's 'country retreat' - the teak
cabin from HMS Collingwood which they relocated to the banks of the
River Usk at Kemys, near Usk, and which offered myself and my other
scouting cronies a wonderful place for sleeping over and campfires in
our teenage years.
I
am writing to you as I wonder whether this remarkable notebook would be
of interest to the Scout Association archives. It is of personal
interest to me, as my father ('Len', referred to in the notebook) was
responsible for inducting Martin Kalnins into the Newport Crew, but I
feel it may be of wider interest to the Movement's archives. It is also
possible you may be able to get the Latvian pages translated: the
Latvian phrases I learned were very limited and are now lost! If you
feel this would be of interest, I would be happy to send it to you, and
to answer any further queries you may have.
Kind Regards.
David Escott
9 February 2011 February / 2011When I was cataloguing some of the photographs in our collections last week, I came across a photograph of the new 1st Chalfont St. Giles Group Headquarters. Eagle-eyed readers will remember that this was the Group with which Bill Carden was associated throughout much of his scouting career. Indeed, the new building was very much Bill's creation and he was still Group Scout Leader when it was opened on 4th April 1964. It seemed appropriate to include this photograph as a postscript to the photographs we've already shown, as a tribute to a distinguished and dedicated scouter and photographer.
14 February 2011 February / 2011Hello again!
Welcome to our latest blog and I hope you're finding it of interest.
The Scouts' Association Archive is a mine of hidden treasures and all sorts of curious and interesting items are being discovered. The latest discovery is worthy of a place on the Antiques Roadshow, as it was discovered by Daniel, the Archivist, hidden behind a painting! The document in question is a mortgage deed dated 1754 and relates to the sale of the Gilwell Estate in that year. How and why this deed came to be put behind a painting is anybody's guess but it is important to our collections as it gives us some information about the provenance of the Estate before its acquisition by the Chinnery family.
The
mortgage deed is illustrated below and I have tried to put to use my
recently-acquired skills in the reading of old handwriting by providing a
transcript of the deed. I won't guarantee that it is 100% accurate: my
excuse is that I've only just started studying palaeography (the study
of old handwriting), so if any of you want to send corrections, feel
free to do so. My e mail is Claire.Woodforde@scouts.org.uk and I look forward to hearing from you!
The
image immediately below is the mortgage deed in its entirety. The other
images show sections of the deed. If you can enlarge the images, try
transcribing the words yourself and see how they compare with my
transcription.
Transcript:
Mannor of Sewardston in the County of Essex
1. Memorandum this twenty third day of [...] in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven
2. hundred and fifty four William Scrimshire of Bowland London gentleman One of the Customary Tennants
3.
of the said Mannor [...] before Vigerius Edwards Esquire Steward of the
said Mannor at his mansion house in Bedford Row in the Parish of Saint
4.
Andrews holborn in the County of Midd[l]e[sex] and did then and there
Surrender into the hands of William Sothesby Esquire Lord of the said
Mannor
5.
by the [...] according to the Custom of the said Mannor by the hands
and acceptance of the said Vigerius Edwards Stewrad thereof as aforesaid
ALL
6.
that Customary Messuage or Tenement heritable called Gildfords als[o]
Gildford situate in a certain Street called Silver Street in Sewardston
in
7.
the Parish of Waltham Holy Cross in the said County of Essex with the
yards Gardens Orchards and other the Appurtenances thereto belonging
8.
formerly in the tenure of Francis Moor and also a parcel of land near
the said Messuage containing by Estimation Two acres and an half be the
9.
same more or less and also one close of ffeild called Neitherffeild
containing by Estimation five acres be the same more or less abutting
upon
10.
a croft there called Shippards towards the East and upon a certain Lane
there called Hoe Lane towards the West AND ALSO one piece or
11.
parcel of land called Shippards Croft containing by Estimation four
acres be the same more or less abutting upon Neitherffeild aforesaid
towards
12.
the North and West upon Hoe Lane aforesaid towards the South AND ALSO
half an acre of meadow lying in a mead called Cob [...] abutting
13.
on the side of Cobbffeild towards the East AND ALSO one other acre of
meadow called the [...] in Sewardston aforesaid with the appurtenances
14.
AND ALSO ALL THAT Customary Messuage or Tenement called Osbornes als[o]
[...] heritable Situate in Silver Street afores[ai]d with the
appurt[enance]s
15.
And also are there two parcels of land parcells of Osbornes containing
together by Estimation five acres be the same more or less lying near
the
16.
said Messuage last mentioned AND ALSO all that Close called Little
Gilwell containing by Estimation three acres be the same more or less
AND ALSO
17.
all that other Close called Great Gilwell containing by Estimation five
acres be the same more or less with thier Appurtenances all which
Messuages
18.
and premis[es] are now in the occupation of Thomas Clancy and also all
ways waters watercourses comon passages Lights Easements profitts
19.
Comodities and Apputenances whatsoever to the said several Messuages or
Tenements Lands Hereditaments and premisses Belonging or in any wise
20.
appertaining to all which said customary Messuages Lands and Tenements
to the said William Scrimshire was admitted Tenant to him and his heirs
21.
by the Lord of the said Mannor out of the Court th[i]s Thirteenth Day
of March which was in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred
and
22.
fifty two as by the Court Roll of the said Mannor[...] being there
[...] may appear to the Use and behoof of Hannah Scrimshire and
23.
Susanna Scrimshire of Alhallows Bread street London [...] their heirs
and assigns for ever PROVIDED always nevertheless and upon Condition
24.
notwithstanding that if the said William Scrimshire and his heirs
Executors or administrators do and shall well and truly pay or cause to
be paid
25.
unto the said Hannah Scrimshire and Susanna Scrimshire their Executors
or administrators the full sum of four hundred pounds and interest at
the rate of
26.
ffour pounds f[or] [...] on the twenty fourth day of June which shall
be in the year of our Lord one Thousand Seven Hundred and ffifty five
27
then this Surrender to be void and of none effect the time [...] and
[...] of this Surrender being and so by the said William Scrimshire
28
[...] to be a security for the sum of two hundred pounds to him
advanced by the said Susannah Scrimshire with interest as aforesaid
making it
29. together the above mentioned sume of ffour hundred pounds.
31. The above surrender undertaken [signed]
32. by me Vigerius Edwards Steward W[illia]m Scrimshire
This
mortgage document is of some importance as it shows us the ownership of
the Gilwell estate before it came into the hands of the Chinnery
family. William Scrimshire sold the estate, then amounting to some 23
acres, to Leonard Tresilian who further increased the size of the
esatate. Tresilian died in 1792 and the estate passed to his daughter,
Margaret, by then married to William Chinnery. It was the Chinnery
family who began the process of turning the Gilwell estate into a
fashionable and modish country estate. The rest, as they say, is
history...
The
document is written in an Italic style as far as I can see, but there
are occasional letters written in the style known as Secretary Hand,
which was the prevalent handwriting style from the Middle Ages until the
17th Century. Although in decline by the mid 18th Century, Secretary
Hand still influenced handwriting styles and ,made ocacsional
appearances in all manner of documents. A good example is the lower case
"c", as used in the word "containing" in Line 9 - this is a
typical Secretary hand "c" which occurs quite frequently in this
document.
