John Thurman: Difference between revisions

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'''Richard Francis "John" Thurman''' [[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 October 1969 |title=A Scout called Thurman |publisher=Guardian and Gazette}}</ref> [[Justice of the Peace|JP]]<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YqwwAQAAIAAJ&q=%22Richard+Francis+Thurman%22+OBE |title=Justice of the Peace and Local Government Review |year=1952 |volume=116 |page=527}}</ref> (4 April 1911 &ndash; April 1985)<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7579/ |title=England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2007}}</ref> was a [[The Scout Association|British]] [[Scouting]] notable and Camp Chief of [[Gilwell Park]] from 1943 to 1969.<ref name="historyofficial">{{Cite book |last=Rogers |first=Peter |title=Gilwell Park: A Brief History and Guided Tour |publisher=The Scout Association |year=1998 |location=London, England |page=37}}</ref>

In 1943, he introduced the Gilwell [[woggle]] as the insignia for Basic Training.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thurman at Gilwell |url=http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/facts/pdfs/fs145001.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040921013907/http://www.scoutbase.org.uk/library/hqdocs/facts/pdfs/fs145001.pdf |archive-date=21 September 2004 }}</ref> The woggle was first created in the early 1920s by [[Bill Shankley]], a member of the Gilwell staff.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jeffrey |first=Ray |title=The History of Scouting in Tasmania 1909 - 1985 |year=1990 |publisher=The Scout Association of Australia, Tasmanian Branch |isbn=0-949180-08-4 |page=81}}</ref> He produced a two-strand [[Turk's head knot|Turk's head]] slide which was adopted as the official woggle. From 1943 to 1989, the Gilwell woggle was awarded on the completion of Basic Training, and the Gilwell [[neckerchief|scarf]] and the Wood Badge beads were awarded on the completion of Advanced Training.

In 1962 Thurman conducted the only [[Wood Badge]] course ever in [[Union of Burma Boy Scouts|Burma]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Forty Years and Beyond |publisher=Asia-Pacific Regional Scout Office |year=1997 |quote=provided by Ms. Arjay C. Francisco, Secretary, Youth Program and IT and Adult Resources and Research, WOSM Asia-Pacific Region}}</ref>

 

He was awarded the [[Bronze Wolf]] and the [[Silver Jay]] (Dutch scouts)<ref>[https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMRHCE02:163632063:mpeg21:a00008 Eindhovensch Dagblad, 15 juni 1959]</ref> in 1959 and the [[Silver Buffalo Award]] in 1962.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Silver Buffalo Award Winners 1969-1960 |url=http://www.nerventuring.org/scoutsource/Awards/SilverBuffalo/Previouswinners/1969-1960.aspx}}</ref> In 1957 he also received the highest distinction of the [[Scout Association of Japan]], the [[Golden Pheasant Award]].<ref name="reinanzaka">{{Cite web |date=2014-05-23 |title=Recipient of the Golden Pheasant Award of the Scout Association of Japan |url=http://reinanzaka-sc.o.oo7.jp/kiroku/documents/20140523-3-kiji-list.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811030258/http://reinanzaka-sc.o.oo7.jp/kiroku/documents/20140523-3-kiji-list.pdf |archive-date=2020-08-11 |website=Reinanzaka Scout Club| language=ja}}</ref> He became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire on 1 January 1963 ''"for services to the Boy Scouts' Association"''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 January 1963 |title=Supplement to the London Gazette |url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/42870/supplements/14/page.pdf |page=14}}</ref>

John Thurman wrote a number of instructional Scouting books, notably on the subject of Scout [[Pioneering (Scouting)|pioneering]]. They were written in an amusing style, and are credited with increasing the popularity and scope of pioneering within the Scout Movement in the post World War II period.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sweet |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ISBN0851651011 |title=Scout Pioneering |publisher=The Scout Association |year=1974 |isbn=0-85165-101-1 |pages=7–8}}</ref> Many of his other books were co-authored with his friend [[Rex Hazlewood]], who was editor of [[The Scout (magazine)]] and [[The Scouter]] magazines.

* 1949: ''The Campfire Leader's Book'' (with Rex Hazlewood)

* 1952: ''Scout Camps: A Book for Scouters'' (with Rex Hazlewood)

* 1957: ''The Gilwell Camp Fire Book: Songs and yells from fifty years of Scouting'' (with Rex Hazlewood)

* 1959: ''Some Training Ideas for Scouts'' (with Rex Hazlewood)

* 1960: ''Camping'' (with Rex Hazlewood)

* 1962: ''The Second Gilwell Camp Fire Book: A further collection of songs and yells from fifty years of Scouting'' (with Rex Hazlewood)

* 1964: ''Summer Camp All Year Round'' (with Rex Hazlewood)

* 1969: ''The Gilwell Story'' (with Rex Hazlewood)

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