Old Time Scouting Games Played At Brownsea Island

Scouts from all over the world have travelled to Brownsea Island for a sunrise ceremony at the birthplace of scouting. We followed them as they set up camp and explored the island. Brownsea Island – The First Scout Camp. The camp BP organised from the 31st July to 9th August 1907 was actually an experimental summer camp to test his ideas in his book “Scouting for Boys” on Brownsea Island, a 500-acre, windswept tract in Poole Harbour off England’s southern coast. What is seen as the first true Scout Camp was held at Humshaugh, Northumberland from 22 August to 4 September 1908, as this was held after the official start of the Scout Movement. Despite this the Brownsea Island Camp is seen by many as the first camp and the same week of the camp in 2007 was used to officially mark the centenary of Scouting. What is seen as the first true Scout Camp was held at Humshaugh, Northumberland from 22 August to 4 September 1908, as this was held after the official start of the Scout Movement. Despite this the Brownsea Island Camp is seen by many as the first camp and the same week of the camp in 2007 was used to officially mark the centenary of Scouting.

From ScoutWiki, For Everyone, Everywhere involved with Scouting and Guiding...

Stone on Brownsea Island commemorating the first scout camp

The Brownsea Island Scout Camp was the world's first Scout camp, and is regarded as the formal birth of the worldwide Scout movement. Robert Baden-Powell ran the camp from August 1 to August 8, 1907 on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour on the South coast of England. Many of the concepts still used worldwide in the Scout programme were first used at the Brownsea Island camp.

The centenary of Scouting will be celebrated worldwide on the 100th anniversary of the start of the camp, on August 1, 2007.^[1]

Background

Baden-Powell had become a national hero as a result of his successful defence during the Siege of Mafeking of 1899–1900 during the Anglo-Boer War.^[2] During the siege, the Mafeking Cadets had impressed him with their resourcefulness and courage. He had also published a number of popular books on military scouting, including Aids to Scouting (written in 1899) which became a bestseller and was used by teachers and youth organisations. In the years following the war, he began discussing the idea of a new youth organisation with a number of people, including William Alexander Smith, founder of the Boys' Brigade. To test his ideas for 'Scouting for Boys', Baden-Powell conceived of an experimental camp, and organised a camp to take place on Brownsea Island during the summer of 1907. He invited his life-long friend, Major Kenneth McLaren, to attend the camp as his deputy.

The first Scouts

Baden-Powell invited 20 boys to the camp, from different social backgrounds - a revolutionary idea in class-conscious Edwardian England.^[3] Ten came from the well-to-do public schools of Eton and Harrow, mostly sons of friends of Baden-Powell. Seven came from the Bournemouth Boys' Brigade, and three from the Poole Boys' Brigade. Baden-Powell's 9 year old nephew Donald Baden-Powell also attended. The camp fee was dependent on means: £1 for the public school boys, and three shillings and sixpence (17½ p) for the others. The boys were arranged into four Patrols: Wolves, Ravens, Bulls and Curlews.^[4]

The site

Brownsea Island Camp today

Brownsea Island covers 560 acres of woodland and open areas with two lakes. Baden-Powell had visited the site as a boy with his brothers, and the owner, Charles van Raalte, was happy to offer him use of the site. It suited his needs perfectly as it was isolated from the mainland and hence the press, but only a short ferry trip from the town of Poole, making the logistics easier.

Uniform and badges

The boys wore khaki scarves and were presented with brass fleur-de-lis badges, the first use of the Scout emblem. They wore a coloured knot on their shoulder indicating their Patrol - green for Bulls, blue for Wolves, yellow for Curlews, and red for Ravens. The Patrol Leader carried a staff with a flag depicting the patrol animal. After passing tests on knots, tracking, and the national flag, they were given another brass badge, a scroll with the words Be Prepared, to wear below the fleur-de-lis.

Camp programme

The camp began with a blast from a kudu horn Baden-Powell had captured in the Matabele campaign. He used the same kudu horn to open the 'coming of age' Jamboree 21 years later in 1929. Baden-Powell made full use of his personal fame as the hero of the Siege of Mafeking. For many of the participants, the highlights of the camp were his campfire yarns of his African experiences, and the Zulu 'Eengonyama' chant - meaning 'he is a lion'.

