History of Scouting

Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden Powell was born on 22nd February 1857 at 6, Stanpole Street, Lancaster Gate, London.

His father - Rev. Prof. Herbert George Baden Powell, a professor of Geometry at Oxford, a simple clergyman, a lover of God and a great Naturalist.

His mother - Henrietta Grace Smyth was the daughter of British Admiral W.T. Smith.

B.P’s father died in 1860 when he was only 3 years old leaving behind his mother with seven children. B.P learned much about hiking, camping, tramping, and canoeing with the help of his eldest brother Warington.

1869 - 1876 - B.P was first admitted to Dame School in Kensington from there Rose Hill, a Prepatory School at Ton Bridge and in 1870 he entered the Charter House School in London as a Gownboy Foundation Scholarship. In those days it was a common tradition in England that any student who was admitted on scholarship had to do some service to the senior students without any remuneration. So B.P took the job of giving bathing towels to his seniors and he was named as “Bathing Towel”.

At the age of 19 in 1876 B.P graduated from Charter House and appeared for Army Selection Examination. He acquitted himself well-outstanding second for the cavalry and fourth for the Infantry out of seven hundred candidates.

He was at once offered a direct commission as Sub Lieutenant in the 13th Hussars Regiment stationed at Luck now, India.

He spent in India from 1876 - 1884 1880 - B.P joined 13th Hussars in India and accompanied the Regiment to Afghanistan (Kandahar) with General Phavre’s force.

1881 - Regiment moved from Kokoran to Quetta. While stalking horse thieves during the night raid to Kojakh Pass, his pistol went off accidentally injuring his leg.

1882 - B.P’s Regiment marched through North India nine hundred miles to Mathura.

1883 - At the age of 26, he became a Captain by his sheer hard work. He won the coveted Kadir Cup for Pig-sticking at Mathura.

1884 - He wrote and published his first book “Reconnaissance and Scouting”. He wrote this book for the practice in the army but became very popular in the British Schools. His Regiment moved from Mathura to Natal to assist Sir Charles Warren’s expedition to Bachuanaland.

1885 - 1895 - These ten years of his life were of mixed experiences of service in England, South Africa, Malta and Ireland.

1895 - B.P captured Ashanti Tribe. It was here in the Ashanti that B.P got the practice of pioneering work. He wore the cowboy hat and was called by the natives “Kantankye” ( “He, of the Big hat”) His experiences with his own dress gave ideas for the future Scout Uniform.

1896 - B.P was appointed as the Chief of Staff to the General Officer Commanding, Sir F. Carrington and was responsible for all Scouting Information to suppress a native rising in Matabele Land. The natives called B.P “Impesa” (The Wolf that never sleeps). B.P got the Kudu Horn as a trophy. Of all the trophies the Dini Zulu’s Necklace and Kudu Horn are the two articles of great sentimental value and General Scout interest that have been presented to Gilwell Park by B.P

1897 - 1899: He was appointed to Command the 5th Dragoon Guards in April. He was perhaps one of the popular commanding officers of his time. There were many reasons for this, but the most important was that he never asked any of his men to do anything which he was not prepared to do himself and that he treated his officers and men alike as friends and as individuals. Everyone got a square deal from him. This does not mean that he was not a task master. “Nothing but the best” was his favourite saying at that time. If a man did anything wrong he was down on him like a ton of bricks.

1899 - Defence of Mafeking: Mafeking was a town in South Africa. It was besieged by the Boers. At that time B.P was on leave in England. He was chosen by Garnet Joseph First Viscount, British Field Marshal and Commander-in-Chief as a man of resources and the task  selected suited B.P’s special abilities. His job was to raise two battalions of Mounted Rifles for the North West Frontier of Cape Colony in view of the possibility of war with Boers. B.P had practically finished his organization when war broke out and he was then with part of his force at Mafeking. B.P could hardly sleep at night. He was always thinking out new ways of outwitting the other fellow and keeping every one cheerful. At last Mafeking was relieved. Colonel Plumer’s men came from the North and Colonel Mohan came from the South.

