Scouting, Volume 60, Number 4, May-June 1972 Page: 5
56, [12] p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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pleasant hike one afternoon last
summer. In grassy meadows along
the way peacock slowly strutted,
squirrels spooked up trees and
birds fluttered in flight.
Almost everything about it fits the
dreamy image of a small English
island, in fact, until visitors come
upon a large white stone on a high
roll of land at the end of the path.
In a few words the inscription spells
out just what makes Brownsea
unique for people the world over:
"This stone commemorates the
experimental camp of 20 boys held
on this site from August 1-9, 1907,
by Robert Baden-Powell, later Lord
Baden-Powell, of Gilwell, Founder
of the Boy Scout and Girl Guide
movement."
Under the circumstances, it's no
wonder that Brownsea Island
amounts to hallowed ground for
Boy Scouts. After all, Scouting
didn't yet exist back in 1907. While
the concept looked definitely prom-
ising to Baden-Powell, hero of the
siege of Mafeking during the Boer
War and a colorful veteran of mili-
tary tours in both India and South
Africa, he wanted to test it out first
with live boys.
As the site for the experimental
camp, Brownsea was ideal. It of-
fered thick wooded land to track,
birds and ground animals to iden-
tify and study, good clean water to
swim. Besides, old residents still
told colorful hand-me-down stories
about smugglers and pirates using
the island as a haven, which added
an edge of adventure.
Carefully Baden-Powell collected
a cross-section of English boys,
from working class as well as privi-
leged families, divided them into
four working patrols and put them
all under canvas on the southwest
end of the island. So it began.
Every morning they awakened to
the haunting tones of a kudu horn
Baden-Powell had picked up dur-
ing one of his African campaigns.
Throughout the day the boys
stretched the range of their experi-
ence. They learned tracking, stalk-
ing and observation, practiced first
aid and firemanship, competed in
leaf gathering, water games and lo-
cating hidden messages. One event-
ful morning they even rode two
boats out across Poole Harbor on
a simulated whale hunt.
In a way, though, evenings were
the most exciting times of all. The
boys stood sentry duty in the dark-
ness, listening for night noises,
watching for anyone who might be
trying to slip through their picket.
Around the campfire, striding back
and forth, Baden-Powell cast a spell
nobody ever forgot by spinning sto-
ries of the Boer War, imitating bird
calls, showing how to track wild
animals, singing and dancing.
On the last day, everyone hiked
up the island to the castle for a
formal tea to the music of a private
brass band. By the time the boys
scattered back to their homes on
the mainland, Baden-Powell won-
dered no more. Enthusiastic and
anxious to get on with it, he was
convinced that nothing could let the
air out of his dream. The following
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 60, Number 4, May-June 1972, periodical, May 1972; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth353693/m1/9/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.