Founder's Day Celebrated

Yesterday 10th Romsey hosted the Founders Day Service in their Head Quarters at Woodley.  It was well attended by Scouters and supporters from all over the District.  Some very interesting facts were given about the beginning of Scouting and of its Founder Robert Baden-Powell, but most of us were enthralled about the local historical facts relating to the Scout organisation.   So here they are for those who missed the service or for those who attended but could not take all the information in at the time. 

Scouting begins in Romsey

The first mention of Scouts in Romsey is in June 1908 - two Patrols, the Cuckoos and the Owls. Leaders do not appear, officially at least, until 1910.

In the summer of 1909, the Abbey Choir boys used to go for a ramble on a Sunday evening after church, accompanied by William Chandler, an adult chorister.  The boys would often discuss the adventure tales in the story paper "The Boy's Friend". Soon they began to discuss the articles on the new game for boys called "Scouting".

"Will you be our Scoutmaster, Sir, if we form a Patrol of Boy Scouts" the lads asked William on one of those rambles. He declined. Undaunted the boys then asked the teachers at the Boys’ National School.

The County Scout records show that in February 1910 Reginald Stead, a 20 year old Assistant Teacher, was Scout Master.

His father was the local headmaster and Mr Stead, Senior, had chaired the first District Committee meeting on 27th January 1910.

There were also four Assistant Scout Masters:

Frederick West, 17, a Railway Clerk;

Frederick Fitzgerald, 23, a butcher;

William Moulton 21;

and Frederick Archer 18, a bricklayer.

We cannot be certain why they volunteered. Did Reginald Stead volunteer because the boys asked him - or was he volunteered by his father, who was also his boss?

Fred Archer had five younger brothers. Did his brothers recruit him? - Or perhaps his parents saw a Child Minding opportunity.

Or perhaps, being too old to be Boy Scouts themselves they realised that by volunteering as Leaders they too could join in the fun of the Game of Scouting.

In July 1911, 55 Scouts attended the Boy Scout Rally at Windsor. District membership including Officers and Scouts, was 128.

In December 1911, William Chandler was again asked to volunteer. This time he accepted. As he wrote in his memoirs, "I had discovered what a fool I had been to let my first opportunity slip".

Growing our own Leaders is a Scouting tradition and it started very early.

In 1912, Robert Smethan, a 17 year old Patrol Leader with 1st Romsey, transferred to the Scout Troop at 7th Romsey (Crampmoor), to become an Assistant Scout Master. The Scout Master was Lieutenant Colonel Slessor, a retired Army officer who lived at Halterworth Lodge with his family .……..- and four servants.

Singing Rule Britannia

World War 1

This year 2014 we commemorate the centenary of the start of World War 1.

Many scouts and leaders enlisted. Those who remained at home

carried messages and patrolled,

were involved in coastal watches in case of invasion;

collected scrap metal for munitions

and raised money for the war effort.

The Scout Association Roll of Honour for the First World War lists over 1,500 men who had been Scouts or Leaders, who were killed in action or died from their wounds

Fred Archer, one of Romsey’s early Assistant Scout masters, joined the Army in 1915 and was posted to the North West Frontier, Afghanistan.

He was one of those who did not come home and is buried in Peshawar, now in Pakistan. His name is engraved on the Delhi Memorial in India and on our own War Memorial in the Park.

Romsey Scout District’s Roll of Honour totalled 31 present and 21 past members.

Of the 22 boys who had taken part in Baden-Powell’s camp in 1907,

5 were awarded the Military Cross for bravery,

4 lost their lives in the trenches,

1 died of disease in Aden in 1918

and 1 died from the effects of gas 8 years after the war ended. 
 

Acknowledgements:

Ken Sherman, Hampshire Scout Heritage

Phoebe Merrick and Pat Genge, Romsey Local History Society

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Thank you 10th Romsey for a well planned service to Revd Vanessa Lawrence for her contribution and for the marvellous tea afterwards - with a special thank you to the cake makers!!