Each Patrol camped in an army bell tent. The day began with cocoa, exercises, flag break and prayers, followed by the morning activity. After lunch there was a strict siesta, followed by the afternoon activity and tea. The day ended with games, supper, campfire yarns and prayers.

Each day was based on a different theme:^[5]

Day 1 (August 1) - Preliminary: Formation of patrols, distribution of duties, special instruction for Patrol Leaders, settle into camp.

Day 2 - Campaigning: Camping skills, building huts, knots, fire lighting, cooking, health and sanitation, endurance

Day 3 - Observation: Tracking, memorising details, deducing meaning from tracks and signs, training eyesight.

Day 4 - Woodcraft: Study of animals and birds, plants, stars, stalking animals.

Day 5 - Chivalry: Honour, code of the knights, unselfishness, courage, charity, thrift, loyalty, chivalry to women. Doing a 'Good Turn' daily.

Day 6 - Saving a life: From fire, drowning, sewer gas, runaway horses, panic, street accidents etc. First Aid.

Day 7 - Patriotism: History and deeds that won the Empire, our Navy and Army, flags, duties as citizens, marksmanship.

Day 8 - Conclusion: Summary of the course, sports day

The participants left by ferry on the 9th day, August 9.

Aftermath

Following the successful camp, Baden-Powell went on an extensive speaking tour arranged by his publisher, Pearsons, to promote his forthcoming book, Scouting for Boys. It initially appeared as six installments in a boys' fortnightly magazine, beginning in January 1908, and later appeared in book form. Scouting began to spread throughout Great Britain and Ireland, then through the countries of the British Empire, and soon to the rest of the world.

In 1932, the new owner of the island, Mrs. Mary Bonham-Christie, allowed 500 Scouts to camp there to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of Scouting, but shortly afterwards, she closed the island to the public and it became very overgrown.

The site today

The island was reopened to the public in 1963 by Lady Baden-Powell when it came under the control of the National Trust.^[6] Since then it has been maintained as a conservation area and is a popular site for visitors. It is accessible by ferry from Poole.

The Scout campsite and parts of the island have been cleared, and Scouts have been able to camp there since 1964. A commemorative stone by sculptor Don Potter was unveiled in 1967. St Marys Church (about 0.2 miles from the camp) is lined with scouting flags from across the world. It is often used for services during large camps. There is a memorial to Baden-Powell and his wife inside the Church.

The Brownsea Island Scout and Guide Management Committee maintains the site,^[7] and operates a small trading post on the site. In Spring 2007, the Baden-Powell Outdoor Centre will be built where the present trading post is, creating a more extensive visitors' centre and Scout museum.

From the 24th March 2007, Brownsea Island will be open for day visitors (The island is closed to the public on the 1st August). The National Trust are operating a number of events throughout the summer months including guided tours, trails and activities in the visitor centre.

Since March 2006, packages have been available for Scouts to camp on the island, while Scout and Guide groups can also book day activities. To celebrate one hundred years of Scouting, there are four camps which are being organised by The Scout Association during July/August. Pre-booking is required for these camps.

The Replica Camp will run parallel to the three other camps (28th July-3rd August). Replica will be a 'living Museum' and recreate the original 1907 experimental camp on Brownsea Island for visitors to the island.

The Patrol Leaders Camp which will be held between 26 to 28 July 2007, will be the first of the four camps and involve Scouts from across the UK, participating in activities like sea kayaking.

The Sunrise Camp (29th July - 1st August) will host over 300 Scouts from nearly every country in the world. The young people will travel from the World Scout Jamboree in Hylands Park, Essex to Brownsea Island in order to be at the birthplace of Scouting on the 1st August for the Sunrise Ceremony.

Finally, the New Centenary Camp (1st-4th August) will host Scouts from both the UK and abroad and will celebrate the start of the second century for Scouting. Scouts from all backgrounds and religions will come together to show the world that peace is possible in the same way that Baden-Powell brought together boys from different classes for the first camp back in 1907.