1899 - The First Idea of Boy Scouts: It was in Mafeking that Lord Edward Cecil, B.P’s Staff Officer got together the boys in the place made them into cadet Corps, put them in uniform and drilled them; and a jolly smart and useful lot they were. Their age range from nine upwards. The duties of carrying orders and messages and keeping look out and acting as orderlies were handed over to the boys and the men were relieved to go and strengthen the Firing line. The cadets under their sergeant Major, a boy named Good Year did right good work and well deserved the medals which they got at the end of the war. Many of them rode bycles and Mafeking printed postage stamps and on them a picture of a cadet Bycle orderly was superimposed. This experiment showed that the boys respond whenever they are given responsibilities. The efficiency of the boys and cheerfulness with which they had worked impressed B.P very much. The incident was the beginning of a Movement for Boys which was given the practical shape at the Brown Sea island Camp in 1907 later on.

1901 - After the siege of Mafeking was lifted, B.P had consolidated the British position quite safe in South Africa. He returned to England and was the National Hero. Hundreds of boys wrote for his advice and he advised them to do at least “One Good Turn” a day to the other people. Queen Victoria promoted B.P to the rank of a Major General, the youngest Major General in the Army at the age of Forty three.

1900 - 1903 South African Constabulary: After the siege was over and after some field operations Lord Roberts, the Commander of the British Army from 1895 till 1904 decided that B.P was just the man for another unusual task. This was to realise and train a body of police for use at the conclusion of the war. So the South African Constabulary came into existence. The South African Constabulary which was kept for defensive duties proved to be one of the ablest units and won awards including Victoria Crosses and Distinguished Service Orders.

1903 - 1907 Inspector General of Cavalry: After the formation of the South African Constabulary he was offered the appointment in the Cavalry Services as an Inspector General of Cavalry in Great Britain and Ireland. Though he took up the appointment he did not like it as it took him away from the direct contact with men.  1907 - B.P was placed on half pay with the Rank of Lieutenant General, Highest Rank in the Army at the age of fifty.

1905 - Boys Brigade: B.P attended a great Boys Brigade Parade at Glassow. This Boys Brigade was the biggest Boys Movement known at that time in England. This Parade was the turning point in the History of the youths of the whole world.  The presence of thousands of Boys in the ranks convinced him that youth would always respond to an appealing training if the training was based on sound ideas. He drew up a short scheme of training but his friends encouraged him to re-write “Aid to Scouting “ as a book for the Boys. Before writing he wanted himself to be satisfied whether his ideas and experiences in India and South Africa among the Zulus and other savage tribes were practical.

1907 - Brown Sea Island Camp: He made a lecture Tour of the United Kingdom, expounding his scheme for training the boys and at the same time preparing a ground to hold a camp at Brown Sea Island in order to try out his ideas in practice. He got together a mixed company of 20 boys from Eton and Harrow, some shop boys, mixed them up and took them off to the camp at Brown Sea Island in Pool Harbour in the English channel, Dorset from 29th July to 9th August.

1908 -  “Scouting for Boys” was published in six fortnightly parts. More than half a million copies of Scouting for Boys were sold away during B.P’s life time. This book had a huge success through its intrinsic merit and from B.P’s reputation and personality. In this book B.P recommended nothing that he had not done superlatively well himself.

B.P never expected that this book would set in motion a movement which was to effect the Boyhood of the entire world. Boys started attending rallies and camps.

1908 - B.P organised the Second Camp at Humshaug, five miles North of Hexham from 22 August - 5 September

1909 - B.P organised the third camp at Bucklers Hard near the mouth of the Beaulieu River and “Water site” and it was termed as FRY’s training ship “Mercury”. This was the beginning of the “Sea Scouting”. B.P’s elder brother Warrington was made in charge of Sea Scouting training as he was an expert and experienced sailor.

It was computed that in England itself the Scouts numbered up to 80,000. Scouting began to spread outside the British. United States of America, Canada and Chile in South America started Scouting. Chile in South America was the First Foreign country to adopt Scouting.

