1st Staines Scout Group.
The
first group in the original Staines District, formed in 1908 by a Mr. Barrett,
son of E.H.Barrett, the local surveyor, who was then in charge of a boy's
club in Staines. He decided to change the club into a Scout Troop, named the
1st Staines and Egham Hythe, meeting in the grounds of a house called "Ironbanks",
Thorpe Road, junction with the Causeway, in the Egham side of Staines Bridge.
In 1910 the Troop moved to Drake's Warehouse, Station Path, Staines. John
Drake, a local councillor, ran a removal business. He took a great interest
in the welfare of the local youth and offered his premises to the Troop. The
Scoutmaster was Mr. C. R. Sayers and his A.S.M. was Harry Stevens. Cecil Greenslade
later took over the leadership of a Troop of over 80 boys. Inside the H.Q.
was a rifle range and a field telephone. The Troop then had a bugle and pipe
band, with 20 buglers, 4 side drums and a base drum.
The Troop were successful in competitions with other Troops at local and county
levels. In 1913 they won the Tarlton Challenge Flag, awarded for the best
Troop in Middlesex. The trophy was awarded by the Bishop of London at Ickenham.
Later in 1913 the Troop won the Bolton Cup, a team race that started outside
the Town Hall in the Market Square, along the London Road to Ashford Hospital,
around the reservoir and finishing at Staines Police Station.
In the same era, the Troop's bugle band led a large parade of Middlesex Scouts
on Horseguards Parade. Frank Trusler, the Troop's first King's Scout, led
the Troop carrying the Carlton Flag.
Mr. Wally Painter provided financial backing for the Troop.
With
the outbreak of The Great War, S.M. William Brooks and A.S.M. Saunders attended
an Army recruiting campaign in the Market Square. Both volunteered for military
service with the Middlesex Regiment. Soon the Troop was seen to be in decline
with all the experienced leaders away at the war. The army took over the H.Q.
for military training and the troop moved to the old St Peter's Church Hall
in Edgell Road, Staines.
Bill Herrick became S.M. and Miss May Rhodes his assistant, who took the boys
for physical training. Miss Rhodes was, at the time, one of only two lady
Scout Leaders in Britain.
The Rhodes sisters, Kathleen, the authoress and May, the musician, were to
become prominent figures in 1st Staines for many years to come. Kathleen put
up £50 towards the cost of a new Scout hut. Together with public subscriptions,
this enabled "Rhodes Hall " to be built in Packhorse Path, opposite
the Packhorse Hotel, Thames Street. "Rhodes Hall " was to be the
group H.Q. for the next 50 years.
In
the early 1920's 1st Staines were still the only Troop in Staines, although
others had been formed in Stanwell and Ashford. 2nd Staines were formed on
the 23rd April 1926. Mr. Fred Ede, who had previously been involved with Scouting
in Lambeth, had moved to Staines and worked in the Lino factory behind his
home in the London Road. He was keen to continue in scouting and was late
asked by the the Rev. James, Vicar of St. Mary's Church, Staines, to form
2nd Staines (St. Mary's). Meetings were held in the Bridge Street Rooms, Bridge
Street, Staines. 1st Staines formed a Cub Pack on the 17th October 1921, with
Mr. Hastings as the Cub Master. Bill Herrick was forced to retire as S.M.
Through ill health.
The D.C., Colonel Childers, requested that 1st Staines and 2nd Staines amalgamate.
The new Troop was formed on the 24th February 1928 as 1st Staines (St. Mary's).
Leaders were : Rev. James (Chaplain), Fred Ede (S.M.), Miss May Rhodes (A.S.M.),
F.H.Ede (A.S.M.),
Mr. C. Poulter (A.S.M.). Mr. Garrett was the Gym Instructor and Mr. V. Cobb
the Cub Master.
The troop met on Monday's for Gym at Rhodes Hall, Tuesday's for games at the
Bridge Street Rooms and Thursday's at Rhodes Hall for Scout work. Church Parades
were held monthly.
11th
June 1929 : Miss May Rhodes was presented with a warrant for the post of District
Lady Cub Master.
16th January 1931 : 1st Staines Wolf Cubs were presented with new colours
by Mr. Morandi, father of the then Lady Cub Master Miss J. Morandi.
In the 1930's, summer camps were always well attended, Sandown on the Isle
of Wight being a popular site. The boys often took part in local carnivals
and swimming galas. During the 1931 Margate camp, the Senior scouts had a
day trip to Boulogne, rare in those days.
Mr. Ede became G.S.L. In the 1930's with Sid New the S.M. From 1932 to 1936.
In 1936, the troop had their Whitsun Camp at Sunningdale. Whilst there, King
Edward 8th passed by playing a round of golf. He paused for a while, entered
the camp and took the salute. He also allowed a photograph to be taken before
he left. An enlargement was sent to the Scout Association and the boys had
copies form Mr. Ede. Miss May Rhodes left the troop in 1939 and was presented
with a statuette of a scout.
At
the outbreak of World War Two, the troop were left with no established leaders.
Two Senior Scouts, Maidment and Packham took charge but were also called up.
Both were sadly killed in action. The group was forced to close temporarily.
