{"alias":"contentPage","byline":null,"standfirst":null,"content":{"layouts":[{"type":"sidebar","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003EWhile Scouts developed and grew across the world, it continued to evolve in the United Kingdom.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFollowing heroic work during the Second World War, when Scouts acted as coast guards, couriers and stretcher bearers, Scouts showed that they were truly able to live their motto \u2018Be prepared.\u2019 \u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts\u2019 reputation as active citizens continued. The first Bob-a-Job week was held in the United Kingdom in 1949. It was a huge success, going on to be a tradition that would last in various ways until the 1990s.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts has never stood still. New branches, such as Air and Sea Scouts, became increasingly popular, gaining recognition from the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Navy.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts were on hand to help out at major events, such as Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s coronation, helping the crowds who camped out overnight to get a glimpse of the spectacle.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom rebranding to The Scout Association in 1967 to renaming sections and updating uniforms, the mission to be a truly modern organisation is ongoing.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERover Scouts and Senior Scouts became Venture Scouts. The badge system was also updated to reflect the wider range of activities a Scout would do.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EPerhaps the biggest step toward modernisation was the decision to allow girls to join the Venture Scout section. This was introduced to other sections in the early 1990s.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the true spirit of an inclusive organisation, even younger children got to experience Scouts for the first time with the official incorporation of the Beaver Scouts in 1986.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 1989, official headgear was abolished for all sections.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAt the dawn of the 21st Century, Scouts again underwent reform. There was the launch of a new logo, uniform and training programme, as well as the introduction of Explorer Scouts and the Scout Network by 2002.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 2007, Scouts celebrated its centenary and the 21st World Scout Jamboree was held in the UK.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts once again gained recognition in 2009 when TV adventurer Bear Grylls was announced as the new Chief Scout.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Ch3\u003EHow Scouts grew\u003C/h3\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWith an international membership of approximately 25 million, and over half a million Scouts in the UK alone, Scouts is the world\u0027s largest voluntary organisation for boys and girls.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThey\u0027re impressive figures, particularly when you consider that Scouts began with 20 boys and an experimental camp held during the first nine days of August 1907. It was held at Brownsea Island, Dorset.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe camp was a great success and proved to Robert Baden-Powell, the camp\u2019s organiser and Scouts\u2019 founder, that his training and methods appealed to young people and really worked.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn January 1908, Robert Baden-Powell published the first edition of \u0027Scouting for Boys\u0027, issued in fortnightly parts at 4d each. It was an immediate success.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn April 1908, there was the introduction of \u2018The Scout\u2019. It was a penny weekly magazine that was to provide an important link for the rapidly increasing number of boys who were joining together to form Patrols of Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERobert Baden-Powell had only intended to provide a method of training boys. It was something that existing youth organisations, such as the Boys\u2019 Brigade and YMCA, could adopt. To his surprise, youngsters started to organise themselves and give him what was destined to become - and still is today - the world\u0027s leading voluntary youth organisation.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERobert Baden-Powell was 50 years old when the Brownsea Camp took place. His many experiences as a boy and soldier certainly played a part in the formulation of his training methods. As a boy, and one of six brothers, he used to spend his holidays camping, hiking and sailing.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETent pitching, use of a map and compass and cooking over a wood fire were a few of the skills he acquired. In school, at Charterhouse, he used to visit a favourite, but out of bounds, woodland. Here he learned how to hide his tracks, climb a tree and \u2018freeze\u2019 to escape attention - an important factor if any of the school staff entered the woods.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 1877, Robert Baden-Powell went to India as a young Army Officer. He specialised in scouting, map-making and reporting. His success in this led to his training young soldiers for the work.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERobert Baden-Powell\u2019s methods were unorthodox for those days, and in them it\u2019s possible to see the forerunners of his principles for training youth. Small units of Patrols working together under one leader, and special distinction for those who did well.\u0026nbsp;\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EFor particular efficiency, Robert Baden-Powell awarded his trainee Scouts a badge based on the north compass point. Today\u0027s Scout Badge is very similar.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERobert Baden-Powell\u2019s fame as an Army scout grew. By the time he went to Africa, in Ashanti and Matabeleland, there were many who would have placed him amongst the greatest. In Africa, he took to wearing a wide-brimmed hat for protection against the sun and rain, and one of the details he noticed, an army engineer carrying a pole marked in feet and inches, was to later reappear as the Boy Scout staff.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBaden-Powell\u2019s Secret Service work in the Balkans was followed by a return to Africa. The successful defence of Mafeking, during its 217-day siege at the start of the South African War, provided fresh opportunities for Robert Baden-Powell to apply his scouting skills.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe courage and resourcefulness shown by the boys who were formed into corps of messengers at Mafeking made a lasting impression on him. In turn, Robert Baden-Powell\u0027s actions had made a lasting impression on the boys of England.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOn returning home, he found that he had become a national hero. In addition, a small handbook for soldiers that he had written was being used to teach observation and woodcraft to members of boys\u2019 clubs and the Boys\u2019 Brigade.