Determination, teamwork, belief, community, loyalty and resilience.
THE BOY SCOUTS ASSOCIATION IN BRITAIN, 1914-1918 © IWM (Q 30602)
100 years ago today, 23rd December 1918 was a very poignant day for 1st Bramhall Scout Group. The Great War had ended and four scouts from Bramhall who had spent the last part of the war helping the coastguard returned home. Delighted and relieved, they were looking forward to a brighter future in which they could camp and get back to proper scouting in Bramhall.
On this cold evening exactly 100 years ago they returned to find that none of the scout leaders had come back from the war. This devastating news was made worse when they learned that the scout association had confiscated all their equipment and had even cancelled their registration as a scout group. At this point the four boys could have given up.
Fortunately for all of us in Bramhall they were made of stronger stuff. The next day, Christmas Eve 1918, these four scouts visited every house in Bramhall asking any boys of scouting age to join them. The following week they held a meeting with 30 scouts in one of the scout’s houses.
1st Bramhall was back!
There were still huge challenges ahead. They had no Scout Master and without one they couldn’t re-register with scout headquarters. The war had just finished and men that had returned from the war found themselves needed in industry, farming, business, and with their families. Their time was precious and so these four scouts continued to run the troop without an adult leader and without official validation from HQ until eventually a Scout Master was found.
There was still the matter of equipment and a proper meeting place. Incredibly, and against all the odds these boys provided the drive that saw 1st Bramhall prosper. One of those four original scouts, G.S.Stretch, stayed with the group for most of his life, becoming Scout Master and group scout leader, overseeing incredible change and massive success. 1st Bramhall Scouts secured a hut on Robins Lane and eventually in the 1950’s bought the land on Bramley Close. The modern Bramley centre is a wonderful Scout Hall, used by Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers and many different community groups.
Scouting in Bramhall is hugely successful, with several groups offering brilliant scouting for young people. Over the (almost) 110 years that scouting has been established in Bramhall there have been countless wonderful people who have shaped the group and to whom we are incredibly grateful. But tonight I would like to salute those four scouts who 100 years ago today showed the values that we try and teach our scouts; Determination, teamwork, belief, community, loyalty and resilience.
Peter Boxall – 1st Bramhall Scout Leader