On the 1st August 2007, Brownsea Island will become the focus of Scouts worldwide as the island hosts the World Sunrise Ceremony. At 8am on the 1st August, Scouts all over the world will renew their Scout promise - the focus being to make the world a better and more peaceful place.

References

↑http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/6477573.stm
↑'The Siege of Mafeking'. British Battles.com. http://www.britishbattles.com/great-boer-war/mafeking.htm. Retrieved July 07.
↑Woolgar, Brian; La Riviere, Sheila (2002). Why Brownsea? The Beginnings of Scouting. Brownsea Island Scout and Guide Management Committee.
↑Beardsall, Jonny (2007). 'Dib, dib, dib... One hundred years of scouts at Brownsea'. The National Trust Magazine (Spring 2007): pages 52-55.
↑Walker, Johnny. 'Scouting Milestones - Brownsea Island'. http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/brownsea.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-07.
↑'National Trust - Brownsea Island - History'. http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-brownseaisland/w-brownseaisland-history.htm. Retrieved July 07.
↑'Brownsea Island Scout & Guide Camp'. http://www.brownsea-island.org.uk. Retrieved July 07.

Retrieved from 'http://en.scoutwiki.org/index.php?title=Brownsea_Island_Scout_camp&oldid=38421'

I am a merit badge counselor for Scouting Heritage MeritBadge in the Northern Star Council in Minnesotaand Western Wisconsin.I put this page together to help Scouts whoare working on the badge, either with me, or with another counselor.This page has two parts.

First, I have listed the requirements (current as ofJanuary, 2015), and broken that down into two categories:The things the Scout should do, and thethings we will do at the counseling session.

Second, I have listed some helpful web pages and otherresources to help you prepare for this Merit Badge. While the information on this page is not presented 'workbook' style with questions and answers, I think you'll find a lot of helpful information here. I strongly encourage you to read the MeritBadge pamphlet.(This is the fastest wayto prepare.)But if you don’t haveaccess to the book, you can still get all of the information you need toprepare from other sources.And afteryou’ve read the book, you might want to learn even more about what Scouts did“back in the day”.Most Scouts willenjoy looking at some of the old handbooks and old issues of Boys’ Life.These are available absolutely free on theInternet, and the links are shown below.

This Merit Badge can be a lot of fun to earn.Believe it or not, Scouts a hundred years agoweren’t very different from you.Youwill enjoy learning about the kinds of things they did, and then doing them!

How to Prepare for The First Merit Badge Session.

Scouting Heritage probably isn’t the easiest merit badge,but it’s definitely not the hardest one. Any Scout will be able to earn itwith some preparation.In fact, if theScout is well prepared, this badge can easily be earned in a single sessionwith the counselor.

To Be Prepared to do this, the Scout should complete all ofthe requirements shown in the YELLOW column below prior to the merit badgesession.(These are my expectations, soif you’re working with a different counselor, please check with him or herfirst.)If a Scout does EVERYTHING inthe yellow column before the session, then he WILL finish the badge in a singlesession.If he does MOST of the thingsin the yellow column, then he will finish MOST of the requirements for thebadge, and either get a “partial” sign-off of his blue card, or else be able tocomplete the merit badge at a second session.

The requirementsfor Scouting Heritage Merit Badge can be found at scouting.org.These requirements (current as of 2015) areshown below.But it’s a good idea tocheck the latest edition of the Merit Badge Pamphlet of the officialrequirements online in case they have recently changed.

