Robert Baden-Powell of Gilwell, Founder of the World Scout Movement,Chief Scout of the World

The portrait of Baden-Powell at the top of this page is from the 1929 painting by David Jagger. It was presented to B-P on August 6, 1929 at the III World Jamboree at Arrowe Park, Birkenhead, England. This was known as the "Coming of Age Jamboree" as it marked the 21st anniversary of Scouting. The portrait was Baden-Powell's favorite. The original is at Baden-Powell House in London and a copy is displayed in the conference room at World Headquarters (WOSM) in Geneva, Switzerland.

Major-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell1st Baron Baden-Powell of Gilwell

"BE PREPARED" An Interview with Baden-Powell by the "Listener" Magazine in 1937.

Though LORD BADEN-POWELL is always credited with having founded the Boy Scout Movement, he tells here how, like Topsy, it "just growed"

As a matter of fact I didn't actually start the Boy Scout Movement, because the blooming thing started itself unseen.

It started in 1908 - but the microbe of Scouting had got me long before that. When I was a boy at Charterhouse I got a lot of fun out of trapping rabbits in woods that were out of bounds. If and when I caught one, which was not often, I skinned him and cooked him and ate him - and lived.

In doing this I learned to creep silently, to know my way by landmarks, to note tracks and read their meaning, to use dry dead wood off trees and not off the ground for my fire, to make a tiny non-smoky fire such as would not give me away to prying masters; and if these came along I had my sod ready to extinguish the fire and hide the spot while I shinned up some ivy- clad tree where I could nestle unobserved above the line of sight of the average searcher.

Somewhere about 1893 I started teaching Scouting to young soldiers in my regiment. When these young fellows joined the Army they had learned reading, writing, and arithmetic in school but as a rule not much else. They were nice lads and made very good parade soldiers, obeyed orders, kept themselves clean and smart and all that, but they had never been taught to be men, how to look after themselves, how to take responsibility, and so on. They had not had my chances of education outside the classroom.

They had been brought up in the herd at school, they were trained as a herd in the Army; they simply did as they were told and had no ideas or initiative of their own. In action they carried out orders, but if their officer was shot they were as helpless as a flock of sheep. Tell one of them to ride out alone with a message on a dark night and ten to one he would lose his way.

I wanted to make them feel that they were a match for any enemy, able to find their way by the stars or map, accustomed to notice all tracks and signs and to read their meaning, and able to fend for themselves away from regimental cooks and barracks. I wanted them to have courage, from confidence in themselves and from a sense of duty; I wanted them to have knowledge of how to cook their own grub; in short, I wanted each man to be an efficient, all-round, reliable individual.

The scheme worked.

The men loved the training and Scouting became very popular in the regiment.

In 1899 I wrote a little book called 'Aids to Scouting' for soldiers. It taught them observation, or how to track, and it taught them deduction, or how to read the information given by tracks.

As one instance of observation and deduction, I told how my bicycle had been stolen one night in India and how I tracked it down and discovered the thief. In the early dawn I followed the track of the bike along a hard high road, not an easy thing to do if you look down on the road, but looking along the surface towards the sunrise one saw the track quite clearly ahead of one in the dew lying on the ground.

The thief had led a bike by hand because the front wheel was locked and he evidently didn't know how to free it. His foot-marks alongside it were those of a soldiers boots, not a native's sandal. I observed that he passed the turning which led to the Cavalry Barracks, so I deduced that he was not a cavalryman; similarly he passed the road to the Infantry Barracks, but when he got to the Artillery road he turned up it and went into their Barracks. So I had only to tell the Adjutant of the Artillery that I believed one of his men had possessed himself of a very nice looking bike with a locked fore-wheel, and in a very short time my bike was returned to me, having been found hidden under the bed of one of the men.

That was one incident of many in the book to show the value of observation and deduction. When we were besieged at Mafeking, in 1900, my Chief Staff Officer, Lord Edward Cecil, got together boys in the place and made them into a cadet corps for carrying orders and messages and acting as orderlies and so on, in place of the soldiers, who were thus released to go and strengthen the firing line.

We then made the discovery that boys, when trusted and relied on, were just as capable and reliable as men.