We
in the Heritage Department are more than happy to host guided tours of
Gilwell Park and the White House. You can learn much more about the
history of this fascinating Estate and the fundamental role it has
played in both British and international scouting since its acquisition
by the Movement in 1919. These tours can be carried out at any time
during the week or at weekends and are free-of-charge. We do welcome
donations, however, to help us meet the costs of maintaining this
important facility. For more details, contact us on 0208 433 7195 or by e
mail on the address quoted above.
I
hope you have found this as interesting as I did and, naturally, I'd
love to hear from any of you with your comments or thoughts.
Claire Woodforde
Archives/Heritage Assistant
15 February 2011 February / 2011
Shackleton's Birthday
In
honour of Shackleton's birthday we have added some letters and images
from the Archive to the exhibition page on RRS Discovery. A sample
image is given below and to find out more about the amazing history of
Scouting keep reading our blog!
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
16 February 2012 February / 2012
Sea Scouting: A History 1909-2009
Roy
Masini's book on the history of Sea Scouting is available to buy and I
thoroughly recommend it as Roy as drawn upon the Association's archives
at national and local levels to be provide the first comphrensive
history of Sea Scouting. To read reviews and order a copy go to Amazon.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
17 February 2012 February / 2012
The Movement's archive Keeps Moving!
Another
interesting donation that we have received recently is this wonderful
time capsule of a Scout shirt. It belonged to Reginald Frank Waters (30
October 1921 - 14 May 2009) of the 2nd Barnehurst Group which includes a
mourning black band for King George V in 1936.
Our
cataloguing of the Collection carries on a pace thanks to some of our
volunteers who are working on different aspects whichs contributes so
much to our understanding of the Association's past. Barbara Vesey has
been doing a wonderful job of indexing our film collections remotely via
YouTube. Peter Ford
has been indexing our photographic award volumes so we will be able to
make them available through the website in the near future. To both
them I express my admiration and thanks for their work alongside our
other volunteers. If you would like to volunteer please get in contact
through the website or visit us at Who Do You Think You Are Live at Olympia, more to follow!
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
25 February 2012 February / 2012
Who Do You Think You Are Live 2012
Come and visit us Who Do You Think You Are Live 2012 at Olympia on table 51. For further details on the show and directions at http://www.whodoyouthinkyouarelive.com/.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
7 March 2011 March / 2011
The current touring production is directed by David Grindley, who also directed the highly acclaimed West End production in 2005. The play opens this evening at the Richmond Theatre and runs to the end of this week, the 11th March. Other notable dates on the tour include the Theatre Royal, Bath from the 11th to the 16th April, the Grand Theatre, Leeds from the 16th to the 21st May, the Theatre Royal, Glasgow from the 5th to the 10th September, the New Theatre, Cardiff, from the 17th to the 22nd October and the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, from the 7th to the 12th November. Further information regarding venues and tickets can be seen at www.uktw.co.uk
Youy may be wondering why we should be talking about a play which doesn't seem to have any connection with Scouting! The reason is that R.C. Sherriff left the rights in the play to the Scouts Association and Kingston Grammar School in Surrey. The continuing popularity of "Journey's End" ensures a steady source of income to TSA, rather like the royalties that Great Ormond Street Hospital receives for performances of "Peter Pan". While we don't get the sort of income that "Peter Pan" generates, "Journey's End" does generate a significant revenue stream for the association.
If you want to find out more about the play, have a look at the website, www.journeysendtheplay.com There are also several websites giving biographical details about Sherriff - type his name into Google and you'll see lots of results!
So, if "Journey's End" is coming to a city near you this year, try and get to see it. Not only will you see a memorable piece of theatre, you will also be actively helping scouting too!
17 March 2011 March / 2011
Happy St Patrick's Day
In celebration of St Patrick's day I have put a selection of images from the Archive that we hold on Scouting in Ireland.
Scouts from Eire during the great Jamboree at Moisson, 1947
Irish Scout leader attending the Irish Scouters Conference, circa 1950s
Irish Scout at the 1957 Jamboree
Picture
shows two Scouts of the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland washing up in
camp. The wash stand cum dresser has been built by them out of the
natural materials available on the campsite. 1966.
Picture
shows a Scout in camp washing himself before morning inspection. The
boys themselves have built the washstand cum clothes dryer for the
material available on the campsite. They brought the buckets and basins
themselves! 1966.
Picture
shows a Scout frying up his meal over an altar fire. Camp time also
allows for strange new hat fashions to develop, 1966
Irish Scouts at a wayside cross in Glencree, County Wicklow, circa 1960s
Beaver Scout foot painting, circa 1970s
Dodge that ball! Circa 1970s
The Story of the Beaver, circa 1970s
Irish Lightvessel Albatross used as Sea Scout training ship in Dun Laoghaire harbour, circa 1970s
Irish Scouts in a boat in Dun Laoghaire harbour, circa 1970s
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
12 March 2012 March / 2012
First Girl Scout
I
would like to draw attention to Ginger Wadsworth's new book on the life
of Juliette Gordon Low who started Girl Scouts in America, for more
information click here.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
13 March 2012 March / 2012
Remembrance
As
our regular blog readers will be aware that we have undertaken the
mammoth task of transcribing the Rolls of Honours for Scouts killed in
two World Wars. The pictures above and below are of a memorial to
Scouts killed from Arbroath, supplied by Derek Robertson who has used
our transcription to research the background of the names. We now have
surnames upto 'R' and please keep coming back to see our progress.
On the topic of remembrance I would also like to draw attention to Katy Carr's website http://www.kazikfilm.com/ which highlights the amazing story of Kazik Piechowski's
escape from Auschwitz concentration camp. She would like all Scouts to
watch her DVD on his story on the anniversary of his escape on 20 June
2012. Please contact her through her website to obtain a free DVD.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
12 March 2013 March / 2013
Exciting Times!
A
much belated happy new year to all our blog readers! The first two
months of the year have been so busy I just haven't been able to sit
down and keep you updated. Above is the draft cover for the eagerly
awaited publication of the manuscript for Scouting for Boys, further
details in the next blog.
Our
Baden-Powell papers online project began in January and the first
tranche of cataloguing and digital images can be found on a dedicated
page under the Catalogue.
Below are some of the highlights from 2012 that the Archive & Heritage Department achieved.
Digital Access
· Archive website now has 110,000 users
· YouTube Channel has 211 films, 118 subscribers and 36,000 views
· Mary Evans has 1,119 images available for licence or purchase as gifts
· Winning Endeavours website highlighted Scouting’s role in the 1948 Olympics
· Over 1,500 enquiries answered to the Movement and the wider public
· Volunteers
have digitised and are transcribing the Visitor Books of the Scout Hut
that operated during the First World War (This would have cost £5,000 if
done commercially)
Cataloguing
· CALM database now contains 10,000 records, more than half of these were added this year
· Photographic awards catalogued and digitised
· Marketing Picture Library catalogued and repackaged
· Half of publications catalogued and repackaged which incorporates 100 linear metres of shelving that has been processed.
