Happy Founders Day! or thinking day for our sisters in GirlGuides
The Scout Movement was started in 1907 by Robert Baden-Powell, better known as B-P, who was born on 22nd February 1857 in London. In 1876 Baden-Powell joined the British army and was positioned in India and Africa where he later became the youngest colonel in the British army. It was during the second Boer War in 1899-1902 that Baden-Powell became a hero.
Whilst carrying out his duties at the time he and his soldiers became trapped in the Siege of Mafeking by the Boer army which is believed to have consisted in excess of 8,000 men. Although Baden-Powell and his men were outnumbered they withstood the siege for 217 days by use of cunning military deceptions.
He used young local boys to ‘scout’ the territory and report on what they saw of the enemy. Hence the word Scout was used for the new Movement B-P started in 1907.
To try out his ideas Baden-Powell arranged a camp for 20 boys from different social backgrounds between 1st and 8th August 1907 on Brownsea Island, Poole, in Dorset. It was a great success.
There are now between 25 & 40 million Scouts in 216 countries.
The only countries with no Scouts are Andorra, People’s Republic of China, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
Lord Baden-Powell travelled all over the World for many years afterwards visiting Scouts of all nationalities until 1937 when at the age of 80 he settled down in Kenya with his wife Olive where lived for the rest of his Scouting days, until his death on 8th January, 1941, in Nyeri, Kenya.