Also, from experience of the Boys' Brigade, I realised that men could be got voluntarily to sacrifice time and energy to training boys. Then my idea that Scouting could be educative was strengthened also, through the following incident. General Lord Allenby was riding to his house after a field day when his little son shouted to him, "Father, I have shot you, you are not half a Scout. A Scout looks upward as well as around him - you never saw me." There was the boy, sitting up in a tree overhead; but far above him, near the top of the tree, was his new governess. " What on earth are you doing up there?" cried the General. "Oh, I am teaching him Scouting," she said. She had been trained at Miss Charlotte Mason's Collage for Teachers, and they had been using my book, Aids to Scouting, written for soldiers, as a textbook in the art of educating children.

Then in 1907 I, as a General, was inspecting 7,000 of the Boys' Brigade at Glasgow on its twentieth anniversary, and the founder, Sir William Smith, was very pleased because the

total strength of his movement was 54,000. I agreed that it was a big number but added that if the training really appealed to boys there ought to be ten times that number. "How would you make it appeal?" he asked. "Well, look at the young fellows in the Cavalry, how they enjoy the game of Scouting, which makes them into real men and good soldiers." "Could you re-write 'Aids to Scouting'," he wondered, "so that it would appeal to boys instead of to soldiers and make them into real men and good citizens?" So I did that.

But before writing the book I planned out the idea and then tested it. I got together some twenty boys of all sorts, some from Eton and Harrow, some from the East End of London, some country lads and some shop-lads, and I mixed them up like plums in a pudding to live together in camp. I wanted to see how far the idea would interest the different kinds of lads.

I told a friend what I was doing, and said that I wanted a quiet place, out of Press reporters and inquisitive people, where I could try the experiment; she offered me the use of her property - Brownsea Island in Dorsetshire. And there we set up camp for a fortnight. I had the late Major Maclaren and the present Sir Percy Everett to help me and we taught the boys camping, cooking, observation, deduction, woodcraft, chivalry, boatmanship, lifesaving, health, patriotism, and such things.

The results upon the boys in that short space of time taught me the possibilities which Scout training held for boys. So I at once set to work and wrote the handbook, Scouting for Boys, intending it to be useful to the existing boys' organisations such as Boys' Brigade, the Church Lads' Brigade, the Y.M.C.A., and others.

The book came out in fortnightly parts at 4d. a copy. Before many of the parts had been published I began to get letters from boys who had taken up the game for themselves, boys not belonging to the Boys' Brigade or any other association.

All the following year boys were writing to me telling me how they had started Patrols and Troops and had got men to come and act as their Scoutmasters. So we had to start a Headquarters office in a tiny room to deal with correspondence and supply equipment. I remember my Secretary wondering whether, if we laid in a stock of twelve Scout hats, we should be able to sell them all!

In that year, 1909, I arranged to have a meeting of the would-be Scouts at the Crystal Palace on a certain day. And when I got there, my wig, there were a lot of them. Rain was threatening, so we mustered them inside the Palace and arranged a March Past and counted them as they entered at one door and went out at the other.

There were 11,000 of them - 11,000, who had taken it up of their own accord! That is why I say that one didn't see the start: Scouting started itself.

Then, among the boys as they marched past, we found some groups of girls in Scout hats with staves and lanyards and haversacks, like the boys. "Who are you?" we said. "Oh, we are the Girl Scouts." "The devil you are!" "No - Girl Scouts." So I had eventually to write a book for them giving them the name of Guides to distinguish them from Scouts. And that is how the Girl Guides started - on their own - and they have gone on growing ever since.

Soon we began to hear from the Oversea Dominions and Colonies that they were all taking up Scouting, and before long foreign countries too were translating Scouting for Boys and playing the game.

In 1912 I had to go on a tour through America explaining the movement in twenty-four states. And I went on to Canada, Australia, and South Africa, preaching Scouting where they had all started it, but wanted to know more about it.

It was wonderful. Lots of people, of course, took to criticising the rapid rise of what they called a mushroom growth, and prophesied that after the first excitement it would gradually decline and probably die in the fifth year.

The fifth year came, bringing the Great War, so the movement had every reason to die then, for most of the Scoutmasters and all the older Scouts left to join up in the Services. Of these, some 10,000 were killed. But the movement did not die. The boys were put on their mettle to carry on and do service for their country in the time of its need. Our danger was that enemy spies in the country would try to upset our war preparations by blowing up railway bridges, cutting telegraph lines, and so on, and at once Scouts all over the country mounted guard to protect such communications by day and night. Others were used as orderlies and messengers in government offices to replace men sent to the Front.