· Accessioning and cataloguing 150 donations received this past year
Promotion
· The
Archive had a stand at Who Do You Think You Are Live at Olympia for the
first time which promoted the Archive, National Centres and Fund
raising to 35,000 visitors
· Undertook
a presentation to the Corporation of London and Archives for London on
the centenary of the Royal Charter being granted to the Association
· Provided uniforms for Call the Midwife Christmas Special and new series which attracted 10 million viewers. Assisting BBC researchers on a programme on Scouting’s role in the First World War
· Initial
discussions with Commonwealth Youth Exchange over a project for Scout
Groups to be funded £10,000 for each year of the First World Centenary
for an exchange between the UK and the Commonwealth
· Introduction
of audio visual tours of Gilwell which have been used over 1,000
visitors, virtually eliminated staff having to provide personal tours
with plans to add more languages, revise packs and link to a donations
box
· Assisted with fundraising events to court potential donors and providing presentations during Reunion
Conservation
· Conservation
work has been carried out on Caroline’s Column, London Bridge
balustrades, Gidney Cabin funiture (thanks to Colin Walker and American
benefactors) and Mafeking/Brownsea Union flag (secured external funding
for the last two which amounts to £4,000). Restoration work and
cleaning of the Eccles caravan carried out by Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust
for free, further thanks to Tony Harvey and Steve Hilditch.
· Remaing
Leader and Training microfilms digitised and placed on shared drives
which are available to Safeguarding, Awards and Membership. This
has mitigated any problems in accessing records through an ageing
machine but also increased working efficiency of these Departments
especially after the Jimmy Savile scandal broke.
Commercial Opportunities
· Heritage range of products launched by Scout Shops which we have contributed to
· Contributions
to licensing deals involving the likes of Marks & Spencer and
publishing companies for heritage books and products
· Neogiating a deal to publish the manuscript for Scouting for Boys
· Continuing
to expand our image collection for licensing with the Olympics, First
World War, Cubs and Gilwell being areas to concentrate on
· Applications
to grant providers for the Baden-Powell papers online project and
Climate control for the stores has generated circa £27,500 to date
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
1 April 2011 April / 2011
Olympic Endeavour!
I'm pleased to announce that in
partnership with Archives for London and repositories across the United
Kingdom, a new website has been launched to showcase archive material
held on previous Olympic Games in this Country. The website is called
Winning Endeavours and can be seen at www.winningendeavours.org.
The Scout Association Archive has contributed images and documents to
the site and these can be found by using the search page and the
repository drop down menu. A selection of images can be found in this
blog entry and show how Scouting 'oiled the wheels' of the 1948 Olympic
Games on both land and sea, certainly not an April's Fool!
Also to encourage our virtual
visitors to return we will be hopefully hosting a music video created by
Katy Carr and the Aviators called the Kommander's Car. This song was
inspired the real life escape by Polish Scout Kazimierz 'Kazik'
Piechowski from Auschwitz Concentration Camp in June 1942. For more
details of Katy Carr's 'The Escapologist Tour' please see www.katycarr.com. Having listened to Kazik and Katy yesterday evening I can throughly recommended finding out more.
Now back to checking the indexing of the award records, all 50,000! So they can be put online for our visitors to search.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
13 April 2011 April / 2011
Launch of the West Yorkshire Scout County Archive
Over the last week I've travelled
over a 1,000 miles which culminated in attending the launch of the West
Yorkshire Scout County Archive at Bradley Wood. As you can see from the
pictures the weather was glorious, B-P's Rolls Royce 'Jam Roll' was in
attendence, the local Mayor and Mayoress, a period camp site scene,
Scout band and historical displays. Including an interesting display on
the actor James Mason and his Scouting days with the 11th Huddersfield.
Scouting in Huddersfield display
Setting of the displays and Scout band
Period camp site
Period Bell tent
Period camp site which included the baking of bread
Also during my tour of the North I visited Michael and Ron's excellent Story of Scouting Museum at Waddecar (see http://www.scoutsrecords.org/tours.php?dil=&icerik=51&bparent=0&) and the food spread was as again delicious!
I also visited South Yorkshire Scout
County Archive at Hesley Wood which is looking to emmulate the success
of West Yorkshire and my thanks to Geoff Stevens and his team for the
warm welcome I received. We will be looking to hold a training event
this year for those wishing to set up Scout archives within Counties and
further information will follow in due course.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
20 April 2012 April / 2012
Charles Stewart Rolls
We recently received the above trophy
which has been awarded to Air Scout Groups on an annual basis. The
statue of Charles Stewart Rolls and sculpted by Kathleen Scott (widow of
Captain Scott of the Antarctic). Charles Rolls invested into the
company we all know as Rolls-Royce but he was also a pioneering
aviator. He would be the first British person to cross the English
Channel in a powered aircraft and also tragically to be the first killed
in an aircraft crash in 1910. The reason for his inclusion in a
Scouting trophy, see below!
These items were on display for a
special event in Derby a few weeks ago promoting Tony Harvey's
Prestonian Lecture on the links between Freemasonary and Scouting, see http://www.prestonian2012.org.uk/2012%20lecture.html.
The Kindred Lodges Association also allocated money towards the
restoration of the Eccles caravan and I sincerely thank them for their
continued support.
We may have not being blogging for
sometime due to our busy schedules but I'm pleased to announce that the
Second World War Roll of Honour has now been completed and can be found
on the Catalogue page!
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
18 April 2013 April / 2013
Have You Heard?
Her Majesty certainly has! The
website has won an award from the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are?
magazine, the current edition has an article on page 51 so get your copy
at the local newspaper shop.
The image above of the Queen
listening to historical recordings at the opening of Baden-Powell House
in 1961, is just one of a series of photographs available to view and
purchase through Mary Evans Picture Library.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
29 April 2013 April / 2013
Climate Control Installed!
Thanks to the generosity of Tony
Harvey we now have a climate controlled Archive for the first time!
Macair fmi Limited have undertaken the installation and will hopefully
keep the stores at a constant 18 degrees celcius and 50% humidity to
preserve the Association's unique collections for generations to come.
I've also to thank Frankie Drummond
who undertook a week of cataloguing on the Baden-Powell papers online
project as a volunteer. Please take a look on the cataloguing page to
see her contribution of the TC/3 box and the digital files which can
also be viewed.
If you would like to volunteer or contribute to the Archive's development please don't hesitate to contact me.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
1 May 2011 May / 2011 Archive Awareness Campaign 2011 - Culture & Diversity: What's Your Story?
The 2011 theme of the Archive Awareness Campaign is culture and diversity, see http://www.archiveawareness.com/.
I'm happy to announce that our web exhibition is now live and can be
found on the exhibitions page and focuses on the 1951 Festival of
Britain and later in the year we will be doing another on Scouting and
diversity. Hopefully during the week will be introducing video clips
onto the website relating to our most recent web exhibition. We will
also have an exhibition space within the Visit Britain building on
Regent Street, London at the end of July for one week, so keep coming
back to find out more!
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive& Heritage Manager
31 May 2011 May / 2011 Hello everyone and welcome to our latest blog entry. I hope you all had a pleasant Bank Holiday weekend, despite the mixed weather.
