Lord Robert Baden-Powell of Gilwell (1857-1941) was a decorated soldier, talented artist, actor and free-thinker. Best known during his military career for his spirited defence of the small South African township of Mafeking during the Boer War, he was soon to be propelled to extraordinary fame as the Founder of Scouting.

He had been impressed during the siege at how boys had used their initiative under pressure to make themselves useful and capitalize on limited resources. Already thinking of developing a training programme for young people Britain, he was urged by friends to re-write his handbook for soldiers (Aids to Scouting) for this younger audience.

In 1907 he held an experimental camp on Brownsea Island, Poole, Dorset, to try out his ideas. He brought together 20 boys, some from public schools and some from working class homes, and put them into camp under his leadership. The whole world now knows the results of that camp.

Scouting for Boys was published in 1908 in six fortnightly parts at 4d a copy. Sales of the book were enormous and boys soon formed themselves into Scout Patrols. What had been intended as a training aid for existing organizations became the handbook of a new and, ultimately, worldwide Movement. B-P’s great understanding of young people obviously touched something fundamental in the youth of England and worldwide. In September 1908, B-P set up an office to deal with enquiries pouring in about the Movement. “Scouting for Boys” has since been translated into more than 35 languages.

Without fuss, without ceremony and completely spontaneously, boys began to form Scout Troops all over the country. In September 1908 Baden-Powell had set up an office to deal with the large number of enquiries which were pouring. Scouting spread quickly throughout the British Empire and to other countries until it was established in practically all parts of the world.

Originally Baden-Powell had envisaged Scouting as a movement for boys between 11 and 18. As early as 1909 Scoutmasters were facing the problem of younger brothers wanting to join in the fun and adventure. To address the problem in 1916, Wolf Cubs were introduced under a new scheme based around the Jungle Books of his close friend Rudyard Kipling, with the Cubs having their own distinct uniform, badges, motto, sign etc…

In 1964 the Boy Scout Association commissioned a working party to look into how Scouting in the UK should continue. The General Report in 1966 made radical reforms to the Boy Scout Association that were made in 1967. Firstly the Boy was dropped, changing the associations name to The Scout Association and Boy Scouts to just Scouts. Wolf Cubs changed their name to Cub Scouts. Senior Scouts and Rover Scouts were disbanded to be replaced by Venture Scouts. Another radical change was the introduction of a new uniform. Out went the hats and the shorts and in came green berets, mushroom trousers, and green shirts for the Scouts.

In the early 1980’s Scout Groups were allowed to take in boys aged 6 to 8 years old, these were known as Beaver Scouts, although these were not part of the Scout Association till April 1^st 1986. A further review of the movement took place between November 1999 and March 2000 to bring Scouting into the 21^st century. As a result of the review, changes were made to the sections in Scouting – Beavers, Cubs, and Scouts remained the same, Venture Scouts became Explorer Scouts and a new section Scout Network, was introduced. As there were now 5 sections, age ranges were reviewed as well as the uniforms warn by all sections.