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Hay-Ari Scouts Armenians

http://www.jamboree1947.com/Jamboree1947-HayAri.html L'histoire de la création des Scouts Arméniens en France. The story of the creation of Scouts Armenians in France. Le 28 mai 1918 est fondée la 1ere République d'Arménie. On May 28, 1918 is based first Republic of Armenia. Avant cette date l'Armenie faisait parti de l'Empire Ottoman. Prior to that date the Armenia was part of the Ottoman Empire. Deux ans plus tard, l'Arménie devint une des républiques d'Union Soviétique. Two years later, Armenia became one of the republics of the Soviet Union. C'était le 2 décembre 1920. It was on December 2, 1920. Le 9 septembre 1991, l'Arménie redevint république indépendante. On September 9, 1991, Armenia became an independent republic. L'URSS sera désagrégée en décembre de la même année. The USSR will be disaggregated in December of that year.

En 1924, Kourkène Medzadourian fonde la 1ere troupe Arménienne à Paris, avant de lancer d'autres troupes en Province. In 1924, Kourkène Medzadourian founded the first Armenian troupe in Paris, before launching other troops in the Province. Il faisait parti des Scouts Arméniens HoMenEtMen. It was part of the Scouts HoMenEtMen Armenians. En 1928 il conduisit sa troupe à un camp d'été tenu prés de Hounslow, en Angleterre. In 1928 he led his troops to a summer camp held near Hounslow, England. Ce camp fu inspecté par le directeur du Bureau international des Boy Scout qui a été trés impressionné par la haute tenue du camp et par celle des scouts franco-arméniens. This camp fu inspected by the Director of the International Bureau of Boy Scout who has been deeply impressed by the high quality of the camp and of a franco-arméniens scouts.

Le HoMenEtMen le désigna donc comme représentant au Bureau international des Boy scouts, afin d'y discuter d'une reconnaissance éventuelle. The HoMenEtMen therefore appointed as the representative to the International Bureau of Boy Scouts, in order to discuss a possible recognition. Cependant, Medzadourian laissa ses scouts franco-arméniens quitter le HoMenEtMen et s'arrangea pour convaincre le Comité international, convoqué le 30 avril 1929, de reconnaître les scouts arméniens en France comme "mouvement national sur un sol étranger", dénommé Hay Ari. However, Medzadourian left his scouts franco-arméniens HoMenEtMen leave and arranged to convince the International Committee, which was convened on April 30, 1929, to recognize the Armenian scouts in France as a "national movement on foreign soil," Hay named Ari. Les 52 organisations de scoutisme nationales représentées trancherent donc en faveur de l'association Hay Ari et indiquerent au Bureau international des Boy scouts de reconnaître, et d'enregistrer, cette organisation sous le titre d'Association des Scouts Arméniens. The 52 national scouting organizations represented trancherent in favor of the association and Hay Ari indiquerent the International Bureau of Boy Scouts to recognize and record, this organization under the title of Scouts Association of Armenians. L'association Hay Ari fit donc sa premiere apparition internationale durant le troisieme Jamboree mondial de 1929, tenu pres de Birkenhead, en Angleterre. The association Hay Ari was therefore his first international appearance during the third World Jamboree in 1929, held near Birkenhead, England.

Apparemment, la Conférence internationale de l'Association mondiale du Mouvement scout international, le Comité international et le Bureau international des Boy scouts ne furent pas informés - ou ignoraient - l'existence du HoMenEtMen, lequel possédait pourtant, entre autre, plusieurg groupes en France et en Belgique. Apparently, the International Conference of the World Association of International Scout Movement, the International Committee and the International Bureau of Boy Scouts were not aware or unaware of the existence of HoMenEtMen, which had to, among other things, plusieurg groups in France and Belgium. Ce dernier mouvement passa donc en arriere-plan, sans être mentionné par la suite, d'autant que certains de ses groupes étaient déja rattachés a des organisations de scoutisme nationales. The motion passed background therefore, not be mentioned in the future, especially as some of his groups were already attached to a national scouting organizations. Quant a l'association Hay Ari, elle restait tres axée Sur la France. As to the association Hay Ari, she stayed very focused on France. Cependant une te11e indépendance ne pouvait perdurer et, les 14 et 15 novembre 1945, le Comité international se réunit à Londres afin, entre autre, d'y discuter de la résolution 11 (portant sur le positionnement exact du mouvement de scoutisme annénien Hay Ari). But a te11e independence could not survive and, on 14 and 15 November 1945, the International Committee Meets in London to, among other things, to discuss the resolution 11 (on the exact positioning of the scouting movement annénien Hay Ari) . Apres de longs débats, le Comité international, sur l'insistance - entre autre - du Scoutisme français, était parvenu a la conclusion qu'il était temps de retirer à l'Association des scouts annéniens Hay Ari sa reconnaissance officie11e ! After lengthy discussions, the International Committee at the insistence there - french Scout, had reached the conclusion that it was time to retire at the Association of Scouts annéniens Hay Ari recognition officie11e! On conseilla donc a Kourkene Medzadourian de dissoudre son mouvement et de laisser "ses" groupes fusionner avec le Scoutisme français. It has therefore advised Kourkene Medzadourian to disband his movement and leave "his" groups merge with french Scouting. Ainsi, les Scoutismes français et annéniens, renvoyés dos-a-dos, devaient discuter du sujet et résoudre le probleme "a l'amiable". For example, the french and Scoutismes annéniens, returned dos-a-dos, should discuss the matter and solve the problem "amicably". C'était une grossiere erreur stratégique car le chef scout Kourkene Medzadourian, qui avait toujours été tres pugnace, explosa littéralement a l'annonce d'un tel verdict et se déclara "hors d'état" d'entreprendre de telles discussions "a l'amiable" avec le Scoutisme français. It was a strategic mistake because grossiere the head scout Kourkene Medzadourian who had been hitting tres, has literally exploded the announcement of such a verdict and declared himself "out of state" to undertake such discussions "l "amicably" with french Scouting. Ainsi, lorsque le Comité international se réunit en Suède le 19 juillet 1946, il décida, au sujet de l'Association des scouts arméniens, de n'entreprendre au6une autre action avant la fin du Jamboree et la Conférence de 1947. Thus, when the International Committee will meet in Sweden on July 19, 1946, he decided, on the Association of Armenian scouts, au6une not take further action before the end of the Jamboree and the Conference of 1947. Par la suite, les négociations entre le Scoutisme français et le mouvement Hay Ari traînèrent indéfiniment, les Français se lassèrent... Thereafter, negotiations between the french and the Scouting movement Hay Ari dragged indefinitely, the French will lassèrent ... et le sujet finit par tomber dans un oubli total! And the subject eventually fall into a total oblivion! Le mouvement Hay Ari resta donc toujours bien représenté lors de tous les événements du Scoutisme international ! The movement Hay Ari remained always well represented at all international events Scout!

La devise des Scouts Arméniens Hay Ari est : Michd Badrasd (Toujours Prêt) The motto of the Boy Scouts Armenians Hay Ari is Michd Badrasd (Always Ready)

Groupe Scouts Arméniens Hay Ari à Marseille en 1946 Hay Group Scouts Ari Armenians in Marseilles in 1946

Ailurophiles

Pages in category "Ailurophiles" There are 31 pages in this section of this category.

Cleveland Amory

Lilian Jackson Braun Mel Brooks Rita Mae Brown

Louis J. Camuti Masahiro Chono Darby Conley

Jim Davis (cartoonist)

Enya

Anne Frank

Théophile Gautier Georgie Anne Geyer Edward Gorey Dan Greenburg

Tanya Huff

Michael Joseph

Sarah Kennedy

Sharon Lee (writer) Liam Lynch (musician)

James Mason Freddie Mercury Steve Miller (writer)

Beverley Nichols Andre Norton

Arthur Paul Pedrick

Albert Schweitzer

Hippolyte Taine

Dita Von Teese

Louis Wain Andy Warhol

Camps

• Florida National High Adventure Sea Base
• Northern Tier National High Adventure Bases

America's Oldest Boy Scout Camps

• http://scoutcamp.org/oldestcamps.asp

By David L. Eby Which camp is the oldest? It appears the title belongs to Camp Owasippe in Michigan. The date a camp was established depends on the criteria you choose to use. It should be simple but it really is not; especially when bragging rights are involved and you have some extremely loyal Scouters for almost every camp. Do you determine the year the camp was established by the year the land was purchased (even if it stayed vacant for a year or more)? Do you go by the year they built the camp (even if they didn't use it that year as a camp)? Do you go by the year they held their first summer camp operation there (even if they didn't have ownership of the land yet)? I can say that the criteria used to determine the date of establishment of the twelve camps in this article varies, depending on what the particular council chose to use. Some used the date they bought it or took ownership of the land; some used the year they built the camp and some used the date they held their first summer camp operation at the camp or a combination of the three factors. I don't believe that using a purchase date by itself is a correct thing to do. If you had 40 acres of woodlands that no one camps on for a year or two, that is not a camp. It is a piece of vacant land, even if it is owned by a Scout council. If you built a camp and /or had a council summer camp operation going on a parcel of land then you had a camp (my opinion anyway). I don't think if some troop happened to have a camp-out on some land that eventually became a camp would that qualify as an establishment date; only a true summer camp operation run by a council would.

If you visit the Treasure Island Scout Reservation website it says Treasure Island is "America's oldest continuous Scout Camp". Then if you visit Chicago's Camp Owasippe's website it says Owasippe is "America's oldest continuous Scout Camp" and that it started in 1911. They can't both be the oldest since they have two different starting dates. The oldest (known) camp by whatever definition you choose; the year they bought it (1910), built it (1911) or held their first camp there (1912) appears to be Camp Owasippe.