One of our groups here in London has special reason for celebrating at this time as 14th Hackney has reached the wonderful milestone of being 100 years old (or should I say young?). The Group has continued its work supporting and helping the children of Hackney in scouting without interruption since its foundation in 1911 - truly a great cause for celebration and congratulation. It flourishes still, with healthy numbers of Beavers, Cub Scouts and Scouts together with a group of dedicated, inspiring and committed leaders.
To mark the centenary, an exhibition has been mounted at Hackney Museum and is well worth visiting. The launch last week, at which I was privileged to attend, was truly a cause for celebration with scouts oold and young in attendance. The exhibition shows various artefacts and photographs from all stages of 14th Hackney's 100 years, including a series of uniforms old and new. We at the Association Archive have loaned the Group's original registration document and some photographs and have been delighted to be involved.
The exhibition will run for the next four months, so do try and get along to it. Hackney Museum is situated just off Mare Street and you will be assured of a very warm welcome from the Museum staff. The website will give you the exact location and directions: http://www.hackney.gov.uk/cm-museum.htm
Here are some photographs to give a flavour of what you could expect to see. they were taken on my mobile, so apologies for the poor quality!
Modern sweatshirts including one commemorating a camp in Guernsey, 1974.
Uniforms
through the years. The centre sweatshirt commemorates the Diamond
Jubilee of the 14th Hackney - 40 years later, they're still going
strong!
The cake!
Here with scouting past and scouting future. The gentleman in the
foreground has been involved with 14th Hackney for many, many years.
Will the Beaver Scout be here celebrating 14th Hackney's 150th birthday?
Let's hope so!
Anyway,
warmest congratulations to 14th Hackney on this wonderful milestone.
Here's to another 100 years of great scouting in Hackney!
Claire
11 May 2012 May / 2012
Conservation in Action!
We have been progressing with the
conservation of the Gilwell Park Estate with the cleaning of two
structures. The above image shows the stone balustrades which formed
part of the approach to the medieval London Bridge prior to full
cleaning. Below is the other half which has benefitted from the expert
attention of Rupert Harris Conservation.
They have also done sterling work on
Caroline's Column which was originally erected by Margaret Chinnery in
1812 as a celebration of her daughter surviving a bout of whooping cough
but unfortunately died a year later from the same illness. The images
show the state before and after.
I'll be updating you next week on more developments so keep coming back!
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
25 May 2012 May / 2012
Awards for All
I'm glad to announce that the
indexing of the award volumes has been completed and can be found on our
Catalogue page! These award records relate to 1,761 acts of gallantry
between 1909 and 1975, mostly for saving lives and include a photograph
of the recipient and a citation. This certainly reinforces that
Scouting provides skills for life and a unique contribution to society
in the UK and abroad.
Dave Gardner has sent in his memories
of being a Cub and Scout with the 1st Thurstaston Group, so please read
all about it by clicking here.
I would like to thanks Tom Johnson of
Kansas City for generously donating for the Mafeking/Brownsea Island
Union flag to be conserved and framed. More and more people such as
Tom, Kindred Lodges Association and Rolls Royce Heritage Trust are
assisting with our conservation of our heritage collections so why not
contact us and see how you could contribute towards preserving our
shared past.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
8 May 2013 May / 2013
Gilwell Springs Into Life!
Thanks again to Rolls Royce Heritage
Trust, Tony Harvey and Steve Hilditch, Baden-Powell's caravan Eccles has
returned looking better than ever after spending the Winter away from
the worst of the weather. Our transporter company CARS also did
splendid work in safely bringing the caravan back to Gilwell ready for
our influx of visitors.
Below are some images taken of
Gilwell showing the wonderful Cherry blossom and Bluebells that have
recently flourished with the warmer weather.
With sights like this why don't you
take a tour around Gilwell with our audio visual players, available free
of charge and without the need to book, please ask at reception.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
7 June 2011 June / 2011
Happy Birthday to the Chief Scout!
Bear
Grylls has generously donated his birthday to Scouting. He hopes to
raise £30,000 for a new climbing tower for Woodhouse Park Activity
Centre http://www.scouts.org.uk/bearsbirthday
Please show your support by sharing this blog with family and friends or posting to your Facebook and Twitter accounts.
The
Petworth and Pulbrough District first formed on 7 May 1910 as the
Pulborough District and the first District Commissioner would appear to
be Major William Edward John Grylls (Great Grandfather of Chief Scout
Bear Grylls) of Funtington Hall, Funtington, Chichester. The extract
from the 1912 Directory of County and District appointments shows that
Bear clearly had Scouting in his genes!
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
8 June 2011 June / 2011
Archive Awareness Campaign 2011 - Diversity
The other theme to this year's
Archive Awareness Campaign is diversity and we've made a start by
putting on a web exhibition about Hélène Vagliano. Hélène was a Scout
Leader with the 1st Cannes Scout Group and involved with the French
Resistance during the Second World War. You can read more about her
incredible story on our exhibitions page.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
18 June 2010 June / 2011
Scouting Survival
I can highly recommend reading Alistair Urquhart's The Forgotten Highlander,
particularly as he attributes his survival in the horrific prisoner of
war camps to the experiences and skills learnt in Scouting before the
Second World War in Scotland.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
25 June 2011 June / 2011
Roland Dowlen
One of the great things about adding
content to the site is that people get in touch to add further
information or gaps in our knowledge. Mike Dawson kindly sent me
details of Roland Dowlen who was Scout Master of the 22nd South Poplar
Group in order that they could be added to our Second World War Roll of
Honour (see the Catalogue page). Roland served in the Special
Operations Executive as a wireless operator in occupied France before
being captured and executed. To read his heroic story please click here.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
30 June 2011 June / 2011
Conservation Projects 2011-2012
As our regular blog readers will be
aware that the Department is carrying out a programme of conservation
work over the next year. Work is progressing well as you can see from
the before and after images on this blog. The picture above shows the
Chile Statue prior to conservation work and the images below show the
current progress. The Statue was presented to The Scout Association in
1929 at the World Jamboree in Arrowe Park by the Boy Scouts of Chile and
illustrates how Scouting (the boy) overcoming the puma or wild animal
inside him!
We have also received back today the
Advance Australia Casket which was being cleaned by our conservators
Rupert Harris Conservation (www.rupertharris.com).
The first picture again shows the state prior to work being undertaken
and the following images show the now gleaming condition. The Casket
was presented to General Baden-Powell by the State of Victoria in
Australia in recognition of his role in the Siege of Mafeking.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
17 June 2012 June / 2012
Last Letter Home?
A recent donation of items uncovered a
most intriguing letter from the foremost artists connected with
Scouting, Ernest Stafford Carlos. The letter is undated but clearly
shows that he was in France/Belgium with the British Expeditionary Force
during the First World War. It also shows that he was in the Royal
East Kent Regiment known as 'The Buffs', he only joined this regiment as
a commissioned officer in March 1917. Tragically he died on 14 June
1917 and buried in the Chester Farm Cemetary in Belgium, the reference
to warm weather may well mean that this was his last letter home.