1909 -First Boy Scout Rally at Crystal Palace: First Boy Scout Rally at Crystal Palace was held on 4th September and 11,000 Scouts attended the Rally.

The earliest recorded visit of the Scouts to the Continent was in April 1909. A party of Scouts from Great Britain went to Germany at the invitation of the Wander Vogel.

1910 -First Girl Guide company : First Girl Guide company was started under ship the leadership of Miss Agnes Baden Powell.

1911 -Rally at Windsor Palace was held and 30,000 Scouts took part.

1912 -B.P with the assistance of his sister Miss Agnes Baden Powell wrote a hand book for Girls and published in 1912

1912 - B.P married to Miss Olave St. Clair Soames on 30th Oct. Lady B.P was born on 22nd February 1889. She was thirty two years younger to B.P.

1912 -Lady B.P took over the Girl Guiding

1913 - Son Authur Robert was born on 30 October

1914 - B. P lost his mother on 13 October

1915 - Daughter Heather Grace was born on 1st June

1916 -B.P wrote “The Wolf Cubs handbook” cubing started.

1917 - Daughter Betty St. Clair was born on 16th April

1918 -Rover scouting started

1919 - “Aids to Scout mastership” published

1919 - Gilwel Park

The idea of having a permanent training centre for the training of the Scoutmasters struck him and he expressed his wish to Mr. W. De Bo Maclaren, District Commissioner of Roseneath in Scotland to buy a Camping Ground of fifty five acres near London, called Gilwell Park. The formal opening ceremony took place on Saturday 25th July.  The Chief Scout thanked Mr. Maclaren for his generous gift and presented him with the order of the “Silver Wolf” (Silver Wolf is the highest Award and is awarded for service of most exceptional character to the Movement)

1920 -First World Jamboree held in Olympia, London

            B.P acclaimed Chief Scout of the World.

1922 -B.P published “Rovering to Success”

1924 - An Empire Jamboree: An Empire Jamboree was held at Wembly Exhibition. The Prince of Wales camped with the Scouts. It was the first occasion of Royal Personality mixed freely with the Scouts.

1929 - The Third Jamboree: The Jamboree was held at Birkenhead, England from 31 July - 13 August. The Jamboree was known as “Jamboree of Mud” Because the Boys had to face heavy rain.

1930 -Lady B.P was acclaimed as the “Chief Guide” of the World.

1931 -1st World Rover Meet was held at Kenderstag.

1933 - The Fourth Jamboree: The Fourth Jamboree was held from 2nd August - 11 August. Hungry was the host country of the fourth Jamboree. On 8th August a special Rally was held to say Goodbye to the Chief.

1934 - B.P lay down for five months after an internal operation.

1935 - B.P Published “Scouting Round the World”.  He received King George V Silver Jubilee medal. Lady B.P also received the same medal.

1937 - The Fifth World Jamboree: The Fifth World Jamboree was held from 31st July - 9th August. Holland was the host country of the Jamboree. In the final Rally of the Jamboree B.P said “Now the time has come for me to say Goodbye” and this was the last Jamboree that he attended.

1938 - B.P’s Second Home - Pax TU Kenya: At a place called Nyeri Kenya Colony, Mr. Eric Walker a former Scout Headquarters Staff was running a Hotel. In the ground floor of this Hotel the Chief had a small house built for himself and Lady B.P. They called it Paxtu. They settled there in the autumn to lead a calm and quiet life. B.P spent three happy years in Africa before his death, the only three years of their married life in which they were constantly together.

1940 - In the autumn of 1940 he became seriously ill, prayers were held in every part of the world by the Scouts for his recovery. The Chief’s heart, which he tried out in the service of the Scouts and Guides gradually became weak and stopped for ever on 8th January 1941 B.P died at Nyeri, Kenya. He was given a Military Funeral and was buried at Nyeri in the view of Mount Kenya. Memorial Services were held at West Minster Abbey on 27 January.