After having sent out calls for help on Scouts-L, asking for assistance in ASTAR and visiting dozens of camp and council websites it appears that there are twelve Scout camps (and maybe more) in the country that were created between 1910 and 1919 that are still in existence. Let me caution that just because someone enters information in a website does not mean that the information was fully researched before doing so. (More so the unofficial sites) This became evident when I found three different camps on the web all claiming that they were the oldest Scout camp west of the Mississippi yet their dates of establishment were 1919, 1920 and 1924. The oldest camps that have been located and verified by way of official websites and /or written documentation such as old camp manuals are as follows:

Camp Owasippe-has article

• Camp Owasippe-located near Whitehall, Michigan-Chicago Area Council-since 1911

The first 40 acres that became Camp Owasippe was purchased in 1910 near Whitehall, Michigan. In 1911 a small group of Scouts and workmen dug a well and built the basics of a camp. In 1912 they held their first summer camp operation there. The camp was originally at Crystal Lake and was called Camp White in 1912. In 1913 the name was changed to Camp Owasippe. Since vacant land is not really a camp, 1910 would not seem to be the start date for Owasippe. They took a steamship to get there for camp in 1912, so it isn't likely troops were hiking in from Chicago for weekend camping in 1911. The 1919 camp manual gave the original name of Camp White and actually said the camp was established in 1912 (when they held their first camp). The Chicago Council was using the 1912 date in 1972 as the Owasippe patch that year says it was the camp's 60th anniversary. In 1961 they used a patch that said 1911 was the start date (their 50th anniversary patch). In 1996 they put on their camp patch that it was Owasippe's 85th anniversary (using the 1911 date). They seem to have been undecided as to which of the two years to use. I suppose you could take your pick (and many will) of 1910, 1911 or 1912 but I would have gone with the year 1912 since it wasn't used as a camp until then. Even though it started out with 40 acres it eventually grew to about 14,000 acres in size. Some of it was sold off in recent years including the original 40 acres so that the camp currently contains about 5,000 acres. This is Not to say there were two different Owasippes in two different locations, as there was not. They didn't buy a second site, move to it and sell off the first. The original and current acreage was all included in one massive reservation. It is still a very large camp with a tremendous history. Their camp manual, which is online, has an extremely interesting story in it about Chief Owasippe and his two sons.

Camp Teetonkah-has article

• Camp Teetonkah-located near Jackson, Michigan-Great Sauk Trail Council-since 1913

Camp Teetonkah is located on Wolf Lake and has been since 1913. It originally contained about 50 acres. Their 1930 camp brochure states it will be Teetonkah's eighteenth season. It would seem that if you subtract 18 from 1930 you would come up with 1912 but that is incorrect. If 1930 was the 18th year and you count them backwards, their first year was 1913. Upon digging a little deeper, Teetonkah has operated on the same land since 1913 but the land was owned privately until the Jackson Council took official title in late 1916 or early 1917. Many early camps were not always owned or owned right away. Some councils rented or leased the land or simply had free use of it from the owners until they had the finances to buy it. The Jackson Council held their first summer camp operation there (at Teetonkah) in 1913 and continued to do so for the next eighty something years. It is now just a weekend camp as is Camps Belzer, Miakonda and Glen Gray. A number of local deceased Scouters have had their ashes scattered at Camp Teetonkah to be part of the camp for eternity. (Perhaps the ultimate form of camp loyalty.) I don't know if this is something unique to Teetonkah or if it has occurred at other camps as well. The list of those who will forever be part of the camp includes a former council president as well as a council executive. According to a 1921 news clipping the name "Tee-Tonk-Ah" means "Big Lodge" They had camp award patches there at least as far back as 1921.

Treasure Island Scout Camp-has article

• Treasure Island Scout Camp-located near Philadelphia-Cradle of Liberty Council-since 1913

Treasure Island has a rather interesting history. It was originally privately owned by a Scoutmaster named Oscar G. Worman, who used it for his troop. Philadelphia Council leased the island from him for six years starting in 1913 and also held their first summer camp there in 1913. The council bought the island at the end of the lease in 1919. It was originally called Ridges Island. A council committee was inspecting the 50-acre island in 1913 when one member remarked that the scenic island truly was a "Treasure" and his comment was seized upon immediately as the name for the new camp. Treasure Island Scout Reservation is made up of two separate islands with the other being Marshall Island. What is interesting about this is that Treasure Island is part of New Jersey and Marshall Island is part of Pennsylvania. When they put up a suspension bridge to connect the two islands it was deemed an interstate bridge and required special permission. While their website says Treasure Island is the oldest continuous Scout camp in the country, it isn't older than Owasippe which dates back to 1911 (or 1912, take your pick) and with a 1913 established date Treasure Island is tied with Camp Teetonkah as the nation's second oldest camp. Unless you want to disqualify Owasippe since they no longer own the original acreage they started on, which after talking to a Philadelphia Scouter is apparently the reasoning behind the claim on the Philadelphia website. Even if you subscribe to that line of thought Treasure Island would still be tied with Teetonkah as the oldest two. I will let others debate and say that the three of them as a group are the three oldest known Scout camps in the nation. My vote would still go to Owasippe even though I would love to vote for Teetonkah, which my council owns. Treasure Island had felt patches going back into the teens.

Camp Delmont-redirect to merger

• Camp Delmont-located in Delaware County, Pennsylvania-Cradle of Liberty Council-since 1916

Camp Delmont was named after the two counties that made up the original Valley Forge Council, Delaware and Montgomery. It is now one of the two camps that make up the 1400+ acre Musser Scout Reservation in Pennsylvania. The original 35 acres was purchased for $500.00 and included a stone house. Summer Camp was first held there in 1916. The name "Camp Delmont" was used at other locations for summer camp previous to 1916. The first camp of the Valley Forge Council was Camp Pequea, located along the Susquehanna River 15 miles Southwest of Lancaster, this camp was owned by a trolley company and was offered to all Scouts from Eastern Penna. In 1913, the Council obtained the rights to use White's Island in the Delaware below Scudder's Falls and this camp was known as Camp Delmont. This camp was used in 1913 and 1914. In 1915, they moved to an island in the Schuylkill known as Pioneer Island. It was used during 1915 and 1916. In 1916, the first section of what is now Delmont Scout Reservation was purchased and used that year as a summer camp.

Yawgoog Scout Reservation-has article

• Yawgoog Scout Reservation-located near Rockville, Rhode Island-Narragansett Council-since 1916

Camp Yawgoog is named after a Narragansett Indian Chief and was a 150-acre parcel that was leased for one year then purchased by the Rhode Island Boy Scouts (RIBS) and includes two ponds named Yawgoog and Wincheck (another Indian Chief). They held their first summer camp operation there in 1916.

Camp Glen Gray-no article/mention

• Camp Glen Gray-located in Bergen County, New Jersey-Northern New Jersey Council-since 1917

Glen Gray is named after Frank Gray, a well known early professional Scouter of that area, and was originally 150 acres and is located in a valley in the Ramapo Mountains in New Jersey. Mr. Gray was one of America's earliest Scoutmasters, having started a troop in Montclair, New Jersey in March 1909. He also created an honor program that was used in New Jersey and in the Brooklyn Council called "Senior Division".

Indian Mound Scout Reservation-brief mention in state article

• Indian Mound Scout Reservation-near Oconomowoc, Wisconsin-Milwaukee County Council-since 1917

Indian Mound in named after a 1,000-year-old Indian mound that is shaped somewhat like a lizard or turtle and is a 291-acre Scout reservation with two camps on it.

Camp Miakonda-brief mention in state article

• Camp Miakonda-located in Sylvania, Ohio-Erie Shores Council-since 1917

Miakonda means "Crescent Moon" and literally is inside the city of Sylvania, Ohio and was originally a 78-acre camp. A history of this legendary camp was published in the December 1999 issue of ASTAR. The half circle patches from Miakonda came in two sets, the three tree (1950s) and the four tree (1960s). Most councils were doing very well if they owned even one camp in those early years. Toledo Council had finances and had two camps in the 1910s. Because the Vineyard Lake camp in Michigan was where they held their summer camp from 1915-1923, Miakonda didn't host a summer camp operation until 1924 but was built and used as a camp in 1917.

Camp Belzer-brief mention in state article

• Camp Belzer-located near Indianapolis, Indiana-Crossroads of America Council-since 1918

Camp Belzer is named after the creator of the Firecrafter organization, Francis O. Belzer, who was the longtime professional in Indianapolis. It was originally called Camp Chank-Tun-Un-Gi (which meant "loud, happy place") and is a 130-acre camp next to Fall Creek. It was renamed Camp Belzer in 1948 after the death of their "Chief".

Scouthaven-brief mention in Freedom, New York

• Scouthaven-located near Arcade, New York-Greater Niagara Frontier Council-since 1918

Scouthaven was purchased in 1918 but was first called Camp Crystal, as it was located on Crystal Lake; it was not called Scouthaven until 1923. It is a 400-acre camp and in the early years Scouts got to it by riding a "milk" train that went by the camp. It was originally owned by the Buffalo Council, which was located inside the Erie County Council until the two merged in 1949. It is rather unique as it was a turn of the century amusement park that was converted into a Scout camp. The dining hall is the former dance hall from the park and the Camp Rangers office is the railroad depot that was used at the park to drop off and pick up passengers.

Camp Wakenah-brief mention in Connecticut Rivers Council, sold 2004

• Camp Wakenah-Since 1918

Camp Wakenah (pronounced wauk-in-naw) is near Salem, Connecticut. The camp occupies 90 acres and has a pond/lake (50 or more acres) for swimming, boating, canoeing, and sailing. It offers tent campsites, winter cabins and family camping for overnight groups, an activity field for athletics and camporees, boats and canoes for overnight groups and a Cub Scout Day Camp Program. The camp is also up for sale, but has not been sold as of this writing (7/19/01).