Christmas card sent by Ernest Stafford Carlos circa 1916 as Scout Master of the 107th South London Troop.
Carlos and his paintings are part of
our new audio visual tours of Gilwell Park, more of which tomorrow. You
can see his paintings on this website and at http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/galleries/locations/the-scout-association-6502. For more information on Carlos and his paintings see http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/facts/pdfs/fs145006.pdf.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
18 June 2012 June / 2012
Audio Visual Tours of Gilwell Park
I'm pleased to announce that audio
visual tours are available from the White House reception desk and there
is no charge! The current Lord Baden-Powell is your guide to this
historic estate and we thank him for generously giving up the time to
record the tour. In fact 226 audio visual tours have been given in the
last three weeks!
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
19 June 2012 June / 2012
Anniversary of Kazik's Escape & Holocaust Education Event
Tomorrow is the anniversary of Kazik's amazing escape from Auschwitz concentration camp and we want as many people as possible to watch the video and provide your responses via www.kazikfilm.com. You can find out more by visiting our Advice & Guidance Page. Below is the invitation from Katy Carr and Hannah Lovell and a questionnaire.
Personal Letter to Scout Groups for 20th June 2012:
Dear Scouts,
First
of all we’d just like to take this opportunity to say a very big
thankyou to all of you for taking part in this Kazik and the Kommander’s
Car film screening event.
Over
2000 Scout groups will be watching the documentary this week throughout
Britain and overseas, and the number is still growing – all in honour
of the 70th Anniversary of Polish Scout Kazik Piechowski’s remarkable escape from Auschwitz, on the 20th June 1942.
Britain’s
Chief Scout Bear Grylls describes Kazik’s story as “among the most
inspiring tales of heroism, sacrifice and camaraderie I have ever known
(…) a testament to courage, endurance, resourcefulness and determination
– all qualities that we as Scouts aspire to.”
This
is why we are so happy to be able to share Kazik’s story with so many
Scouts during this commemorative event, and we are also very excited to
make this thoroughly interactive – this screening of the film is not
just about sharing Kazik’s story but also about sharing your responses
throughout the Scouting community and of course with Kazik himself! We
have organised a dedicated comments board on our Kazik Film website, on
facebook and and on twitter to capture your responses.
So without further ado we leave you to start your events,
Many thanks from the filmmakers,
Katy Carr and Hannah Lovell
6 July 2011 July / 2011
Conservation Part II
The photograph above shows the state
of Walter's Urn prior to conservation work and the images below show the
effect of cleaning and conservation treatment.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
15 July 2011 July / 2011
Conservation Part III
This has certainly been a busy week
for the Department as we've done with 52 people having tours and another
one booked for tomorrow, sorry Claire! On an even more positive note I
collected clothing belonging to Lord Baden-Powell from Janie Lightfoot (http://janielightfoot.co.uk)
textile conservators today. As you can see from the images, she and
her team have done an outstanding job. The clothing also included a
buck skin jacket given to Baden-Powell by Daniel Carter Beard (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Carter_Beard).
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
29 July 2011 July / 2011
Surviving Objects [all that remains]
After another busy week for the
Archive & Heritage Department which encompassed the launch of the
above exhibition in Sevenoaks. The display included copies of
photographs and records relating to William Goss Hicks who was a Scout
Master in Sevenoaks in the period 1908-1914, before being killed in the
First World War on 3 July 1917 at the age of 35.
We also contributed to a fund raising
presentation given by a trustee of The Scout Association to 300 local
residents. This consisted of supplying images to illustrate a talk on
Lord Baden-Powell and The Scout Association along with a display of
items such as uniforms, Royal Charters and manuscript of 'Scouting for
Boys'. Both events remind us that the past has real implications for
our own lives but can also promote the present and future of
organisations.
1st Sevenoaks Troop circa 1910
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
3 August 2011 August / 2011
Heritage Activities
The above picture shows people
admiring the recently conserved uniforms of Lord Baden-Powell at a fund
raising event in Cheshunt in aid of Hertfordshire Scout County. The 300
people who attended were certainly impressed by the presentation by
Roger Sands and the display of items which shows how heritage can be
interpreted to illustrate the current and future value of Scouting to
society.
Dr Sarah Mills has kindly provided
some documents which can assist Scout Leaders with researching Scout
History and creating exhibitions from that research. The booklets
illustrate how this can be achieved through the programme of activities
and the benefits of heritage promotion to boost recruitment and
fundraising through the local media. To view them please see our Advice
& Guidance page.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
23 August 2012 August / 2012
Conservation Update
Apologies for the long absence of a
blog but we have been extremely busy processing a large number of
donations that we have received, more of which next week. This week has
seen the completion of the cleaning of the London Bridge baulstrades,
featured above and below along with the Scout centenary rose.
Rupert Harris have been responsible
for the cleaning of the baulstrades but also restoring some objects
below which were given to Baden-Powell from around the world.
First All India Jamboree, 1937
Visit to Gibraltar by Lord and Lady Baden-Powell in 1933
2nd World Scout Jamboree in Denmark
There will be more conservation work
completed this year and already planning for more next year so if would
like to contribute towards this valuable work please get in touch.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
28 August 2012 August / 2012
The Scouts
The Scouts by Susan Cohen and
published by Shire Library has just been published, making extensive use
of our image collection, I recommend you purchase your copy today
through http://www.shirebooks.co.uk/store/The-Scouts_9780747811510 or http://www.amazon.co.uk/Scouts-Shire-Library-Susan-Cohen/dp/0747811512/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346176721&sr=8-1.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
30 August 2012 August / 2012
Generous Donation
We recently received a collection
relating to Rover Scout Thomas Cooper of the 9th Battersea Group, seen
above. This was a particularly generous donation as it included his
Silver Cross awarded for saving a woman from drowning in the River
Thames near Wandsworth Bridge on 18 May 1927. I've included some images
below to illustrate some of the items.
Having had such a great Olympics and
the prospect of an even greater Paralympics I would like to draw our
blog readers attention to http://www.sportingcities.org.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
2 September 2011 September / 2011
Archive Awareness Campaign 2011
Please see our exhibition page for
the lastest contribution on how Scouting started for both girls and
boys. With Reunion starting today we will have a display in the Betty
Clay Library tomorrow and providing tours of the White House on Sunday.
Daniel Scott-Davies, Archive & Heritage Manager
26 September 2011 September / 2011
Rolls of Honour
Just an update on the transcription
of The Scout Association Rolls of Honour project. The First World War
Roll has been completed but will certainly welcome additions as we
realise that the official list is far from complete. The Second World
War Roll has now reached the surnames beginning with I, with thanks to
Isabella Chan who did some voluntary work here transcribing some of the
names onto the Roll. Both Rolls can be viewed on our catalogue page.
Daniel Scott-Davies, Archive & Heritage Manager
22 October 2010 October / 2010
Welcome
to the first blog entry by the Archive & Heritage team which will
be updated on a weekly basis giving an insight into the work that we do. Firstly I briefly explain our function at Headquarters, archives are:
- Materials created or received by a person, family, or organization, public or private, in the conduct of their affairs and preserved because of the enduring value contained in the information they contain or as evidence of the functions and responsibilities of their creator.