The Admiralty asked if we could send Sea Scouts to take over the coastguard stations and so release the naval ratings there to return to active service with the fleet. Luckily we had prepared a big rally of Sea Scouts in the Isle of Wight for the Bank Holiday of August, 1914, and the Great War, you may remember, broke out on that date.

So we were able to send off detachments at once to take over all the coastguard stations, from John O'Groats to Land's End. These detachments were mainly patrols commanded by their own boy leaders. We had some 25,000 boys doing their duty during the course of the War. They did their work thundering well, and after the War was over received the thanks of the Admiralty and of the King for their services.

So, instead of dying, the movement showed its vitality; it rose to the occasion and since then has gone on growing in strength and usefulness.

We have now 1,011,923 British Scouts and 544,544 British Guides. In addition to these, some fifty-two countries have taken up Scouting and many also have Guides, so that altogether in the world there are now 2,812,00 Scouts and 1,304,107 Girl Guides.

It should be remembered, too, that behind these there are many millions more now grown-up in the different countries who have been in the fellowship of the Scouts and Guides. But what is more important than numbers is the fact that these Scouts and Guides of all countries have arrived at the stage of being on very friendly terms with one another.

The ... American Jamboree, in Washington this year, of 28,000 boys, followed by the World Jamboree in Holland of another 28,000 (which thirty-two countries attended, all at their own expense), shows the enthusiasm of the boys for making friends with other nations.

Scouts of the World, Brothers Together

There is in the movement that spirit of happy good comradeship which cannot fail in bringing about what we all pray for - Goodwill and Peace in the world.

This interview was originally published in the pages of the 10th Fife (Cupar) Scout Group in Scotland. Douglas Shearer, the Group Scout Leader has developed a wonderful series of pages including a unique account of the founding of "How Scouting Started in Cupar (Fife)"

B. - P.Winston S. Churchill, Great Contemporaries, London, 1938

Perhaps the finest testimony to the life and work of Robert Baden-Powell was written by Sir Winston Churchill. In his book, Great Contemporaries, Churchill collected a series of newspaper and magazine articles he had written from 1928 to 1937 on the lives of "the Great Men of our Age." He wrote in the preface: "Although each (article) is self-contained, they throw, from various angles, a light upon the main course of the events through which we have lived."

Winston Churchill is best remembered for his courageous leadership of the British people during the Second World War. His early career began on the same path as Baden-Powell's. He attended an English public school and the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. He was posted to the cavalry, and served in both India and Africa. He moved on from the military to his own "second life," first as a war correspondent and writer, and finally, into a long career in politics and public service. He was one of the most significant statesman of the Twentieth Century.

Churchill served in many important Cabinet positions, and was twice Prime Minister of Great Britain (1940-1945 and 1951-1955). He remained an active and prolific author. Among his major works are: The History of the English Speaking People, The Second

World War, The World Crisis (a history of the First World War), and the Life of Marlborough. Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953.

Baden-Powell, or B.-P., was one of Churchill's "Great Men of our Age." His portrait, as painted by Sir Winston Churchill follows.

"B. - P. "

THE THREE most famous generals I have known in my life won no great battles over the foreign foe. Yet their names, which all begin with a B, are household words. They are General Booth, General Botha and General Baden-Powell. To General Booth we owe the Salvation Army; to General Botha, United South Africa; and to General Baden-Powell, the Boy Scout Movement.

In this uncertain world one cannot be sure of much. But it seems probable that one or two hundred years hence, or it may be more, these three monuments that we have seen set up in our lifetime will still proclaim the fame of their founders, not in the silent testimony of bronze or stone, but as institutions guiding and shaping the lives and thoughts of men.

I remember well the first time I saw the hero of this article, now Lord Baden-Powell. I had gone with my regimental team to play in the Cavalry Cup at Meerut. There was a great gathering of the sporting and social circles of the British Army in India. In the evening an amateur vaudeville entertainment was given to a large company. The feature of this was a sprightly song and dance by an officer of the garrison, attired in the brilliant uniform of an Austrian Hussar, and an attractive lady. Sitting as a young lieutenant in the stalls, I was struck by the quality of the performance, which certainly would have held its own on the boards of any of our music-halls. I was told:

"That's B.-P. An amazing man! He won the Kader Cup, has seen lots of active service. They think no end of him as a rising soldier; but fancy a senior officer kicking his legs up like that before a lot of subalterns!"

