Universalis

Wednesday 20 November 2013

Fort George - 8

This all took me back to my Boy Scout days!



This is the sort of tent that our Scout Master - The Reverend N Stevens used to have at camp. He was a leading light in Wood Badge training in West Yorkshire.

On the morning of 8 September 1919, 19 men dressed in short trousers and knee socks, their shirt sleeves rolled up, assembled for the first Scoutmasters' training camp at Gilwell Park. The camp was designed and run by Robert Baden-Powell.

Afterwards, Baden-Powell gave each man a simple wooden bead from a necklace he had found in a Zulu chieftain's deserted hut whilst on campaign in South Africa in 1888. The Scoutmasters' training course was a great success, and continued to be held year after year. Wood Badge recipients now number more than 100,000 and can be found in all corners of the world.

The Wood Badge is a Scouting programme and award for adults in the Scout associations around the world. The Wood Badge course is designed so that adult Scouters can learn; in as practical a way possible, the skills and methods of Scouting.On completion, participants are awarded the beads to recognize their significant achievement in leadership and direct service to young people, and to welcome them to membership of the 1st Gilwell Park Scout Group.

Although the programme has changed over the years, the essence of the original Wood Badge still remains. Adults use their new and existing knowledge and skills to complete training, which is designed to strengthen the individual and the quality of Scouting they can provide to young people.

I successfully completed my own Wood Badge training at Crawfordsburn in Northern Ireland in 1986. The main trainer was Mr Maynard Porter.

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