- Custodians of The Scout Association's & Baden-Powell's family historical memory. This includes archives, library, audio-visual, fine art, museum objects and structures. The Collection is worth in excess of £3,000,000!
- Day to day work involves accessioning, cataloguing and answering enquiries regarding the international Scout movement.
- Providing advice on records management with regard to retention of records, Copyright & Data Protection Acts.
The
photographs were taken by William Roberts who worked for the White Star
Line company that owned the ship used for the tour and had been one of
the first Scouts in Liverpool.
The tours had a dual purpose in promoting Scouting abroad and providing a holiday for B-P who was working hard for the Movement at the age of 75. Here he can be seen sitting in a sun lounger reading a book on the deck of the ship. Olave his wife as Chief Guide of the World also took part and can be seen here second from right on the back row with representatives of the Girl Guides and Scouts.
In this photograph a most unusual formal dinner taking place in Lithuania with the table and seating shaped from soil. B-P can be seen sitting at the head of the table with President Smetona of Lithuania.
For further details on this cruise see the following link under The Cruise of the Calgaric.
http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/
http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/
Daniel Scott-Davies, Archive & Heritage Manager
10 October 2011 October / 2011
Images Online
I'm happy to announce that we have
partnered with Mary Evans Picture Library to host our wonderful art and
photograph collections. You can view the images at www.maryevans.com
by searching for the Scout Association. I've included images above and
below of works painted by Henrietta Grace Powell (mother of Lord
Baden-Powell) illustrating the diverse natue of our collections.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
21 October 2011 October / 2011
H.S. Nicholls Collection
H.S. Nicholls is pictured in his school photograph, fifth from right in the back row.
Fresh in today was a donation of
material concerning the service of H.S. Nicholls with the 1st Hastings
Troop and attending the first Sea Scout Camp on the T.S. Mercury in
1909.
Above and below are images of
the 1st Hastings Troop circa 1908-1909. H.S. Nicholls is pictured
second from the left in the front above and sixth from left in the
second row below.
The above images regarding the T.S.
Mercury Camp provide a fascinating glimpse into the genesis of the Sea
Scout section. The letter also provides interest with a schedule of the
programme along with the usual requests for more pocket money, better
food and for his mother to get his favourite magazine!
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
22 October 2011 October / 2011
Kommander's Car
A
while back we posted a blog on the amazing story of Kazik and his
escape from the concentration camp in the Kommander's Car. The above
music video is inspired by his story and the videos below of an event at
Baden-Powell House earlier this year honouring Kazik.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
25 October 2011 October / 2011
Graham Alan Coombe R.I.P.
With regret Graham Coombe has died
recently and his funeral was held yesterday in Crowhurst, Surrey.
Graham was the second archivist to be employed by The Scout Association
and contributed greatly to setting up of the Archives between 1979 and
1993 when he retired.
He joined Scouting in 1941 as one of
the first Air Scouts and held a succession of volunteer positions with
the 3rd Beddington, 28th Purley, Assistant District Commissioner for
Leader Training, Surrey County Archivist and District Archivist from
1953 until quite recently. Graham joined the Headquarters staff in 1951
as a Clerk in the General Office and held further positions in the
International Department before becoming the Archivist in 1979. For his
outstanding service he received the Medal of Merit (1971), Silver Acorn
(1981), Silver Wolf (1993) and awarded the British Empire Medal (1989).
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
31 October 2011 October / 2011
Official Launch & Volunteers Required!
Dear All
I'm happy to announce the launch of The Scout
Association Archive website which has been under construction for the
last year and will be added to as we catalogue and digitise the
Collection.
Home Page: Quick search allows researchers to
search 50,000 award cards which is the central index of awards for The
Scout Association from 1908 to circa 1990.
About Us: Brief histories of The Scout Association and Lord Baden-Powell.
Advice & Guidance: Preservation and
retention of records aimed mainly at Scout Groups and also includes the
contact details for conservators and suppliers that we use. Researching
individuals in Scouting and Scout Groups. Booklets created by Dr Sarah
Mills on heritage activities for Scouts and how to create exhibitions.
Catalogue: Includes finding aids to the
Collections held by The Scout Association and Birmingham Scout County.
Rolls of Honour for Scouts killed during the First and Second World
Wars.
Exhibitions: Contributions to the Archive
Awareness Campaigns in the last three years and also includes
exhibitions on the work of Sea Scouts.
Tours: Provides information on tours of Gilwell
Park and the Archive. Also includes details of the Story of Scouting
and Guiding Museum in Lancashire.
Shop: Not ready as yet but we hope to have a
range of merchandise and a digital taster version of the Scouting for
Boys manuscript.
Blog: Blogs added on a weekly basis by the Archive staff on the latest news and developments.
Contact: On-line enquiry form and postal address.
Further digital access includes www.winningendeavours.org
which includes records relating to Scouts involvement in the 1948
Olympics. Our photographic and art collections are being made available
through www.maryevans.com for commercial licencing and merchandise.
We are now offering a wide range of exciting
volunteering opportunities to increase our knowledge and access to the
Collections. Projects include indexing record series, cataloguing our
archive, library, art, film, photographs and museum objects. Basic
preservation tasks of repackaging material in acid free materials.
Interpretation of material to create web exhibitions and front of house
roles relating to tours. Some projects can be conducted remotely by
providing copies of records and travel expenses of up to £10 per day can
be paid for those volunteering on site. Training will be provided and
we particularly welcome those wishing to gain pre-course experience.
For further details please contact me through the email address below.
Kind regards
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
The Scout Association
Gilwell Park
London
E4 7QW
020 8433 7195
1 October 2012 October / 2012
Scouting Diversity
I've recently been cataloguing an album of pre First World War Scouting photographs, all of which show images of Scouts from all over the former Empire, from Malta to Malaysia and Antigua to Australia. Included are some fascinating photos taken in India and they give a wonderful window on a vanished time. However, one series of pictures gave me the opportunity to carry out some detective work. They are captioned "1st EIR Scouts" and this, I must admit, stumped me for a while. I thought at first that the name referred to one of the Indian Army Regiments but this proved incorrect. And then, in a flash of inspiration, I thought perhaps the initials stand for East India Railways. A further clue was given by the inclusion in two of the captions of the place names "Jamalpur" and "Howrah". A search of our sources showed that EIR does indeed stand for East India Railways and this was further verified by the fact that Jamalpur, in Bihar State, was and remains a major railway engineering city and was started by the East India Railway Company in 1862.
It seems that several of the Indian Railway Companies supported Scout Troops, much as businesses back in Britain did, especially industrial concerns. Given that these photographs were taken in about 1913 or 1914, as far as I can tell, it shows how well-established Scouting had become not merely in India but across the world. Also, in a world where the white man ruled and racism was endemic, it is wonderful to see in these pictures Indian children taking a full part in Scouting activities. And the same is true for the photographs of Antiguan Scouts, Jamaican Scouts and Malaysian Scouts. In all these photos boys of all ages and colour are joined together in the brotherhood of Scouting and this, I think, is a part of Scouting's heritage to be proud of. Who said diversity was new?