Camp Friedlander-brief mention in state article

• Camp Friedlander-located in Cincinnati, Ohio-Dan Beard Council-Since 1919

Summer camp was held there in 1919 and they dedicated it on August 23, 1919. The camp is currently undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation. The original 41 acres was donated by Edgar Friedlander in 1919, and he donated 35 more acres in 1923. The current Dan Beard Scout Reservation, which includes Camp Friedlander, is 500 acres.

Camp Parsons-brief mention in state article, was crufty stub, could be recreated

• Camp Parsons-located on the Hood Canal in the state of Washington-Chief Seattle Council-since 1919

Camp Parsons was a 165-acre logging camp and was purchased by Reginald Parsons, the Seattle Council's first president who donated it to the Scouts. The camp was named in his honor. They held their first summer camp operation there in 1919 and continue to do so today. The camp is the oldest continuous Boy Scout camp west of the Mississippi and is the only camp in the west to make the list of "America's Oldest Scout Camps".

Each of the twelve camps had some type of honor society/program attached to its early history. Owasippe had the "Tribe of Owasippe" in 1916. Teetonkah had the "Tribe of Keokuk" in the 1930s and for decades after. Treasure Island has had "Wimachtendienks W.W." (Order of the Arrow) since 1915. Delmont had the "Order of the Tipi". Glen Gray has had the "Old Guard of Glen Gray" since it's early days. Indian Mound had the "Tribe of Ku-ni-eh". Yawgoog had the "Knights of Yawgoog Honor Society" starting in 1920 as well as the "Wincheck Indians Honor Society" which was converted to the Wincheck OA Lodge in 1958. Miakonda was used by the "Tribe of Gimogash". Belzer was the birthplace of "Firecrafters" and Scouthaven had the "Tribe of Wokanda" from about 1923-1949. Camp Friedlander was the birthplace of the Tribe of Ku-ni-eh. Camp Parsons had the "Order of the Silver Marmot" as an honor society in the 1920's and beyond.

If there are other camps out there that were established between 1910 and 1919, (and there probably are) I was unable to find information on them. Many websites do not give starting dates for their camp. It appears that a number of camps that would have made the list have been sold off in the last five or six years. For now this seems to be all of the nation's Boy Scout Camps that are deserving of the title "America's Oldest Scout Camps" with the criteria of being established in the 1910 to 1919 era and still being in existence. Whether the term "established" means the year it was purchased, the year it was built or the year they had their first camp operation, it will determine what the year of establishment would be as far as to a particular camp. Regardless, all the camps listed in this article have a lot of stories to be told. There are also MaNY camps out there that were established in the 1920s that are still going strong. If you are going to research camps I believe the most reliable information will come from documentation from the 1920s-40s, as it seems facts can change over the years and once something is published people presume it is indeed fact. It is not always the case.

Camp Conewago-brief mention in state article, there is Camp Tuckahoe, which is not notable

• Camp Conewago-Since 1919

Camp Conewago (pronounced con-a-woga) was purchased in 1919. The camp is 25 acres, bordered on two sides by creeks. It is located near New Oxford, Pennsylvania. Summer Camp was last held there in 1948. The camp is unique in that it was set up to be owned by a trust independent of the BSA. It cannot be sold by the BSA, only used by them. The York-Adams Council has control of the camp but does not technically own it. The trust contains an endowment to provide funds for materials for maintenance. Scouts supply labor. Camp Conewago is used year-round and provides tent camping opportunities as well as cabins available for rental. Cub Day camp is also held there.

More Information on other "Oldest Camps":

Camp Bonnie Brae-needs mention in state article

• Camp Bonnie Brae-Since 1919

Camp Bonnie Brae is the oldest continuously operated Girl Scout camp in the United States. It is located at the northeast shoreline of Big Pond in East Otis, Massachusetts which is in the Berkshire Mountains about 30 miles west of Springfield. Camp Bonnie Brae is situated on over 200 acres and is owned by the Pioneer Valley Girl Scout Council.

Camp Tamaracouta-brief mention in Quebec article, was crufty stub, could be recreated

• Camp Tamaracouta-Since 1912

Canada's oldest Boy Scout Camp. Located 60 kilometers from Montreal in the Lower Laurentian Mountains, this 1000-acre site encompasses Lake Tamaracouta. It is owned by the Quebec Provincial Council of Scouts Canada. The camp has an honor campers' organization called the Knights of Tamara Society, which was founded in 1933.

c holder

Cathy Lewis Jade / ... (3 episodes, 1964-1965)

Denver consulates

The following list are countries that currently have Consulate offices in Denver, Colorado :

In the United States, the consular network (rank in descending order: Consul-General, Consul, Vice-Consul, Honorary Consul)

(Consul General) - A consul general heads a consulate general and is a consul of the highest rank serving at a principal location and usually responsible for other consular offices within a country.

(Consulate) - The office of a Consul is termed a Consulate, and is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in that foreign country, nowadays usually an Embassy or High Commission usually in the capital city of the host nation. In the capital, the consulate may be a part of the embassy itself.

(Vice Consul) - Vice consul is a subordinate officer, authorized to exercise consular functions in some particular part of a district controlled by a consulate.

(Honorary Consul) - Honorary consul may not be a citizen of the sending country, and may well combine the job with their own (often commercial) private activities, in which case they are usually given the title of honorary consul.

( Consul General ) - Canada - Guatemala - Japan - Mexico - Peru

( Consulate ) - United Kingdom

( Vice Consul ) - Italy

( Honorary Consul ) - Australia - Austria - Barbados - Belgium - Costa Rica - Denmark - Finland - France - Germany - Haiti - Hungary - Iceland - Mongolia - Netherlands - Norway - Poland - Russia - Serbia - Slovakia - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - Thailand - Uzbekistan

References

Category:Denver Category:Foreign Offices in the United States

DP-Scouts

This is a sandbox for practice before implementing in Phips' article.

Changi to be edited

thumbsticks http://www.scouting.milestones.btinternet.co.uk/

An account of Rover Scouting in Japanese Prisoner of War Camps

The first meeting place of the Changi Rover Crews drawn by Loftie Sheldon, Log keeper

There can have been no more savage conflict than war and no more inhospitable confrontations than in the jungles of the Far East during the Second World War, yet Scouting continued amongst the soldiers. There can have been no greater adversity than that experienced by the men taken prisoner in those jungles, yet, remarkably, Scouting continued in the Prisoner of War camps in Burma, Malaya, Taiwan and Thailand. The story of those Rover Crews, meeting under such terrible duress, is a humbling one and is told here, as far as is possible, in the words of Rover Prisoners of War who survived to tell the tale.

Note: These authors were members of the wartime Armed Forces and were familiar with the many abbreviations for regiments and military ranks and terms in use at that time. They wrote for an audience who would have had similar backgrounds. Here, whilst keeping the original, we have tried, for the sake of clarity, to give the unabbreviated version when they are first encountered. We would appreciate help with any we have not been able to decipher.

I had no real knowledge of the activities of Rovers during the Second World War, especially in the Far East, until I acquired Bamboo Thumbsticks, a privately-funded book, produced by what is referred to as a 'publishing committee', and printed by C Western, a one-time Rover in the Far East, probably in 1947. The text concerned the Rover Crews in the Far East during the Second World War. I was particularly drawn to the account of Crews formed behind the barbed wire of Prisoner of War camps. Initially, my researches centered on the Rover Crews in Formosa, now Taiwan, and those in the camps that supplied prisoners for work on the infamous 'Death Railway', but in researching these I was able to read the actual logbook and other supporting documents relating to the Rover Crews in Changi Jail in Singapore. As Changi was the 'nursery' from which many of the other Prisoner of War Rover Crews were spawned, I felt it appropriate that the history of these Rovers should also to be documented in this article.

The fall of Singapore in February 1942 led to the capture of thousands of Allied Servicemen by the Japanese. The poor treatment of these Prisoners of War, the privations they suffered and the appalling conditions they had to endure has been well documented. What is not so well known is the efforts of some of those Prisoners of War to offer some vestige of normality and distraction by trying to occupy the minds of their fellow prisoners. One of the most successful was the continuation of Scouting behind the barbed wire. Without any form of guidance or authority from any national Scouting Body and without access to any Scouting literature whatsoever, Rover Crews were set up independently by inspirational leaders in the certainty of punishment by their captors should they be discovered. Wood Badge courses were devised in anticipation of victory, freedom and the return home to pass on the training they had received as prisoners in a world free of global conflict.

Who could not but feel humbled on reading narratives written in the camps by men facing death in such appalling conditions? I felt, as I so often do in writing these Pages, that this was a part of Scouting History that deserved to be placed before the widest possible audience and that it should be reported in the words of the men who were there. I trust that the authors of the logbooks, sometimes unnamed, and the publishing committee of Bamboo Thumbsticks will forgive my extensive quoting of their work. However, as the text is liberally sprinkled with details and names, I hope that the 'Milestone's Magic' will come into play and that correspondents more qualified than I will enable us, even so long after the events, to add more details to these inspiring first-hand accounts.