I was fortunate in making the acquaintance of this versatile celebrity before the polo tournament was over.

Three years passed before I met him again. The scene and the occasion were very different. Lord Roberts' army had just entered Pretoria, and General Baden-Powell, who had been relieved in Mafeking after a siege of 217 days, was riding in two or three hundred miles from the Western Transvaal to report to the Commander-in-Chief. I thought I would interview him on behalf of the Morning Post and get a first-hand account of his famous defense.

We rode together for at least an hour, and once he got talking he was magnificent. I was thrilled by the tale, and he enjoyed the telling of it. I cannot remember the details but my telegram must have filled the best part of a column. Before dispatching it I submitted to him. He read it with concentrated attention and some signs of embarrassment, but when he had finished he handed it back to me, saying with a smile, "Talking to you is like talking to a phonograph." I was rather pleased with it, too.

In those days B.-P.'s fame as a soldier eclipsed almost all popular reputations. The other B.P, the British Public, looked upon him as the outstanding hero of the War. Even those who disapproved of the War, and derided the triumphs of large, organized armies over

the Boer farmers, could not forbear to cheer the long, spirited, tenacious defense of Mafeking by barely eight hundred men against a beleaguering force ten or twelve times their numbers.

No one had ever believed Mafeking could hold out half as long. A dozen times, as the siege dragged on, the watching nation had emerged from apprehension and despondency into renewed hope, and had been again cast down. Millions who could not follow closely or accurately the main events of the War looked day after day in the papers for the fortunes of Mafeking, and when finally the news of its relief was flashed throughout the world, the streets of London became impassable, and the floods of sterling cockney patriotism were released in such a deluge of unbridled, delirious, childish joy as was never witnessed again until Armistice Night, 1918. Nay, perhaps the famous Mafeking night holds the record.

Then the crowds were untouched by the ravages of war. They rejoiced with the light-hearted frenzy of the spectators of a great sporting event. In 1918 thankfulness and a sense of deliverance overpowered exultation. All bore in their hearts the marks of what they had gone through. There were too many ghosts about the streets after Armageddon.

One wondered why B.-P. seemed to drop out of the military hierarchy after the South African War was over. He held distinguished minor appointments; but all the substantial and key positions were parceled out among men whose achievements were unknown outside military circles, and whose names had never received the meed of popular applause.

There is no doubt that Whitehall resented the disproportionate acclamation which the masses had bestowed upon a single figure. Was there not something "theatrical", "unprofessional" in a personality which evoked the uninstructed enthusiasms of the man-in-the-street? Versatility is always distrusted in the Services. The voice of detraction and professional jealousy spoke of him as Harley Street would speak of the undoubted cures wrought by a quack. At any rate, the bright fruition of fortune and success was soon obscured by a chilly fog through which indeed the sun still shone, but with a dim and baffled ray.

The caprices of fortune are incalculable, her methods inscrutable. Sometimes when she scowls most spitefully, she is preparing her most dazzling gifts. How lucky for B.-P. that he was not in the early years of the century taken into the central swim of military affairs, and absorbed in all those arduous and secret preparations which ultimately enabled the British Expeditionary Army to deploy for battle at Mons!

How lucky for him, and how lucky for us all! To this he owes his perennially revivifying fame, his opportunity for high personal service of the most enduring character; and to this we owe an institution and an inspiration, characteristic of the essence of British genius, and uniting in a bond of comradeship the youth not only of the English-speaking world, but of almost every land and people under the sun.

It was in 1907 that B.-P. held his first camp for boys to learn the lore of the backwoods and the discipline of Scout life. Twenty-one boys of every class from the East End of London, from Eton and Harrow, pitched their little tents on Brownsea Island in Dorsetshire. From this modest beginning sprang the world-wide movement of Boy Scouts and girl guides, constantly renewing itself as the years pass, and now well over two million strong.

In 1908 the Chief Scout, as he called himself, published his book, Scouting for Boys. It appealed to all the sense of adventure and love of open-air life which is so strong in youth. But beyond this it stirred those sentiments of knightly chivalry, of playing the game - any game - earnest or fun - hard and fairly, which constitute the most important part of the British system of education.