Claire Woodforde
Archive & Heritage Assistant
9 October 2012 October / 2012
Spot the Difference!
The painting on the left is by David
Jagger who completed it in 1929 and on the right is a very accomplished
copy by George Percy McCarthy painted in the 1930s. This was recently
donated by his son John McCarthy who I worked with at the RAF Museum,
John is now hopefully enjoying retirement in Spain!
Having these portraits of Lord
Baden-Powell in the blog allows me to announce the start of a new and
exciting project to catalogue and digitise Baden-Powell's papers.
Thanks to the generosity of the Mercers Company, the Marc Fitch Fund and
Tony Harvey through his Prestonian Lecture these papers will be made
available to the public and academics for the first time through this
website and will be completly free to use. I'm awaiting final clearance
for the project to proceed but would certainly welcome any offers of
those wishing to volunteer on this ground breaking project. Please
contact me on daniel.scott-davies@scouts.org.uk.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
12 October 2012 October / 2012
First World War Centenary & First London Bridge
With the announcement this week
regarding the plans for remembering the First World War between 2014 and
2018 we have created an online exhibition about the role of Scouting
during the conflict, see our exhibition page.
During research on an enquiry
regarding the London Bridge baulstrades at Gilwell Park, I discovered
the picture below painted by Richard Parkes Bonington circa 1810s-1820s
on the British Museum website. This is the first time that we have
known where the baulstrades were placed on the Bridge and I've included a
picture of them for reference.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
2 November 2011 November / 2011
Youtube Channel started
The Archive now has a Youtube Channel called ScoutArchive which you can view at:
We aim to make more of our unique film
collections through Youtube and particularly films connected with our
exhibitions. This is reflected in choosing films connected with the
1951 International Patrol Camp held at Gilwell Park and Scouting
Together which illustrates how Scouting provided opportunities for
disabled children.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
7 November 2011 November / 2011
Tintin
Sketch by Lord Baden-Powell
With the recent film release of 'The
Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn' it is worth mentioning
the connections between Scouting and Herge (Georges Remi). Remi spent
his childhood on the outskirts of Brussels with his main interests being
drawing, creative writing and Scouting. His first illustrated stories
appeared in Le Scout in 1922 about Totor a Patrol Leader of the
Hannetons and this character would eventually become Tintin, an
adventurous reporter in 1929.
Herge's style of the 'clear line' and
humorous observation has many similarities with Lord Baden-Powell's pen
and ink sketches which were designed to be complementary with his words
but also illustrate his points with humour which would appeal to
children. Above and below are some examples of his sketches.
Sketch by Lord Baden-Powell
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
11 November 2011 November / 2011 Hello everyone
Toady, as we know, is Armistice Day, when we remember all those service and civilian personnel who gave their lives in war and conflict. Here at The Scouts Association, we held a short service of reflection this morning at 11o'clock, remembering especially former scouts and scouters who lost their lives. It was a short service but it gave us all the opportunity to remember in our own way relatives or friends who made the supreme sacrifice.
As I'm sure many of you will have realised as you look at the website, there is a Roll of Honour for former scouts who were killed in the First and Second World Wars. This is very much a work in progress and you will see that the WW2 Roll of Honour is far from complete. However, we know that there are probably many names of scouts which we don't have so if anyone knows of anybody who was killed in either of the 2 World Wars but who is not included on the Roll of Honour, please let us know. We would need to know in which service they fought and the scout group of which they were members. Providing we can establish the person as a genuine casualty we will include their names on the relevant Roll of Honour and, hopefully, over time we will build a comprehensive list to commemorate the fallen. You can contact us either through the website or by e mail at Daniel.Scott-Davies@scouts.org.uk or Claire.Woodforde@scouts.org.uk
Thank you for your help and we look forward to hearing from you.
Claire
25 November 2011 November / 2011 Good afternoon
I was doing some research into the closed groups in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, the other day and, much to my surprise, establisahed what I'm fairly sure is a connection between Scouting and Thomas the Tank Engine! The registration document for the 11th Wisbech (Emneth) Group lists a certain Rev Wilbert Vere Awdrey as an Assistant Scoutmaster. Now the much-loved author of Thomas the Tank Engine was also called the Rev Wilbert Vere Awdry (I think the addition of the "e" in the Reverend's surname was a slip of the pen by whoever completed the form). A check of Awdry's biography confirmed that, indeed, he was the Vicar of Emneth in Cambridgeshire through the 1950s and early 1960s. Now, I may be wrong but I'm pretty sure that there could only have been one Rev Wilbert Vere Awdry as Vicar of Emneth at the relevant time - it isn't the most common of names, when all is said and done. So, although the evidence is circumstantial, I think that there is a connection between Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, the Fat Controller and all the other inhabitants of Sodor and Scouting!
If anyone has any more information about the Rev Awdry and his involvement in scouting, do let us know - who knows, perhaps on one of his many days out, Thomas may let us display some Beaver badges and other things! So do contact us on 0208 433 7196 or by e mail at Claire.Woodforde@scouts.org.uk - we'd love to hear from you!
21 November 2012 November / 2012
Discovery in the Archive?
You may well ask what is significant about a copy of Scouting for Boys in
The Scout Association Archive, albiet it being an early edition dating
from 1908. The interest was generated when I was cataloguing this
volume and discovered the letter below.
It would certainly appear that this
book was taken by Dr Edward Adrian Wilson as Chief Scientific Officer on
the ill fated expedition to the South Pole led by Captain Scott and
presumably recovered by the search party who discovered his body on 12
November 1912. Another intriguing link between Scouting and the
Antartic explorers, see our online exhibition on RRS Discovery. The
image below from the film depicts Dr Wilson seated on the right.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
8 December 2010 December / 2010
Looking Forward to 2011
The Archive and Heritage Department team are looking forward to 2011 and continuing to develop the online acessibility of our collections, as well as updating our blog on a more regular basis! The first tranche of digital records to be made available early in the New Year will be the Award Cards followed later by the cancelled and current Group registration papers.
Also next year we are seeking volunteers to index record series like the Rolls of Honour which can be seen on the Catalogue page. The indexing wouldn't have to take place at Gilwell Park as we can send copies of the records to you and completed at your pace. If you are interested in this or other opportunities to volunteer please contact me, Daniel Scott-Davies on Daniel.Scott-Davies@scouts.org.uk.
This year has also seen items in the collection go for much needed conservation work and this blog gives me the opportunity to thank both Janie Lightfoot and Rupert Harris for the excellent work they have completed. You can find out more about their specialist areas of conservation at their respective websites at http://www.janielightfoot.co.uk/ and http://www.rupertharris.com/. I have included some images of Lord Baden-Powell's uniform below to illustrate the intricate work undertaken but my colleague will post a dedicated blog entry on the history of the uniform at a later date.
10 December 2010 December / 2010 Thank You To All Our Donors in 2010
The image above of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell along with their daughters Heather and Betty, also featured is Ralph Reader at a Gang Show in the 1930s. This was sent to us by the Chairman of the Willesden District Scout Council and illustrates the generosity of our donors who have given us approximately 140 collections this year alone ranging from one item to several boxes.