Thankfully, today we live in a totally different, though, sadly, far from perfect world. The 1939-45 World War is now the subject of History lessons in schools, and very remote from those of Scout age. The language at the time of the Second World War, is not the language of today and understandably the words used in first-hand accounts may not be in tune with today's 'politically-correct' world, but they are a significant part of the history of those troubled times and it should not be necessary to apologize for their inclusion. These wartime documents do not reflect on current governments or nations and, sixty years on, sufficient time has passed for reconciliation, as most of the declining numbers of survivors have now accepted. Having taken my Scout Promise first in 1956, I feel bound by the old Scout Law and believe Baden-Powell's greatest achievement is enshrined in these words, A Scout is a brother to every other Scout, no matter what country, class, or creed the other may belong, but that does not entitle me to deny history, or to fail to recount what is essentially the triumph of the Scout Spirit over adversity, as a tribute to those who Scouted behind barbed-wire. In a similar vein, you may be interested to read in these Pages, World Scout Historian Piet Kroonenberg's, Jay, an account of Scouting in Nazi-occupied Holland and there is also an article on the formation and history of Rover Scouts.

-The Changi Jail Group of Rover Scouts

My written sources for this section come mainly from the original Changi Rover Crew's Logbook, a short article by their inspirational founder and leader, Rev. A Rowan Macneil, plus a certain amount of documentation, including a list of names of members, mainly written after the war. I was fortunate to be able to visit Changi Jail in the spring of 2005 and to be guided by its curator to surviving artifacts and information left by visiting ex-Changi Rovers and their families. My visit, and the fresh information I was able to glean, some of which had personal links, strengthened my understanding of the hardships faced by these imprisoned Rovers and my desire to tell their story.

The Changi Cookhouse, painted by an unknown Prisoner of War. The painting was discovered in the Kwai Noi camp. The title for this section is that given to the Changi Rovers by its founder. It immediately alerts us to the fact that there was not just one Changi Rover Crew, but several. There was the Somers Crew, named after Lord Somers who, as Chief Scout, was known to both English and Australian Rovers, particularly as he was once Governor of Victoria, Australia and was involved in scouting there. Two other Crews were called 'Tanah Merah' and 'Java', and all were under the leadership of Rev. Macneil. The Rover Crews were not the only form of Scouting in Changi and other activities were created either before or after Macneil's time, or in different sections of the prison. At some stage, a Scout Group is known to have been formed in the Women and Children's part of the jail. Unfortunately, I have been unable to discover any records or recollections pertaining to these.

The Somers, Java and Tanah Merah Crews were founded for a very specific purpose. Rev. Macneil had no intention of creating mere social clubs, however valuable and necessary that might have been. A 2004 television documentary on the Prisoners of War working on the Death Railway named the 'pal' system, fostered by Macneil, as the greatest aid to survival in an environment where death was commonplace. Whilst accepting the need to alleviate as far as possible the dreadful conditions and scourges that the men had to endure, Macneil was able to look beyond an Allied victory, the coming of which he never doubted. He foresaw that the men in his care would return home to a world where the rising generation would need the guidance long denied them by the absence of their fathers and older brothers. His purpose was to train Scouters to Wood Badge standard. In achieving this unselfish aim, the Rovers who worked and trained together formed bonds between themselves and offered service to others that eyewitness accounts say improved the lot and morale of the entire camp. Perhaps Macneil's greatest achievement was that, as prisoners were shipped further back behind enemy lines to even greater adversity, Rovers from Changi started new Rover Crews, bringing brotherhood and support to thousands of Prisoners of War and giving them a perspective beyond their immediate misery to a better tomorrow.

-Scouting in Bondage by A R Macneil, Chaplain 2/29 Battalion, Australian Infantry Force

First published in The Victorian Scout in December, 1945 in the State of Victoria, Australia, this piece must have been written shortly after the liberation of the Prisoners of War in Changi Jail and notes may even have been made during Macneil's internment. The article is slightly abridged here.

"Even behind the wire in a P.O.W. camp things go in cycles. We had been in Changi for about 15 months before the club habit really took hold with a vengeance; a Yacht Club, a Skiing and Mountaineering Club, an Equitation [Horse Riding] Club and Motor Cycle Club appeared in quick succession, with several others not quite so given to publicity. Why not earlier in our captivity? Well, there had been many alarms and excursions during the first few years. Large parties had been in and out on various working parties, men as a whole had not settled down to the fact that they were prisoners and likely to remain so for an indefinite long period. But by the time 1943 was well under way, there was a large group who, for reasons of age or infirmity, special qualifications, or the holding of key jobs, or just that they had pull, seemed anchored to Nipponese No.1 Prisoner of War Camp, Malaya.

This photo of Dave Beck was sent to Changi Museum by his relatives in Melbourne "What about a Scout Club? No, I didn't fancy the idea, but I was hopeful that I might collect enough people interested who would undergo a course of training, preparatory to taking out warrants when they got home. To do this I needed a Training Team, I would seek out Wood Badge men.

"And that is how I met Alec. He sent in his name in response to a notice in Camp Orders and I walked a mile and a half to find him weighing out filthy little fish; he was in the Royal Army Service Corps. Alec had taken his Wood Badge at a County Course in Bedfordshire, where he was Scout Master of one of the Luton Troops. We clicked at once. I only received one other name as a result of that notice-A Morrain-on all official channels. So I met Bob, He was an Assistant County Commissioner from the northern part of my own state. Bob was a Sergeant in the Australian Army Medical Corps and was able to collect a dozen Victorian Scouters and Rovers at once, his unit was full of them. So far so good, but where were our recruits?

"I tried another notice in Orders, this time for anyone interested. The result was Fred, a schoolmaster and a Scouter from Manchester. We decided to "catch-my-pal", which was used exclusively from then on, without success as a means of bringing many recruits from outside, but fruitful in gathering Scouts to the banner. So began our Scouting in Bondage.

"The difficulties of times, meeting places, distance, lighting and ever-changing Nip [Japanese] regulations were overcome as they arose. Our first form of organisation was as a troop, and our meetings were like any other club in Changi, with the difference that our talks were on Scouting and allied topics. Patrol Leaders also trained two or three recruits whom we invested as Tenderfeet. Bob proved to be our most inventive genius and made a flag by getting some blue cloth from the lining of a tropical pattern, but which became green when treated with acriflavine. The same dye, used on strips of white sheet, made a good yellow material for the badge and lettering. I think he said he was in the Army Medical Corps though he had never done anything like it before. He also cut wrist badges of aluminium, using a scribe made from a broken dental drill. Alec produced an embroidered badge on a khaki scarf. [See image on this page] The design was unique with the character meaning 'Prisoner of War', and familiar in the camp, seen on almost every notice. Dick made a badge for the top of our flagpole. Thus outwardly we began to look like Scouts when we met.

"Talk however, even in a P.O.W. camp will not hold a troop together, and after an auspicious start, numbers began to dwindle. My original scheme of a training troop had not seemed feasible; but in November Alec and Tug came forward with a scheme to form a working Rover Crew. By breaking down our organisation from a Troop to a Crew, with practically autonomous patrols we found a new lease of life and incidentally proved the patrol system is the mainspring of Scouting.

"From then on we never looked back. The new members who were brought in by their friends were sponsored through their period as Squires and invested as Rover Scouts. Although hiking, and even independent Camping was impossible, these new Rovers have a better grip of Scouting as a whole (and certainly have true Scout Spirit) than many, I would say most, Rovers invested at home. We ran, at longish intervals, courses in Part 1 Wood Badge Scout and Rover. After the first of these I shared out the duties of Leader with well-qualified members of the Crew, thus further spreading responsibility. We held Christmas and Birthday parties in 1944, and 'Rovers Own' services. As numbers grew we founded two and at times three crews, each of two or more patrols. The test of the soundness of our group-was that it survived and flourished when the Group Scout Master was laid up for two months, "Tug" as Rover Secretary carried on the necessary coordination and the Rover Scout Leaders ran their own Crews.

""Sweet are the uses of adversity", and even in the squalor and semi-starvation of a Nipponese prison camp, our Scouting brought times of interest, useful instruction, and happy friendship. One of the best features of all was the International flavour given to our Crews by the presence of British, Australian, Dutch and Americans. We all learnt that whilst Scouting principles are the same the world over, that only details of camping, uniform, finance and other things differ from country to country. It was a common sight as one walked the promenades of the camp in the evenings to meet groups of two or three Rovers spending their time together. That is how it should be. The Movement is richer for our Rover Brotherhood in Changi, both as regards numbers and quality. When I retire from Scouting, the honorary rank I shall ask for will be "G.S.M. Changi Group of Rover Scouts"."

The Reverend Alexander Rowan Macneil, a chaplain serving with the Australian Forces, was affectionately known to all the Changi Prisoners as 'Padre'. During the First World War he had volunteered, was mentioned in dispatches several times, won the Military Cross and Bar and became one of the youngest Lieutenant Colonels in the Australian forces. After the war he obtained an M.A. and a degree in Divinity and, despite a speech disability, became the Chaplain to his old school, Scotch College, in Hawthorn, a suburb 4½ miles (6km) east of Melbourne. He founded the 1st Hawthorn Scout Troop there in 1926, the result of several month's preparatory work by 'Padre' Macneil, who was to become its first Scout Master.

He had trained at Gilwell (Australia), gained his Wood Badge and became a Deputy Commissioner for Scouts for the State of Victoria in 1936. He visited England then returned to Victoria where he became a teacher at Trinity Grammar School, Kew, another suburb of Melbourne near to Hawthorne, leaving to volunteer for active service as soon as war was declared. At the fall of Singapore he was captured and imprisoned in Changi Jail. It was largely due to Padre Macneil that Scouting continued in some form in Changi. On the first day of his internment, he appealed for Scouts, whom he used as 'seed corn' to attract others.

When he returned home to Victoria, Australia, he was appointed a Field Commissioner and took a leading part in the organization of the State Jamboree at Yarra Brae. His time at Changi had severely affected him and by 1953 he was compelled to resign because of ill health. He died on October 14th, 1953.