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERobert Baden-Powell decided to rewrite the book for use by boys. The camp on Brownsea Island was planned to test his ideas in practice.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe success of \u2018Scouting for Boys\u2019 produced a Movement that quickly, almost automatically it seemed, adopted the name The Boy Scouts and needed an office to administer it.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBy 1909, the Movement had taken firm root and\u0026nbsp;\u2018Scouting for Boys\u2019 had been translated into five languages.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESea Scouts had been formed, and Robert Baden-Powell\u0027s eldest brother, Warrington, himself an ex-sailor, wrote the official handbook for them.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs a result of Robert Baden-Powell taking a South American holiday, one of the first countries outside the UK to adopt Scouts was Chile.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAn idea of how things were moving was given by the Scout Rally held at Crystal Palace in London in September 1909. Over 11,000 Scouts attended. Success brought a major problem though. Robert Baden-Powell had to decide whether his future lay with the Army or his newly formed Boy Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA journey to Balmoral Castle, where he received the honour of Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, and discussion with King Edward on the future of the Movement provided the answer.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the years that followed, Scouts spread to more and more countries.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 1910, Robert Baden-Powell visited Canada and the United States where Scouts was already flourishing. Later, there was further visits to all parts of the world.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA spectacular rally of over 26,000 boys in Windsor Great Park in 1911 provided another milestone.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScouts gave a loud cheer for their King and Queen and to their beloved Chief. In 1912, the Movement was granted its Royal Charter and King George V became its Patron.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe coming of War in 1914 could have brought about the collapse of the Movement, but the training provided through the Patrol system proved its worth and Patrol Leaders took over when adult leaders volunteered for active service. Scouts contributed to the War Effort in many ways. The most notable perhaps were the Sea Scouts, who took the place of regular coast guards, so freeing them for service afloat.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe first World Jamboree took place in 1920. It proved that young people of all nations could come together to share common interests and ideals. Since that first Jamboree at Olympia, London, there have been 16 others.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe success of Scouts with boys from 11 to 18 years gave rise to appeals to provide a similar activity for younger boys.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 1916, the Wolf Cub Section for 8 to 11 year olds was formed.\u0026nbsp;Rudyard Kipling\u2019s book, The Jungle Book, provided an imaginative background to the activities. By the end of the year, over 10,000 boys had enrolled.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 1918, the Rover Scout Branch was started for young men over 18 years of age and in 1941 saw the introduction of the Air Scout Branch.\u0026nbsp;Senior Scouts, a section specially for the 15 to 18 age group, started in 1946 too.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBetween the two wars, Scouts continued to flourish in all parts of the world, except in totalitarian countries where it was banned. Scouts is essentially democratic and voluntary.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen war came in 1939, the story of 1914 was repeated. Scouts carried on under the Patrol Leaders. They undertook many National Service tasks, such as messengers, fire watchers, stretcher bearers, salvage collection and so on. In occupied countries, Scouts carried on in secret, with Scouts playing important roles in the resistance and underground movements. After the liberation, it was found that the numbers of Scouts in some occupied countries had, in fact, increased.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs Robert Baden-Powell was always quick to emphasise, Scouts is a Movement. It keeps developing, changing and growing. It\u2019s not able to become static.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 1966, an Advance Party Report, a document that brings together the voices of leading figures in industry and youth work, as well as the suggestions of some 25,000 Scouts, gave the direction of the future.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIts recommendations for training programmes and activities appropriate to the times led to the broadening of training programmes and an up-to-date appeal to modern boys and, indeed, as of June 1991, modern girls too.\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]},{"items":[{"type":"Promo","cta":"Learn more about past jamborees","body":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EThere have been 24 World Scout Jamborees so far, check out where they took place across the world.\u003C/span\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","link":{"name":"Jamborees of the past","id":null,"url":"/volunteers/running-your-section/programme-guidance/international-scouts-and-events/international-events/wsj/jamborees-of-the-past/","newWindow":false,"target":null},"colour":"#002f6c","title":"Jamborees of the past","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"type":"Promo","cta":"Take a look back in time","body":"\u003Cp\u003EImportant moments in the progress of Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E","link":{"name":"Learning resources","id":null,"url":"/about-us/our-history/learning-resources/","newWindow":false,"target":null},"colour":"#002f6c","title":"Milestones in Scouts","image":null,"imageFocus":"","imageId":0,"imageKey":"00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000","imageCrop":"","gridType":"card","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":"Learn about how Scouts grew as the movement spread across the world.","pageType":null,"location":null,"browserTitle":"","versionDate":"14 July 2023","reviewDate":"05/03/2021","redirectUrl":"","id":39657,"nodeName":"How Scouting grew","title":"How Scouting grew","type":"contentPage","image":{"url":"/media/1921/robert-baden-powell.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d63eeeece4e250","caption":"Robert Baden Powell.jpg","type":"jpg","size":17321,"width":230,"height":130,"altText":"Photograph of Robert Baden-Powell"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"How Scouting grew","headerSubTitle":"Robert Baden-Powell died in 1941, but his legacy continued. 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