11 December 2010 December / 2010
Scouting Diversity
Scouting from the start encouraged diversity and transcended divisions of gender, race, class, disability and religion. Next year we hope to do an exhibition exploring in more depth how Scouting has promoted a more cohesive society. These images are from a series of donations from the family of Jim Green and Jack Petchey and give a taster of a future exhibition.
James (Jim) Edward Green B.E.M. (1914-1991). Organiser of disabled Scout events such as the Agoonorees.
Ashtray and spoon made to sell as gifts to raise money towards disabled Scout events.
Disabled Scouts and Guides enjoying an event at Gilwell Park, c1960s-1970s.
24 December 2010 December / 2010 Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Below is an image from a Latvian Scout notebook which was recently donated and will hopefully reproduce in full next year and the stories surrounding it. Scouting has an international dimension which is particularly relevant at this time of year and I will leave you with one of B-P's musings that I think we can all subscribe to.
2 December 2011 December / 2011
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
This blog brings you a sneak preview
of some new heritage transport range of products being developed by
Scout Shops. I've included above and below details of the subject
matter and some images.
The
Avro York was a conversion of one of the RAF’s most famous aircraft
during the Second World War, the Lancaster which was used on the
Dambuster Raid. The York was designed as a transport for military and civil use incorporating many of the Lancaster’s structure and engines.
Avro York G-ANTK was built at Yeadon and entered RAF service with 242 Squadron as MW232 in August 1946. It was based at Oakington and Lyneham with 511 Squadron and engaged in troop and freight flights to the Far East. During the Berlin Air Lift of 1948-1949 it transported the 100,000th
ton of supplies into the Allied controlled part of the City which kept
Berliners from starving and freezing when Russia cut off land access
routes during the Cold War.
The aircraft suffered damage during the Air Lift and placed in storage after repair. Fairey Aviation used the York for air to air refuelling trials during 1950-1951 before once again being placed in storage. Dan-Air purchased the York in 1954, registered it as G-ANTK and operating from Blackbushe and Gatwick. It
was extensively used on freight charters to Africa, Far East and
supplying the British Government’s experimental rocket range at Woomera,
Australia.
By
April 1964, Dan-Air had retired the aircraft to Lasham and loaned it to
The Scout Association as a hostel with bunk beds to support Air Scouts
learning to fly gliders. The
York by 1974 needed a complete restoration which was achieved by Dan-Air
giving the aircraft to the Duxford Aviation Society on a long term loan
in 1986. Avro York G-ANTK can now been seen on permanent display in the Air Space building at the Imperial War Museum Duxford.
The
Boy Scout – Designed by the North British Locomotive Company as part of
the Royal Scot Class for the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Company which entered service in 1931. The name plate was unveiled by
Lord Baden-Powell at Euston Station in January 1931 alongside The Girl
Guide and allocated the number 46169. The train weighed 137 tons and
covered over 2 million miles on the London to Manchester express
passenger services before being decommissioned and the name plate
presented to The Scout Association in May 1965.
Wedding
car for Sir Robert and Lady Olave Baden-Powell was paid for by
subscribers which included Scout Troops and they raised £411 14s 1d.
1913 20hp 6 cylinder Standard Laundulet, Reg: BP 717. Presented on 13
May 1913 by the Duke of Connaught. The car was painted in Scout
colours, very dark green with a fine yellow line, Scout emblem applied
to the door and a Scout figure made of silver as a bonnet mascot.
The
1929 Jamboree at Arrowe Park in Birkenhead celebrated the twenty first
birthday of the Scout Movement otherwise known as the Coming-of-Age
Jamboree. To mark this occasion a fund was created for Scouts from
around the world to contribute a penny or equivalent towards a gift for
the Chief Scout Lord Baden-Powell. At the Jamboree Mr Christian Holm as
President of the Danish Scouts presented the Chief Scout with a
Rolls-Royce car (incorporating a colour scheme of Scout green and a
fleur-de-lys as the bonnet mascot) and Trailer Caravan, portrait by
David Jagger, an illuminated address and a cheque to be spent on a
worthy Scouting project. In thanking the audience for his gifts he
mentioned that he told his wife that he had only really wanted a pair of
braces, a few days later the Irish Scouts presented him with a pair and
he reportedly danced a jig in appreciation of their kindness. His
children affectionately named the car and caravan ‘Jam Roll’ and
‘Eccles’ respectively. The car is owned by B-P Jam Roll Limited and is
being restored by the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust at Derby. The caravan
is on display at Gilwell Park.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
14 December 2011 December / 2011
Chinnery Legacy
Our blog readers may be interested to
hear about the exhibition at Asia House of George Chinnery's paintings
of India and China during the Georgian period. George was the younger
brother of William Chinnery who lived at Gilwell Park with his wife
Margaret and his children Walter and Caroline. The photograph above is a
display on the Chinnery family in our Camp Square Museum. Both
children died at Gilwell Park (image below is of Caroline's Column) and
William had to flee abroad to escape imprisonment due to his
embezzlement of tax revenues! George also had problems with money as he
moved from one country to another to avoid paying his debts. However
both Chinnerys left a lasting legacy of art and the Gilwell Park which
are still admired to this day. For details of the exhibition see http://www.asiahouse.org/net/Exhibitions.aspx and http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/arts/review-24016398-the-flamboyant-mr-chinnery-an-english-artist-in-india-and-china-asia-house---review.do.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
20 December 2011 December / 2011
Eccles on Loan
Eccles, Lord Baden-Powell's caravan
will be on loan until the spring of 2012 having essential cleaning and
repairs at the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust, Derby. I would like record
my thanks to Rolls-Royce and the B-P Jam Roll Limited for their
generosity in undertaking this work on behalf of The Scout Association.
Below is a film of activities at Gilwell Park in the 1930s taken by
Lord Baden-Powell which includes Eccles.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
23 December 2011 December / 2011
Happy Christmas & New Year!
Our
last blog of 2011 and what a busy year it has been! Indexing 50,000
award records, nearly 400 tours and our films going online have been a
major step forward in making the Archives more accessible. The above
film features a year in the life of the 1st Willesden Group circa 1953,
featuring summer holidays in Newquay to singing Christmas carols on the
door steps of the local community. Have a great Christmas and New Year
blog readers and keep coming back in 2012.
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
|
2 December 2012 December / 2012
An Archive Christmas
It appears that Christmas 2012 will have a particularly Scout Archive emphasis! We supplied the uniforms to act as patterns for Miranda Hart and the Cubs for Call the Midwife which will be shown on Christmas Day, see trailer above.
Also we have a new heritage range of products available through Scout Shops, see the range at http://shop.scouts.org.uk/c-80-heritage.aspx?&pagesize=999999. As always all the profits are returned to Scouting so why not treat someone this Christmas!
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
21 December 2012 December / 2012
Happy Christmas & New Year!
Happy
Christmas and New Year to all our blog readers! Come back in the New
Year as 2013 promises to be quite special with the long awaited
publication of Baden-Powell's manuscript of Scouting for Boys and his papers online project through this website, we will certainly be busy!
Daniel Scott-Davies
Archive & Heritage Manager
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