-The Changi Rovers' Logbook

This remarkable document, handwritten in Changi Jail and illustrated with crayon drawings, runs to 42 large exercise book pages. It was compiled by the 'Keeper of the Log', Robert 'Loftie' Shelton between June 1943 and the liberation of the camp in August 1945. The extracts quoted here faithfully follow his text, but are on occasion edited and abridged.

An original Changi neckerchief photographed with the permission of the Changi Prisoner of War Museum, Singapore "3.8.43 A full meeting of members. Meeting opened tonight with breaking of Troop Flag: This flag was made under the direction of Loftie who designed same: members scrounged material to the detriment of Loftie's wardroom sunblind. ["The Rovers used acriflavine from the hospital, it turned blue material green and white material yellow" from an article on Changi Rovers by Malcolm Cole in Australian Scout, December 1993. Loftie Shelton's blind was blue and the same dye was used to make a white sheet yellow for the applied motif and lettering] Evening closed with supper, followed by prayers from the Scout Book of Prayers Flag Fall and Scout Promise. God be thanked that we can still raise a smile and whistle. 

"Thurs. 4.11.43. Smokie Dawson has been busy making Scout Scarves from remnants of U.S. shirts. He has embroidered in "gold" on the apex of the same Nip symbol of P.O.W. (prisoner of war). [The Japanese "Kanji", seen here, means 'prisoner' or 'captive'.] Many members now busy with first series of Wood Badge Questions. Greatest Difficulty scarcity of paper. Second ditto. No textbooks but "it is the effort that counts."

"Thurs 16.11.43. A new emblem designed, or rather copied from a design, loaned by Tug and issued especially to all English Scouts prior to embarkation; has now been made in the camp and given to all members of the Crew. Some were made out of aluminium scraps from the "Limb Factory". When polished and strapped to the wrist it compared very favourably with the official design.

Wriststrap drawn by logkeeper Loftie Sheldon "13.10.44. Orders placing restriction on all meetings and entertainments other than church services. Fatal Friday 13th 

"1.11.44. Brown out restrictions heavily enforced. ['Brown out' is a reduction in electrical current]

"14.12.44. Paper absolutely unprocurable so brevity in all reports.

"Thursday 31st [of May, 1945. (Meeting attendance was down owing to the poor health of many members.)] Reduced rations (nearly ½) and longer working hours make it very trying both physically and mentally.

"Aug. 16th. 1945 Tonight's meeting was entirely different to what was intended. Coming events cast their shadows before, and so records were checked, addresses taken, and then discussion on past events, present conditions and hopes for the future. [The 'coming events' must have been momentous, Germany had totally surrendered on May 8th, the Atom Bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima on August 5th and Nagasaki on the 8th, Japan had surrendered on the 14th and the 15th had been celebrated by the Allies as 'VJ' (Victory over Japan) Day. There is little wonder that, in this excitement, there was an attempt to bring records up to date and exchange addresses with colleagues and friends before the long hoped-for return to home shores.] It was hoped to hold an investiture service for Alec Bamford but he is too sick at present to stand up to the service ... Padre gave us a farewell chat, much appreciated. And so we say farewell to the Changi Group, and God be with them wherever they may go: May the Great Pathfinder grant that what we have learned in confinement shall make us better and fitter leaders in the New World to which we hope to soon to go to."

The Log finishes with a brief, poignant summary of membership and a patriotic salutation-

Total Number that passed through the Group 55. Total Number that remained throughout 26. Total Number that remained until sent up country 27.

God Save The King

- Published long after these events in 1949, The Left Handshake by Hilary St George Saunders bravely attempts-though the author makes no such claim-to document much of the history of Scouting in the Second World War. A chapter is devoted to 'Scouting in Captivity' and this has many excellent, otherwise unpublished accounts of Scouting activities in European and Far-Eastern Prisoner of War camps. Unfortunately, there are only two pages with any relevance to Changi. The following un-attributed quotation does, however, record the final act of the remaining members of the Changi Rover Crew.

"On September 6th eleven of us in full uniform rode on bicycles to the den and hoisted the Union Jack and Scout Pennant on an improvised flag staff ... there was a grand rally and such uniforms and badges as were available were worn."

-Below is a list of Rover Scouts taken from the Changi Rover Scout Logbook (now in the UK Scout Archives) and every other source I have been able to locate. The information has been cross-referenced with other sources where possible and any additional names have been incorporated into the list.

Ranks, battalions, regiments and companies were listed in a highly abbreviated form. Moving the mouse cursor over most of the entries in the 'Army Ranks' column will reveal the full version, where it is known.

The photo of Dave Beck in Scout Uniform and kilt, shown above, was sent to the Changi Museum, where it is on display, by his family in Melbourne, which was where he later settled. I cannot at the moment confirm that he was definitely in the Changi Rover Crew.

-Name Army Rank Scout History Changi History Last known at

-The Changi Rover Memorial

The plaque sent by Scouts from Victoria, Australia to the Chapel at Changi Jail Vic Mitchem, then a Commissioner in Victoria, Australia, wrote the following in an undated letter to the U.K. Scout Association: 

"Several years ago one of our Senior Branch Commissioners was holidaying in Singapore and was taken over the chapel in the Prison. He noticed that a number of the units incarcerated there had their crests on the walls of the chapel. So a Rover Badge and a Scout 'Gone Home' sign, were used to design a plaque and we had it cast in brass. This was sent over with the Singapore Scout Members who attended the World Conference, and we had a request from the Prison Authorities for a list of the names of the Rovers, plus their Units etc. (A terrible job after all the years that have passed.) They accepted the plaque which the Singapore Scouts handed over, on our behalf, and we got busy.

"From the two minute books, kept under the noses of the Japanese, we managed to get 60 names. Then came the hard part, to find their units. Some were U.K., some Dutch, some Strait Settlements, but mainly Australian.

"About this time we had a note from Alex Brown, Vice President, Ickneild District, Luton, an ex-Rover wanting to regain contact with Australian members. I sent him our list plus the addresses of several Rovers we knew and he organised Charles Wilson, Grange over Sands, the official Roll Keeper, to send us the copy of the official nominal roll, which helped very considerably. Another UK member is Davy Percy of Hereford.

"Well, the plaque was handed over on the 30th March 1988, and we have received photos of the 'hand-over'."

The image shown here came from a photograph attached to Vic Mitchem's letter. Though I set out to locate this plaque on my visit to Changi, I was unable to do so. The Jail is still being used as a prison and its chapel is not open to the public. Some of the plaques from the chapel have been re-sited in the Museum but not, unfortunately, that to the Changi Rovers.

-A Personal Perspective

Stanley Warren and Wally Hammond-  Wally Hammond is shown in the table above as having been a member of the 6th Rover Crew, Peterborough, at one time my home town. When I first researched the Changi Logbook that yielded this information, I realized that I once knew a family of boat builders called Hammond in the village of Stanground, a suburb of Peterborough where I lived till the age of eleven. I wondered if this might be the same family. A long shot I know, but my researches had already confirmed that a Padre in Changi was the Rev. Fred Stallard who became Canon Fred Stallard with a parish in Peterborough. At one stage in my career I was a voluntary youth worker at a Church Youth Club in his parish and was vaguely aware, as an adolescent born after the war might be, that our Vicar had been a Japanese Prisoner of War. How I wish now that I had talked to him of his experiences!

The Hammond name, stored in the back of my memory, was brought sharply into focus when I had the opportunity to visit the Changi Museum early in 2005. A major feature of the Museum is the murals that were restored by their original artist, the late Stanley Warren, in the mid-90s. A bombardier with the 15th Regiment of the Royal Artillery and though suffering from severe dysentery, he painted the original murals in St Luke's Chapel, Changi, in 1942, nursed, supported and even carried to his work by his friend, Rover Scout Wally Hammond. This Chapel, I was to learn, had been set up in the camp by Padre Fred Stallard! Wally had saved Stanley's original working sketches of the murals and Stanley was able to use these to recreate the paintings in the Changi Museum. Wally Hammond and Stanley Warren's story was prominently displayed on signs inside and outside the Museum and I was able to buy a superb little booklet about the murals written by Wally Hammond. From it, I was able to discover that this Hammond was indeed the same man as the one from Peterborough mentioned in the Changi Logbook as a member of the Rover Crew and both the Rover Crew Logbook and the booklet he wrote on the murals gave his unit as the 197 Field Ambulance, Royal Army Medical Corps.

My personal connection with two Changi inmates, stumbled on some 60 years after the end of the war in a far-off land is, I feel, more than happy coincidence. It has given me a special link with the happenings in Changi and also in Formosa, as I was to discover when I began to transcribe the Formosa Rover Crew Logbook. The inspirational Royal Artillery Major, I Cross Pedley, cites Padre Stallard ('my' vicar) as being a former Rover and a mainstay of the Formosa Crew having, like many other Changi Rovers, been transferred to Formosa, further behind Japanese lines.

Stanley Warren died in February 1992, his friend Wally Hammond four years later on September 13th, 1996 and Canon Stallard in 2002.

-The Formosa International Rover Crew

Major I Cross Pedley of the Royal Artillery was the inspiration behind Scouting in the Shirakawa Prisoner of War Camp on Formosa (now known as Taiwan). The history of this Crew is recounted in the book Bamboo Thumbsticks, mentioned at the beginning of this article, passages from which are paraphrased below. The anonymous author, or authors of the book must have had close contact with 'The Skipper' Major Pedley, or his writings, as there are numerous direct quotes.

