About the 1st Shipley Scout Group
The 1st Shipley Scout Group was established back in 1934 by the Lees family and this year we’re celebrating our 90th anniversary.
1st Shipley Scouts are an active, positive and adventurous bunch based in Dragon’s Green, West Sussex. They are proud to have a scout hut that is one of a kind; transformed from an old Methodist church and the only thatched scout hut in the country.
The group sticks firm to the Scout aims, working together to become strong individuals and responsible citizens, along with reaching their physical, spiritual, intellectual and social potential.
Scouting is about so much more than just tents and woggles! We aim to achieve our goals, build confidence, encourage teamwork, learn to make choices and take responsibility.
For more information, or if you are interested in joining the group, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Alternatively, if you’re fascinated in the history of the 1st Shipley Scouts, don’t forget to read about our past and browse through our archive of photos, dating back to 1934!
About Scouts
Scout Motto: Be Prepared
Scouting has its roots way back in 1907 when Robert Baden-Powell ran a camp for teenage boys on Brownsea Island, which is considered to be the start of the Movement. The next year he began a magazine series called “Scouting for Boys”, laying out all the activities and programmes that exisiting youth groups could use and very soon, after a staggering response, there were Scout troops all over the country.
The Boy Scout Association was formed in 1910, as a national body, to accomodate for the astonishing 100,000 members of the Movement that had joined and formed Scout troops in the space of just three years.
Scouting was for boys aged between 10 and 19 years, but most members had younger brothers that wanted to get involved. This resulted in the Association creating the ‘Wolf Cub’ Section in 1917. Girls were still unable to join, due to Edwardian principles, and so Baden-Powell’s sister, Agnes, formed the Girl Guides. In 1918 another section of Scouting, ‘Rover Scouts’, was also created to accomodate for all the older boys that had outgrown Scouts but still wanted to continue.
It wasn’t until much later, in 1967, that The Boy Scout Association underwent review and, as a result, the name changed to ‘The Scout Association’. This was together with changes to the uniform and also the sections of Scouting; the youngest section became ‘Cub Scouts’, the middle section became ‘Scouts’, the Senior Scouts became ‘Venture Scouts’ (for 16 – 20 year olds), Rover Scouts were disbanded and almost two decades later, in 1986, the Beaver Scouts were officially created for all those too young for Cubs. Girls could also join Ventures in 1976 but not until 1991 could they join all the junior sections.
In 2003, after declining in membership through the 90s, the Association undertook another revamp. The Venture Scouts were broken down into two different sections: Explorer Scouts (14 – 18 year olds) and The Scout Network (18 – 25 year olds). And so, by 2010, membership grew to 400,000 in the UK, with over 28 million young people involved in Scouting across the globe.
Scouting is for all young people, boys and girls, of all backgrounds, all faiths and all abilities. It stretches not only throughout the UK but worldwide, across 216 countries! It offers young people the opportunity to get involved in a variety of challenges and activities they may not normally have the chance to do. All is held firm with Robert Baden-Powell’s aim of ‘learning by doing’ and helping children develop spiritually, mentally, socially and physically.