Requirement No.	Requirement	What to do BEFORE your session with the counselor	What you'll do with the counselor at the merit badge session
1	Discuss with your counselor the life and times of Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell. Explain why he felt a program like Scouting would be good for the young men of his day. Include in your discussion how Scouting was introduced in the United States, and the origins of Boy Scouting and Cub Scouting under Baden-Powell.	Read about Baden-Powell.Sources of information are listed below.	We will talk about what you learned about “B-P”.
2a	Give a short biographical summary of any TWO of the following, and tell of their roles in how Scouting developed and grew in the United States prior to 1940. Daniel Carter Beard William D. Boyce Waite Phillips Ernest Thompson Seton James E. West	Pick two of the people on this list and learn about them.Sources of information are listed below.You may write a short biography.There is no requirement for the minimum length, but to cover all of the information needed, this will usually be at least one page.Or if you prefer, you can come to your session prepared to tell your counselor (and the rest of the Scouts) what you have learned.Again, there is no requirement for the minimum length, but to cover everything, you should be prepared to talk for about five minutes total.	I will read the biographies that you wrote.Or, if you prefer to give your report orally, you will tell me and the rest of the group what you learned about the people you chose.
2b	Discuss the significance to Scouting of any TWO of the following: BrownseaIsland The First World Scout Jamboree Boy Scout Handbook Boys' Life magazine	Pick two of the items from this list and learn about them.Sources of information are listed below.Be prepared to tell your counselor (and the rest of the Scouts) what you have learned.Again, there is no requirement for the minimum length, but to cover everything, you should be prepared to talk for about five minutes total.	You will tell me and the rest of the group what you learned.
3	Discuss with your counselor how Scouting's programs have developed over time and been adapted to fit different age groups and interests (Cub Scouting, Boy Scouting, Exploring, Venturing).	Learn about how Scouting has changed over the years.Be prepared to tell your counselor (and the rest of the Scouts) what you have learned.Again, there is no requirement for the minimum length, but to cover everything, you should be prepared to talk for about five minutes.	You will tell me and the rest of the group what you learned.
4	Do ONE of the following (4a OR 4b or 4c):	Pick either 4a, 4b, or 4c below.	We will do one of the following (4a or 4b):
4a	Attend either a BSA national jamboree, OR world Scout jamboree, OR a national BSA high-adventure base. While there, keep a journal documenting your day-to-day experiences. Upon your return, report to your counselor what you did, saw, and learned. You may include photos, brochures, and other documents in your report.	If you attended any of these (Jamboree or High-Adventure Base) prepare the journal/scrapbook and bring it the merit badge session.	We’ll look at the journal and other items you brought and talk about them.
4b	Write or visit the NationalScoutingMuseum in Irving, Texas.Obtain information about this facility. Give a short report on what you think the role of this museum is in the Scouting program.	If you visited the museum in Irving, Texas, be prepared to talk about it at the merit badge session. If you didn’t visit, write for the information from the museum.The contact information is shown below.If you receive the information before the session, please bring it.	We’ll talk about the museum.
4c	Visit an exhibit of Scouting memorabilia or a local museum with a Scouting history gallery, or (with your parent’s permission and counselor’s approval) visit with someone in your council who is recognized as a dedicated Scouting historian or memorabilia collector. Learn what you can about the history of Boy Scouting. Give a short report to your counselor on what you saw and learned.	In our area, the best museum to visit is theNorth Star Scouting Museum in North St. Paul, MN. Visit the museum with your family, patrol, or troop, and be prepared to talk about it at the merit badge session. If your troop attended Many Point and visited the museum there, this is also acceptable.	We’ll talk about the museum.
5	Learn about the history of your unit or Scouting in your area. Interview at least two people (one from the past and one from the present) associated with your troop. These individuals could be adult unit leaders, Scouts, troop committee members, or representatives of your troop's chartered organization. Find out when your unit was originally chartered. Create a report of your findings on the history of your troop, and present it to your patrol or troop or at a court of honor, and then add it to the troop's library. This presentation could be in the form of an oral/written report, an exhibit, a scrapbook, or a computer presentation such as a slide show.	Interview at least two people from your Troop.At least one must be from the present, and at least one must be from the past.If you need ideas about who to interview, ask your Scoutmaster or other leader. Write a report about what you learned, and make sure you include the information listed in the requirement. Present this report at a troop meeting, patrol meeting, or Court of Honor. Give a copy of your report to your Troop Librarian and/or Scribe to include in your Troop Library.(Be sure to keep an extra copy to bring to the merit badge session.)	I will read your report.If you want, you can also give the same presentation you gave your troop or patrol.
6	Make a collection of some of your personal patches and other Scouting memorabilia. With their permission, you may include items borrowed from family members or friends who have been in Scouting in the past, or you may include photographs of these items. Show this collection to your counselor, and share what you have learned about items in the collection. (There is no requirement regarding how large or small this collection must be.)	Make the collection and bring it to the merit badge session.	We’ll look at your collection, the collections brought by other scouts, and my collection.
7	Reproduce the equipment for an old-time Scouting game such as those played at BrownseaIsland. You may find one on your own (with your counselor's approval), or pick one from the Scouting Heritage merit badge pamphlet. Teach and play the game with other Scouts.	Find an interesting game, learn the rules, and make the equipment that is required.You can teach the game to your own Troop or Patrol and play it with them before the merit badge session.Or, if this will be a group merit badge session, you can bring the equipment to the merit badge session, and we will play it then.	If you played the game with your own patrol or troop, you will tell us about the game.If you didn’t do it with your own troop or patrol, you will teach it to the rest of the scouts at the session and we will play it then.
8	Interview at least three people (different from those you interviewed for requirement 5) over the age of 40 who were Scouts. Find out about their Scouting experiences. Ask about the impact that Scouting has had on their lives. Share what you learned with your counselor.	Interview the people in the requirement and be prepared to talk about what you learned at our session.It’s not a requirement, but this will be easier if you take good notes during the interview.	We’ll talk about what you learned from these interviews.