"The Formosa International Rover Crew actually had its birth in Changi Civil Gaol, shortly after the fall of Singapore, when two Scouts, Major I.C. Pedley R.A. and Padre Pugh C.F. [Chaplain to the Forces] arranged a meeting of Old Scouts. This meeting was well attended (March 1942) and an OSA (Old Scouts Association) was formed. The first real "effort" of the O.S.A. was finding (?) by any means possible, old linen for bandages, pillows, sheets, etc, for the sick and wounded. Since the Japanese had refused to take any responsibility whatsoever for the sick and wounded the prisoners of war had to make whatever arrangements were possible, and this was no small problem. Despite the fact that the prisoners were often constrained within separate areas, Scouting was still carried on.

"On the first St. George's Day (1942), Padre Pugh was able to hold a simple Service at which those present re-affirmed their Scout Promise.

"With the general movement of prisoners by the Japanese to other countries, the O.S.A. gradually diminished in numbers, yet one cannot help wondering how much this first "effort" in Changi Gaol helped to sow the seed of further Scouting in other Prisoner of War camps.

"Within Major Pedley's Regiment, the Scouting activities continued, ably supported by Padre Pugh. Eventually they too were moved, by sea, on what can only be described as a "hell-ship". Packed like sardines into each hold, the sick and the fit all mixed together-dysentery and diphtheria were added torments. All this in the tropics too! Still the Game of Scouting carried on with many good turns and yarns.

Bamboo Thumbsticks privately published in 1947 "Arriving at Formosa after three weeks of this hell, they were once again divided; many of the parties being sent to the terrible Copper Mining Camp in the mountains. More ill treatment, disease and all too many deaths. Owing to the after effects of diphtheria, Major Pedley was made a Librarian, for a long time without any books! This though was a great help, as it made it possible to continue the Game [of Scouting] under the guise of discussing Library business, as there were still a good number of the O.S.A. with him. Unfortunately Padre Pugh was in one of the other parties, so they lost his valuable support.

"It was here that Rover Second F. Crossley (Major R.A.) [Royal Artillery] and Rover Mate J.T.N. Cross (Lieut. R.A.) did such good work, and when the sick were moved to Shirakawa, they carried on the Game. One of the important jobs carried on here was that of keeping a full record of all the poor fellows who died, along with a plan and details of where they were buried. A constant labour of love, though a most pathetic task for Rovers was ensuring that wreaths and crosses were properly made and lettered for those prisoner comrades who passed on.

"When he was moved with the sick personnel, Major Pedley (Skipper) handed over the job at Shirakawa to Rover Mate Cross, who carried on in his usual very methodical manner. When all met up again just prior to release another patrol was added to the Crew, and these two continued as R.M. [Rover Mate] and R. Second as before.

"In the new life at Shirakawa life was still under the same awful atmosphere of mental and physical torture, both by the Japanese individually and by their methods of "food control", i.e. work or starve, fit or unfit.

"The Camp was of mixed nationalities, British (U.K.), Australian, New Zealanders, Canadians, American (from all states of the U.S.A.), Dutch and Indonesians. Here were fresh fields to conquer and the Skipper's talks on Scouting took great effect, so that, with the remains of the O.S.A., which he still kept going, The Formosa International Rover Crew came into action. All these Scouting activities had of course to be kept "underground".

"The camp had now become a "Sick Camp", to which the sick from other camps on the Island were drafted. Three large huts were turned into "hospitals" by the simple procedure of filling them with sick and naming them "hospitals". These were run by British and American P.O.W. doctors. It is a great tribute to their wonderful sense of vocation that wherever their members were-under the most exacting conditions, including personal ill-treatment-they always went around doing all they could, in the cool, calm and cheerful manner of their Calling. They never gave up in spite of the agonising knowledge that with just a little extra they could have saved so many more lives.

"The Patrols selected their own leaders and were each named after some great person. Their cheerful and straightforward manner soon began to be felt in the Camp, and gradually had a marked effect in the general uplift of morale. The extraordinary thing was that so many fellow-prisoners did not know who were Rovers but would remark after some particular action, "That chappie must be one of those Rover blokes."

"One of the first drives by the Skipper will perhaps illustrate how difficult it had become to keep a normal outlook on life. All Rovers were instructed to curb the "sharp" retort, which was all too common after living so long together. They were to make every effort to give the Scout grin and a pleasant greeting, and above all listen to the other fellow's problems. This sounds so simple in cold print, and yet when one stops to think, even here at home under normal conditions, it is not always easy to be pleasant... What "effort" must have been required to get this underway? Anyhow, it succeeded, and the Skipper kept pushing more and more of such apparently small but vitally important drives, and quietly emphasising that "effort" was always required in Scouting.

"The Crew grew to be over a hundred strong and to include quite a third of the camp. Bit by bit, or as B.P. would have said "Softlee Softlee catchee monkee"-the Scout Spirit of Friendliness and help won through, and the whole atmosphere of the camp took a turn for the better. The Skipper suggested that it would be wiser to divide the Crew into two halves, one to be known as the Port Watch and the other as the Starboard Watch. This move was approved and was a great success under such grand newly-appointed Leaders as Asst. Rover Leaders, G.B. Vinycombe, (Major I.A.O.C) [may be Indian Army Ordnance Corps] and S.H. Yeates (Signalman R.C. of Sigs) [Signalman, Royal Corps of Signals] and their respective Senior Rover Mates, D. Handforth (Sigmn R.C. of Sigs.) and K. Milligan, (Cpl. R.C. of Sigs.) The quiet cheerful and always efficient work of these four with their wonderful active example in really trying to live up to the ideals of Scouting was not only outstanding but infectious.

"Many special Good Turns were laid on (these of course were extra), and many trials and tribulations had to be overcome to carry them out. Once again it was the sick who were the first consideration. What heartbreaks there must have been going around the so-called "hospital" and yet within those same hospitals there were active Rover Patrols, whose members were all patients. The way these particular patrols kept their end of the Game going was a tonic to both patient and healthy. Quizzes were arranged for the hospital and run by Skipper and Vinycombe and the two "sick" Rover Mates-Handforth and Bottomly, (Gnr.R.A.) [Gunner, Royal Artillery]

"In spite of Jap opposition Rover Mate F.M. Grazebrooke, (Major R.E.) [Royal Engineers] persisted in trying to give the sick some music on his "squeeze box", and after some painful experiences the Japs finally approved. Later he was joined by Rover Mate W. Van Naerson, (Sgt N.E.I.Army) [Dutch East Indies Army] with his "squeeze box" and the added attraction of his fine voice. Van Naerson also ran a boiler for the purpose of cleaning the patients' blankets etc. This at times, as can well be imagined, was not a pleasant job, but a vitally important one.

"Running a Patrol of real hard nuts was not an easy task but Rover Mate C. Wragg (Gnr. R.A.) managed it, even when he was sent to hospital! The outstanding Rovers were Rover Seconds. R.D. Bickford (L/Bdr) R.A. [Lance Bombardier, Royal Artillery] from Nova Scotia, Canada, and J. Wileman (Gnr. R.A.). Both Rovers were very sick men, but their unselfish and cheerful help to their fellow patients was an enormous aid to hospital morale. Attending to bed-pans and bottles (of very improvised pattern too) when feeling under the weather was no joke-but they did it.

"Among the sick Rovers was the worst case in the Camp, Rover Scout J. Green (Bdr. R.A.). Although very weak and emaciated he always tried to do for himself and others till at last he could do neither. But he still managed to give the Scout Grin and the "not so bad really" reply to all enquiries. When the Camp was being evacuated, Green was on the D.I. List [may be 'Disabled Individual'] and arrangements were made to leave him behind with a doctor and an orderly. What must he have felt? Yet when Skipper went, alone on what he thought would be his last visit, Green held the Skipper's hand and with the same (but very weak) grin said "Don't worry, Skipper I will be with you soon."-and to the surprise and joy of all, he was! A real Scout, full of faith and moral courage.

"Then there were those grand, solid and true-hearted fellows who Lived the Game in every way possible. Rover Mates A. Phillips (Cpl M/c Regt) [Corporal, Manchester Regiment?] B. Slack (L/Sgt Sherwood Foresters), B Hick (Bbr. R.A.), L.J.Vincent (B.Q.M.S.R.A.) [may be Battalion Quarter Master, Singapore Royal Artillery] and Rover Seconds J. Greening (Bdr. R.A.), R.H.M.Kerton (Gnr. R.A.)-all these did particularly good work. Another Rover Scout, an old Dutch Voortrekker, H. Asmusson (Sgt. N.E.I. Army) also did some excellent work in the hospital, always with his nice little smile.

"Boy Scouts of America may be rightly proud of Rover Mate, W. Walters, (Capt. Med Corps U.S. Army). Himself a semi-sick man, he took sick parade every day, when an average of 200 attended. His slow infectious smile, kindly manner and way of treating each patient as if he were the only patient to be treated, was really good medicine. An old Eagle Scout, this long-legged, drawling-of-speech American, in the briefest of shorts, truly lived up to the high standards of that great honour. Rover Scout I. Beattie (Pfc. Med Corps U.S. Army) [Private, First Class, United States Army Medical Corps.] was a full time orderly in the hospital and his almost feminine intuition and gentleness was a great asset.

"The Skipper's job outside the co-ordination of the Crew's activities, was the visiting of the sick at least twice a day, and voluntarily patrolling the hospital during air raids, talking to the sick, who were unable to be moved into the fox holes. Eventually both Grazebrooke and Beattie joined in this patrolling, and two or three others on a roster. Beattie showed his great moral courage in this, to quote his own words. "I am sure scared Skipper, but if you stay so will I." (Note the Japanese would not permit Camps to be marked as P.O.W. or even as Hospitals to bear the Red Cross, hence the raids.)

