Brownsea Island Scout camp: Difference between revisions

The '''Brownsea Island Scout Camp''' was the world's first Scout camp, and is regarded as the formal birth of the worldwide [[Scouting|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.  

Baden-Powell invited 20 boys to the camp, from different social backgrounds - a revolutionary idea in class-conscious [[Edwardian]] England.<ref>{{cite book| | author = Woolgar, Brian| coauthors = La Riviere, Sheila| year = 2002| title = Why Brownsea? The Beginnings of Scouting | publisher = Brownsea Island Scout and Guide Management Committee}}</ref>  Ten came from the well-to-do public schools of Eton and [[Harrow School|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 [[Patrol]]s: Wolves, Ravens, Bulls and Curlews.<ref name="NT">{{cite journal | first = Jonny | last = Beardsall | title = Dib, dib, dib... One hundred years of scouts at Brownsea | journal = The National Trust Magazine  | year = 2007 | issue = Spring 2007 | pages = pages 52-55}}</ref>

The boys wore khaki [[Neckerchief|scarves]] and were presented with brass [[fleur-de-lis]] badges, the first use of the [[World Crest|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 [[knot]]s, tracking, and the national flag, they were given another brass badge, a scroll with the words [[Scout Motto|Be Prepared]], to wear below the fleur-de-lis.

The camp began with a blast from a kudu horn Baden-Powell had captured in the [[Second Matabele War|Matabele campaign]]. He used the same kudu horn to open the "coming of age" [[World Scout Jamboree|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".

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.

*Humshaugh

[[Category:Scout and Guide campsites in the United Kingdom]]