Suggestions and Sources of Information

To earn this merit badge, you will need to do some researchand reading before the merit badgesession.The fastest way to do this is with the Scouting Heritage Merit BadgePamphlet.The page numbers with theinformation for each requirement are listed below.If your Troop Library doesn’t have a copy,you can buy this book from your local Scout Shop or onlinefrom scoutstuff.org.If you don’thave the Scouting Heritage merit badge pamphlet, (or if you want to learn more about the subject),I also have other books and websites listed below.All of the information you need for thismerit badge can be found online.You canusually find all of the information that will help you from one or two of the sourceslisted below.If you want to learn moreabout any of these subjects, you can look at some more of these sources.

Note: Links on this page are to external sites. These links were accurate and appropriate when added, but are notunder my control. Get your parent's approval before visiting any of these sites.

Requirement 1:Baden-Powell

There is a biography of Lord Baden-Powell on pages 8-9 ofthe Merit Badge pamphlet.In addition,you can use one or more of the following websites, which contain goodinformation about Baden-Powell:
Wikipedia biography of Baden-Powell.Warning:Wikipediaarticles can be written or changed by anyone, so they are not always a goodsource of information!At the time Iadded this link, this biography looked like it contained good information, butthat might have changed since I added the link.So use Wikipedia at your own risk!
Baden-Powell information: PDFfact sheet or webpage from the World Organization of theScout Movement.
There is a short biographyof Baden-Powell at scouting.org.(Thisbiography is very short, and you'll probably need to look at least one othersource to get all of the information you need for the merit badge requirement.)
An excerpt from the book Baden-Powell, The Story of His Life by E. Reynolds (1943) at the U.S. Scouting Service Project website.
Video:BP Story at YouTube.
Video 'TheFounders', by Venture Crew 153Temple, Texas.with historical photos of Baden-Powell, Seton, Boyce,Beard, and West.
Baden-Powell:The Hero of Mafeking byW. Francis Aitken is a biography of Baden-Powellwritten in 1900, before he founded the Scouting movement.It is available as a free eBookat Google Books.

Requirement 2a:Daniel Carter Beard

There is a biography of Beard on page 11 of the Scouting Heritage Merit Badgepamphlet. PDF documents and other resources are available at the following links:
Wikipedia biography of Beard.(See the warning above about Wikipedia articles.)
Beard biographyat meritbadge.org
TheAmerican Boy’s Handy Book (1888) and TheBoy Pioneers, Sons of Daniel Boone (1909) and other books by Dan Beard areavailable asfreeeBooks from GoogleBooks.These books were writtenbefore Scouting was formed, but Baden-Powell got a lot of ideas from them, andmany of these same ideas found their way into the Scout Handbook.
There is a short biographyof Beard at scouting.org.(Thisbiography is very short, and you'llprobably need to look at least one other source to get all of the informationyou need for the merit badge requirement.)