"One of the greatest helpers was Rover Scribe, H Kilpatrick (Colonel, British Army), a real "backroom" worker with his kindly smile, sound advice and encouragement, of whom the Skipper said, "From a personal point of view he was not only a great friend, but a real father confessor. To have such a person, to whom anyone could go, and in whom we all had confidence and respect, was something beyond price." Col. Kilpatrick had been a very sick man for a long time, but nothing was ever too much trouble, whether it was for the good of the Camp as a whole, or any individual in particular. As Senior Officer P.O.W., he repeatedly appealed to the Japanese authorities for extra food for the Camp and medical stores for the sick. For this, like others he suffered much physical ill-treatment. He was another really grand Scout.

"The duty to God of our Scout Promise was kept well to the fore, and Rover Padre F. Stallard (C.F.) [Chaplain to the Forces] an old Scouter, saw to it that this most important part of life was duly observed, not only among Rovers but in the camp as a whole. His advice and help in drawing up the Investiture Service was invaluable. As this had a definitely religious basis, it is a great tribute to his wise appreciation of conditions and circumstances that all denominations approved without any alterations. When sick in hospital, he delegated his duties where possible to the Skipper, who said, "The briefings he gave me were so simple and so explicit, whether for the usual services or for a funeral service, that they were an asset in themselves. His last actual P.O.W. duty was taking a party of Rovers to the cemetery to make sure everything was left in the right way, and finishing with a short service."

s noted above, this was the same Fred Stallard, formerly of Changi, who became Canon Stallard, my vicar in Peterborough, which was also Wally Hammond's home town. The world is indeed a very small place.

"It is interesting to note that Rover Scribe Kilpatrick, being the oldest Roman Catholic in the Camp, acted as their Padre, supported by Major Dean Sherry (U.S. Army), two of the finest men one could wish to meet.

"In spite of having no Scout literature of any description, the Skipper managed to devise a series of Talks on Scouting subjects, to which he added rough sketches. This was handed round secretly and used for reference, he also handed a rough design to Senior Rover Mate Milligan for Certificates of Appointment-the finished result in colour was something to be treasured for years to come. These were not intended to take the place of official documents and warrants, but were merely to show in what capacity individuals had served. The Chief Scout, Lord Rowallan was pleased to grant the registration of the crew and he also authorised the appropriate warrants later. This was a great moment.

"A job which had a particular thrill was the surreptitious making of flags for the Day they never once doubted would arrive-Victory Day, When the great day came, The Union Jack and Old Glory, together with the Netherlands and the Chinese National Flags were broken and, led by Padre Stallard, thanks were offered to God for deliverance with heartfelt prayers.

"One could go on with many stories of those chaps who tried "To do their best to do their Duty." Some by virtue of natural aptitude for Leadership and good Scout qualities stood out more than others, but every member without exception, whatever his place in the Crew, truly backed up his leaders, and made the "efforts" required by our Promise and Law.

"At the last gathering of the Crew, before they dispersed to all parts of the world, The Skipper stressed the need for the Scouting "effort" wherever members should be, and finally, in the same way as Scouting activities started in Changi Gaol, Singapore, 1942, they closed down with a prayer and a re-affirmation of the Scout Promise."

- t seemed improbable that this inspiring story should only have come to light on the pages of a thin, privately-published, low print-run volume and never have been brought to the attention of the wider Scout Movement, so I turned to the pages of The Scouter for 1945, but found nothing. However, in the February 1946 edition the new Chief Scout, Lord Rowallan, wrote in his 'Outlook' that he had received a letter from Colonel Kilpatrick, Senior Officer of the Shirakawa Prisoner of War Camp on Formosa. The letter below is taken from the same issue.

"There is one aspect of life in a Japanese Prisoner-of-War camp in which I feel certain will be of interest. From October 1944, I was the Senior Officer in Shirakawa P.O.W. camp in Formosa, and in fact on the island. From that date onwards conditions in Shirakawa grew grimmer and grimmer. Food grew more and more scarce and the neighbourhood was constantly being bombed, tropical diseases and malnutrition were rife and the prisoners were subject to brutality and ill-treatment by the Japanese, and to working conditions which approximated to slavery. These conditions inevitably had a bad effect on the condition of the prisoners.

"There was in camp one Officer-prisoner who had always been a keen Scout, and whose devotion to duty and to the interests of his fellow prisoners was outstanding. His name and address are: Major I.C. Pedley R.A.; 'Kauvira', Wetheral near Carlisle, Cumberland.

"Early this year Major Pedley conceived the idea of forming a Rover Scout Crew in the camp and approached several other prisoners who were imbued with the proper Scout tradition. As a result, an International Rover Crew was formed consisting of British, American, Australian and Dutch prisoners. You will realise that such a venture was conducted under difficulties, since the gathering of any prisoners was forbidden by the Japanese: and owing to circumstances in the camp, many of the usual formalities, tests, etc., had to be dispensed with. However the venture met with such success that several crews were raised and eventually about 100 out of 450 belonged to them.

"The effect on the general morale of the camp was excellent. At a time when brutality, starvation and the sheer struggle for existence might easily have produced moral chaos, the quiet work of the Rovers and their example of common sense and unselfishness, helped to restore the standard of conduct in adversity which one expects of the Scout Movement and the British Army. I cannot sufficiently express my admiration for, and gratitude to Major Pedley and his Rovers for the work they did and the example they set. I had reason to be proud of them as fellow countrymen and grateful for the assistance they rendered me in my duties as senior officer.

"I understand that Major Pedley would like to have his crews officially registered and feel certain that when you learn all the facts you will not withhold registration from them."

hat the Chief Scout, Lord Rowallan, had not been idle in this matter is recorded because he had taken the trouble to find out Major Pedley's Scout record. Pedley had been a Cub Master in the 3rd Barrow Group, and later a Scout Master in the 16th Carlisle before the hostilities, but there was no mention of any official recognition for the Formosan Rover Crews.

ecognition was forthcoming, because there is reference to it in the introduction to Bamboo Thumbsticks. But what of Major Pedley? If any Scouter deserved an award, surely it was he? On the back page of The Scouter for August 1946 there is a list of awards made between May 19th and June 23rd, 1946.

Silver Wolf. Major I Cross Pedley, R.A. R.S.L., "Formosa" International Rover Crew and formerly the S.M., 16th Carlisle (Wetheral). For living very truly the Scout Law and Promise and having encouraged, by his splendid example, other prisoners to do likewise, under the most appalling circumstances while in the Japanese Prisoner of War Camps at Shirakawa, Formosa. ut then the trail goes cold, and it would seem that the full story, or even the little that I have been able to uncover has never been properly published. There are few illustrations for this part of the article, a clear indication that my researches at this stage are barely adequate. I will not be content until we have at least one photograph of the Major on these Pages and, I hope, contact from surviving members of the Crew or their relatives. Milestones, as always, would be grateful for any 'leads' or assistance.

-The Siam-Burma Death Railway. The Menum Kwa Noi Rover Crew

The Bridge over the River Kwai ith the fall of Singapore in February 1942, the Japanese needed to construct a railway from that seaport back through Siam (now Thailand) and Burma to connect with their supply bases in Burma and, ultimately, to use as a point from which to invade India. Allied experts of the time considered that such a project would take five or six years and would never be finished whilst the war lasted. Amazingly, using an estimated 61,000 Prisoners of War and some 250,000 local labourers from Siam, Burma and Malaya, the project was finished in sixteen months but at a very high cost in human life. The Prisoners of War were (contrary to the film The Bridge on the River Kwai) very unwilling partners in the construction and a considerable number of them died of starvation, disease or the brutality that was necessary to persuade men to work in such conditions. On some sections such as that of the Hell Fire Pass, mortality was as high as fifty per cent. It is thought that 16,000 Allied PoWs and 75,000 Asian labourers died during the construction of the railway-one life for every railway sleeper laid, it was said, so earning the Siam-Burma railway the epithet 'The Death Railway'. 

enum Kwai Noi is an area in the north of Siam, a country not conquered by the Japanese, but this was no obstacle to their railway-building plans. The Siamese people would never have been any match for the Japanese war machine and had little choice but to agree to the Japanese construction of a railway across their land in exchange for no other intervention in their way of life. In the valley of the Mae Klong it was necessary to build a bridge across the river and a trestle support for the line some way down its length where the river enters a gorge. Not far from the bridge site, the Mae Klong river joins the Kwai Noi which also required bridging. Prisoners from Changi were brought up by train, ironically pulled by engines built in Britain. They were housed in bamboo shelters on the bank of the river and set to work on both bridges and the Mae Klong trestles.

he film The Bridge on the River Kwai is perhaps best forgotten as an accurate historical record, though it did portray the conditions of brutality faced by the prisoners. The Kwai Bridge, as can seen from the photograph, was made from metal sections. These sections were brought up from Java and PoW labour was used in the construction of the bridge. The Mae Klong bridge was in fact the wooden trestle bridge of the film, but the easier name of The Bridge on the River Kwai was used as the title for the film. Both bridges were destroyed by American bombers in 1944. The trestle bridge was completely destroyed. The Kwai bridge received a direct hit and one section, the second span nearest to the camera in the image above, was destroyed, cutting the railway line at that point. The bridge remained unuseable and was not repaired until 1971, when it was put back into service. Today, tourists can walk, as I did, or take a train ride across it, to visit the site of the PoW camp over the river, to the left of bridge in the photograph. The picture was taken from the JEATH War Museum. The name, in conciliation, replaces the word 'Death', and stands jointly for Japan (J), England (E), America, Australia (A), Thailand (T) and Holland (H).

here follows two accounts about this camp taken from Bamboo Thumbsticks. We are told that the un-attributed authors knew each other, but were members of different sub-Crews within the main Rover Crew and were unaware of each other's contribution to the book.