Success was immediate and far-reaching. The simple uniform, khaki shorts and a shirt - within the range of the poorest - was founded upon that of General Baden-Powell's old corps, the South African Constabulary. The hat was the famous hat with the flat brim and pinched top which he had worn at Mafeking. The motto "Be Prepared" was founded on his initials. Almost immediately we saw at holiday times on the roads of Britain little troops and patrols of Boy Scouts, big and small, staff in hand, trudging forward hopefully, pushing their little handcart with their kit and camping gear towards the woodlands and parklands which their exemplary conduct speedily threw open to them. Forthwith there twinkled the camp fires of a vast new army whose ranks will never be empty, and whose march will never be ended while red blood courses in the veins of youth.

It is difficult to exaggerate the moral and mental health which our nation has derived from this profound and simple conception. In those bygone days the motto "Be Prepared" had a special meaning for our country. Those who looked to the coming of a great war welcomed the awakening of British boyhood. But no one, even the most resolute pacifist, could be offended; for the movement was not militaristic in character, and even the sourest, crabbiest critic saw in it a way of letting off youthful steam.

The success of the Scout movement led to its imitation in many countries, notably in Germany. There, too, the little troops began to march along the roads already trampled by the legions.

The Great War swept across the world. Boy Scouts played their part. Their keen eyes were added to the watchers along the coasts; and in the air raids we saw the spectacle of children of twelve and fourteen performing with perfect coolness and composure the useful functions assigned to them in the streets and public offices.

Many venerable, famous institutions and systems long honoured by men perished in the storm; but the Boy Scout Movement survived. It survived not only the War, but the numbing reactions of the aftermath. While so many elements in the life and spirit of the victorious nations seemed to be lost in stupor, it flourished and grew increasingly. Its motto gathers new national significance as the years unfold upon our island. It speaks to every heart its message of duty and honor: "Be Prepared" to stand up faithfully for Right and Truth, however the winds may blow.

Sir Robert Baden-Powell, O.M., G.C.M.G., G.C.V.O., K.C.B.Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell

BRITISH HONOURS & DECORATIONS

Ashanti Star1895-

96

Matabele Campaign (British South Africa Company Medal)

1896-97

Queen's South Africa Medal 1899

Companion, Order of the Bath (C.B.) 1900

King's South Africa Medal 1901

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (K.C.B.) 1909

Knight Commander of the Victorian Order (K.C.V.O.)

1909

King George V Coronation Medal 1911

Knight of Grace of St John of Jerusalem 1912

Baronetcy 1922

Knight Grand Cross of the Victorian Order (G.C.V.O.)

1923

Knight Grand Cross of Order of St Michael and St George (G.C.M.G.)

1927

Peerage: Barony 1929

King George V Jubilee Medal 1935

Order of Merit (O.M.) 1937

King George Vl Coronation Medal 1937

Baden-Powell served five English sovereigns: Victoria, Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, and George VI. Each was a patron and supporter, Victoria and Edward VII during B-P's military years and Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII and George VI during the growth of Scouting. B-P's British honors and decorations are listed under the sovereign who conferred them along with biographical links for each.

SCOUTING HONORS

Silver Wolf (British Scout Association)

Silver Buffalo (Boy Scouts of America)

Bronze Wolf (World Organization of the Scout Movement)

FOREIGN ORDERS & DECORATIONS:

Chilean Order of Merit 1910

Knight Grand Cross of Alfonso XII (Spain) 1919

Grand Commander of the Order of Christ (Portugal)

1920

Grand Commander of the Order of the Redeemer (Greece) 1920

Storkos of the Order of Dannebrog (Denmark) 1921

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)

1921

Commander of the Legion of Honour (France) 1922

Order of Polonia Restituta (Poland) 1927

Order of Amanullah (Afghanistan) 1928

Order of Merit, First Class (Hungary) 1929

Order of the White Lion (Czechoslovakia) 1929

Order of the Phoenix (Greece) 1929

Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Austria) 1931

Grand Cross of Gediminas (Lithuania) 1932

Grand Cross of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands) 1932

Commander of the Order of the Oaken Crown (Luxembourg) 1932

Order of the Red Cross of Estonia 1933