Requirement 2a:William D. Boyce

There is a biography of Boyce onpages 13-14 of the Merit Badgepamphlet.
Wikipedia biography of Boyce.(See the warning above about Wikipedia articles.)
Boyce biography at meritbadge.org.
There is a short biographyof Boyce at scouting.org.(Thisbiography is very short, and you'llprobably need to look at least one other source to get all of the informationyou need for the merit badge requirement.)

Requirement 2a:Waite Phillips

Waite Phillips is discussed on pages 45-47 of the MeritBadge pamphlet.
Wikipedia biography of Waite Phillips.(See the warning above about Wikipedia articles.)
Biography of Phillips at Philmont website.
Biography of Waite Phillips at meritbadge.org.

Requirement 2a:Ernest Thompson Seton

There is a biography of Seton on page 10 of the Merit Badgepamphlet.
Wikipedia biography of Seton.(See the warning above about Wikipedia.
Biography of Seton at meritbadge.org.
There is a short biographyof Seton at scouting.org.(Thisbiography is very short, and you'llprobably need to look at least one other source to get all of the informationyou need for the answers to this merit badge requirement.)

Requirement 2a:James E. West

There is a biography of West on page 16 of the Merit Badgepamphlet.
Wikipedia biography of West.(See the warning above about Wikipedia.)
Biography of West at meritbadge.org.
There is a short biographyof West at scouting.org.(This biographyis very short, and you'll probablyneed to look at least one other source to get all of the information you needto answer this merit badge requirement.)

Requirement 2b:BrownseaIsland

See pages 6, 9,and 61-62 of the Merit Badge pamphlet
Brownsea history at US Scouting Service Project
Brownsea Scout Camp Wikipediapage (See the warning above about Wikipedia.)

Requirement 2b:First WorldScout Jamboree

See page 50 of the Merit Badge pamphlet
FirstWorld Scout Jamboree at Wikipedia.(See the warningabove about Wikipedia.)
Historyof the World Scout Jamboree at World Organization of the Scout Movement

Requirement 2b:Boy Scout Handbook

The Handbook is mentioned many times in the Merit Badgepamphlet.For example, see pages 9, 15,and 31.
BSA Handbook timeline.
The original 1911 Scout Handbook is available in a number ofplaces.You can buy a reprint at yourlocal Scout Shop, fromscoutstuff.orgorfrom Amazon at this link.It is also availablefor freedownload or online viewing at GoogleBooks.Baden-Powell’s originalhandbook, Scouting for Boys,is also available for free download.

Requirement 2b:Boys' Life Magazine

See page 20 of the Merit Badge Pamphlet
Boys’ Life History at meritbadge.org.
Every issue of Boys’ Life is available online, free ofcharge, at the WaybackMachine and at GoogleBooks.

Requirement 3:How Scouting Has Changed Over the Years

See pages 13-42 of the Merit Badge Pamphlet
Highlights ofBSA History
BSA History by Troop 97, Ft. Collins, CO.
BSAHistory Wikipedia article (See warning aboveabout Wikipedia).
Here's another interesting old book that's available free: The 1921The Boy Scouts Book of Campfire Stories. This is a Kindle book, but it can also be viewed on your PC or other mobile device. The price is right!

Requirement 4:NationalScoutingMuseum

If you write to the ScoutingMuseumfor information, their contact information is available on theirwebsite:
Requests to the NationalScoutingMuseum for requirement 4Bof the Scouting Heritage merit badge should be directed toJoe Connoleby e-mail to toJoseph.Connole@Scouting.org or mail to 1329 W. Walnut Hill Lane, Irving, Texas75038.Please include your name, rank, and mailing address. An information packetwill be mailed to the address provided. All requests are processed in atimely manner. Please allow three weeks for delivery.

Requirement 5:History of Your Unit