Rhodes Hall was not being used and the future was uncertain, because the land
was owned by the Southern Railway, who had only to give 3 months notice to
end the tenancy. On the advice of the Scout Association, Rev. James, Mrs.
E. J. Morandi, Miss J. Morandi and Mrs. M. M. Lorymer-Edkins were appointed
trustees for the group.
Harold Webb
Harold Bedser Webb held the post of Treasurer from 1936 to 1975. He gave
great service to the group over this long period, but especially during the
war years. He ensured that all bills were promptly paid so that Rhodes Hall
could be retained until the end of the war and the group reformed. Harold
died in 1983. Although he gave nearly 40 years service to Scouting, he was
never a scout in his youth.
In 1946, Rev. James died. He was succeeded by Rev. Sharp at St. Mary's, who
asked Norman Russell to reform the group. Norman Russell became G.S.L. And
carved a shield in memory of the six Ist Staines Scouts killed in the war.
The shield is now in the entrance hall of the present H.Q. In 1949, Les Morrison-Wood
took over as Scout Leader and the Cub pack was reformed in 1949 under the
leadership of Mrs. G. Alderson.
On
the 26th August 1952 the group broke away from St. Mary's, due to strong disagreements
between Rev. Sharp and the leaders over running policies and became simply
1st Staines.
Norman Russell formed a Group Committee on the 30th November 1950, Chairman
: Mr. George Alderson, Secretary : Mr. R. G. Brittan and Treasurer : Harold
Webb. The committee was responsible for the general running of the group,
but especially fund raising. Through the 1950's and 1960's numerous parents
served on the committee. By the end of the 1960's Rhodes Hall was badly in
need of repair. Staines Town centre was due to be rebuilt and the local authority
proposed that the hut should be demolished.
There followed long legal arguments with Staines Borough Council over the
resiting of the H.Q. The group had expert advice from local solicitor Ted
Versluys, a one time chairman and trustee and eventually, in 1974, Staines
Council offered the site in Commercial Road and a grant for the new H.Q.
12 months later, mainly due to voluntary labour, the new H.Q. was opened.
Harold Webb and Ted Versluys opened the new H.Q. on the 10th May 1975. The
County Commissioner, Gordon Bates and the Mayor of Spelthorne attended the
opening. Rhodes Hall decayed further and was eventually destroyed by fire.
The group had moved on.
The
Venture Unit was formed by David Quennault on the 17th July 1981.
Rikki Rance was appointed A.D.C. Cubs on the 2nd November 1982.
In 1983, the group celebrated it's 75th year. A reunion was held on the evening
of the 29th January 1983, attended by 150 past and present members. The oldest
Scout was 83 year old Harold Lipscombe who joined 1st Staines in 1910. There
was also a large gathering of 1930's era Scouts.
On the following day, Sunday, a Service of Rededication was held at St. Mary's
Church, Staines. The County Commissioner, Gordon Bates and Charles Merry,
the Mayor of Spelthorne attended the service.
The Beaver Colony was formed on the 11th January 1984. Leaders were Barbara
Inwood, Sue Nelson, Joan Bashforth and Sylvia Cook.
Other organisations started to meet in the H.Q. during the 1980's. 8th Ashford
(Guides) were formed in October 1984 under the leadership of Val Dawson, and
Julia Boxall started a Brownie pack started in 1987.
In January 1988, Julie Mead, a 1st Staines Venture Scout, attended the World
Scout Jamboree in Australia.
Rodney Rogers
Rodney Rogers has been with 1st Staines for over 50 years. Born in 1938,
Rodney joined 1st Staines Scouts in 1950 and gained his Queens Scout Award
in 1957. A member of the Rover Crew from 1958 to 1962, Rodney became an Assistant
Cub Scout Leader in 1957. In 1965 Rodney took over as Cub Scout Leader, better
known as Akela and gained his Wood Badge in 1974. Rodney also served as a
District Cub Scout Leader between 1967 and 1972. In 1990 Rodney became the
1st Staines Group Scout Leader, a post which he held until his retirement
in September 2003. To mark this occasion, a surprise party was held at the
1st Staines H.Q. in July 2003, when Rodney was presented with a garden chair,
a cheque, flowers and a builders hat. Rodney has been presented with the Silver
Acorn award in recognition of his contribution to Scouting.
To be continued ....
Achievements, Awards, Competitions
Tarlton Challenge Flag 1913
Bolton Cup 1913
Surrey County Campercraft (Standing) 1988
Surrey County Campercraft (Standing) 1989
Surrey County Campercraft (Standing) 1991
Surrey County Campercraft (Standing) 1992
Surrey County Campercraft (Standing) 1993
Surrey County Campercraft (Lightweight and Hiking) 1993
Surrey County Campercraft (Standing) 1995
Queens
Scout Award Holders
R.W. Rogers:1955; M. Wadsworth:1956; K. Versluys:1957; D. Humphries:1960;
C. Whitelock:1960;
R. Bennett:1961; F. Woods:1962; M. Garrett:1963; D. Bartsch:1964; N. Pyall:1965;
M. Nelson:1965;
R. Threlfell:1965; J. Davies:1989; J. Mead:1989; B. Collins:1993; J. Kay:1994;
C. Blizzard:1996;
C. Newbury:1996; D. Caporn:1996; S. Newman:2000; R. Shilston:2000;