A reconstruction of a PoW hut at the JEAaTH War Museum, River Kwai "At the age of seven I joined the Wolf Cubs, and was a Sixer before going up to Scouts at eleven, eventually becoming a Patrol Leader. At the age of eighteen I was expected to join the Rover Crew, but after reading Rovering to Success felt I was not worthy, and so left the Scouts. 

"When war came, I was called up for service and sent to Singapore. I had been there eight months when the island fell and like many others, found myself a prisoner in Japanese hands. It was then that I realised that thanks to my previous Scout Training I was able to look after myself and help my fellows to do the same.

"After eighteen months in Saigon, Indo China, I was taken to Siam to work on the Railway of Death. There was a perpetual nightmare, but I had faith that God was caring for me and repeated the 23rd Psalm every day. At one of the camps on the railway it was suggested that anyone who was an old Scout or a Rover should notify a certain person, who was hoping to form a Crew in the Camp and try to extend it to other camps without letting our captors know, or they would have thought we were planning for an attack or escape. That is why we always held our meetings in secret.

"Meetings were largely devoted to Scout work and Games. They gave life once again some meaning, and helped us from Great Britain, and our American, Australian and Dutch brothers to live through those years."

-"The Menum Kwa Noi Rover Crew was, so far as I know, in existence for about twenty months during 1944 and 1945 in THAILAnND, and consisted of a mixture of British, including Australians, Dutch and Americans. Rovering commenced "up-river" somewhere during the building of the Bangkok-Mulmein railway, sometimes known as the Railway of Death. Menum Kwa Noi means North of the Menum, and there were several crews under this name. Each camp had its gathering of Scouts and Rovers; these chaps naturally sorted themselves out by their common desire for fellowship, Christian or otherwise. A leader was elected and patrols formed. The patrols met on different nights, and now and again the whole camp crew would get together. Meetings were strictly secret from the Japanese. Lights had to be concealed and noise eliminated as much as possible.

The Mai Klong trestles, some of this PoW engineering is still evident today "At Kaorin Camp, we used to meet in the Barber's Shop. This was a small hut built of bamboo and rattan (dry strips of flat bamboo plaited together to form a screen wall). The roof was made of dried leaves from the bamboo doubled over a thin bamboo cane about three feet long. These were placed like long slates on rafters and purlins, all of bamboo, well overlapping each other. We brought our homemade stools, in fact everything we possessed we made ourselves, for instance shorts out of rice sacks and shoes or "klompans" made of wood. 

"Our activities were very limited. We went through the Scout tests, had advanced talks and demonstrations of first aid and ambulance from "Doc", played games and told stories relating to past Scouting and other activities. Some of our members had not been Scouts before; these chaps had to go through a probationary period and a type of training. The tests were as near to the real thing as possible, but the stress was on character and discipline.

"Through the medium of these crews there grew up a strong fellowship and love of one's fellow man. A fellowship which would undoubtedly be carried on afterwards, retarded a little by the thought that there might not be an afterwards in this world, but such thoughts were few and far between. The unity of the crews helped tremendously towards a happier and more optimistic outlook on the future. Our previous Scout and Rover training were absolutely invaluable during those long four years."

n The Scouter, December 1945 edition, in Rover Notes, Colonel C Watson, H.Q. Commissioner for Rover Scouts, wrote:

"There is also great news of a P.O.W. Crew in Siam, the "Manam Kovai Noi", [sic] now, of course, happily disbanded. It consisted of 200 or so Rovers of seven or eight nationalities and had branches in five camps. The whole thing was carried on secretly under threat of the death penalty. We are looking forward to getting the full story later on." nfortunately, so far, I have been unable to discover 'the full story' but, as always Milestones, would be delighted to hear from anyone who has further information about the activities of these PoW Rovers, or indeed those from any other theatre of war.

-he fact that none of the authors of the reminiscences in Bamboo Thumbsticks are named, is very much part of the pre-war Scouting tradition. It was common for writers to either go un-attributed or to use a pen-name: 'Jack Blunt', an author of Scouting books and articles in The Scout, whose true identity was never revealed; 'White Fox', who was a former Commissioner for Woodcraft, John Hargrave or 'A Holborn Rover', the name long-used by Ralph Reader, are prime examples, and stem from a belief that Scouting was bigger than any one person and that all who contributed were equal. Nowhere was that more amply demonstrated than in the Prisoner of War camps. Higher-ranking officers paid tribute to their men, whom they acknowledged suffered greater deprivation than themselves. The editor of Bamboo Thumbsticks apologises for adding army ranks to names, but states that he only did so to give an idea of the wide range of people involved.

he accounts of the 'Death Railway' were written by men who clearly have avoided recreating their worst moments. There is no word of criticism about their captors and they say nothing at all about the conditions under which they lived. Anyone who has any knowledge of the deprivations that these men worked under will marvel at their Scout Spirit, which shines through in abundance.

he image below is of one of the many hundreds of immaculately-kept graves of Allied servicemen in the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery near the Kwai Bridge. I cannot say for certain that J Mole was a Rover Scout. But his, and each of the other graves, are marked by the crests of the same regimental units, and countries of origin as those I came across over and over again when reading the original Logbooks. His grave is pictured here as a memorial to all those who never returned.

'Lest We Forget'

-Acknowledgements

My particular thanks to: The UK Scout Association Archives; Michael Baden-Powell and The Victorian Scout Heritage Centre, Melbourne, Australia, in particular Ms Lillian Beard OAM and Mrs Joan Parr for permission to use the image of Rev. A R Macneil Printed Sources The Burma-Thailand Railway 1942-43 Dr Richard Reid. Dept of Veterans' Affairs, Canberra The Left Handshake Hilary St. George Saunders. Collins, 1948 Bamboo Thumbsticks Unknown Authors, published by C Weston, Sevenoaks, Kent The Victorian Scout Victoria, Australia. Editions of December 1945 and November 1953 Australian Scout December 1993, article on the Changi Rovers by Malcolm Cole (Queensland editor of Scout Magazine) Internet Sources The Thai-Burma Railroad The Changi Murals Scotch College 1st Hawthorn Troop

-Return to the "Milestones" introduction. -Colin 'Johnny' Walker hopes that you will sign the Visitors' Book, look at the Forum Page and welcomes your comments about this Site, which is v 1.3 and was last updated in June, 2007.

-This article, the text, the images (unless separately acknowledged) and the underlying coding are Copyright C R Walker©, 2005-7

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Un grandissimo numero di Armeni si rifugiarono in Francia, in questo paese l’iniziatore dello scautismo armeno fu Kourkène Medzadourian, un ragazzo appena... www.scoutstreviso.org/archivio/displaced/Displaced%20persons.doc http://www.scoutstreviso.org/archivio/displaced/Displaced%20persons.doc Tratto dal libro GLI INTREPIDI di Piet J. Kroonenberg – Nuova Fiordaliso

Displaced Persons LO SCAUTISMO DEI RIFUGIATI, PROFUGHI ED ESULI.

Premessa - Nascita dell’organizzazione internazionale. B.P. non si aspettava che dallo scautismo per i ragazzi conseguisse la formazione di gruppi al di fuori delle organizzazioni già esistenti. Invece avvenne proprio così, non solo nel Regno Unito, ma anche nei territori oltremare e nelle dipendenze. Baden Powell si rese conto presto che la sua nuova creatura rivoluzionaria doveva essere incanalata, altrimenti le cose potevano sfuggire di mano. Si vide costretto ad inventare un’organizzazione e fondò l’associazione scout britannica che prese in carico tutti i reparti del Regno Unito e delle colonie. Fin d’allora B.P. preferì usare il termine “movimento” che simboleggiava la crescita, la flessibilità, l’adattamento, il rinnovo costante e l’espansione. Nacquero le associazioni scout all’estero, prima in Cile (1909), e tutte si mettevano in contatto con Baden Powell il quale rispondeva alle richieste di consigli e direttive. All’inizio le uniformi, i distintivi di reparto e quelli di competenza erano gli stessi di quelli usati dagli inglesi e ciò facilitava molto la vita a livello internazionale. Ognuno già a prima vista poteva valutare il fratello scout, anche se straniero e sconosciuto. Inoltre, fino agli anni 20-30, l’associazione scout inglese fu di modello a quelle straniere. Nel 1920, dopo il primo Jamboree mondiale, B.P., eletto Capo Scouts del mondo, espose i suoi progetti per dare al Movimento una “direzione” internazionale nella quale egli non avrebbe avuto il diritto formale di parola né di voto, ma che avrebbe affiancato come consigliere. Nel corso della Conferenza di Londra, svoltasi subito dopo il Jamboree, che sarebbe stata ricordata nella storia dello scautismo come prima Conferenza Internazionale, fu deciso che ogni delegazione avrebbe portato a casa il progetto, lo avrebbe discusso nelle proprie organizzazioni e dopo due anni si sarebbe riunita una seconda Conferenza Internazionale a Parigi. La prima Conferenza dette vita anche al Boy Scouts International Bureau (BSIB) il cui primo compito fu il coordinamento delle discussioni e la preparazione delle seconda Conferenza Internazionale di Parigi (1922), la quale costituì ufficialmente il Movimento Scouts Internazionale. L’organo di governo di questo Movimento era costituito da: 1. la Conferenza Internazionale: si riuniva ogni due anni e vi partecipava ogni organizzazione nazionale con diritto dello stesso numero di voti, piccola o grande che fosse; 2. il Comitato Internazionale: i cui membri erano scelti tra i delegati alla Conferenza Internazionale, con potere decisionale, in caso d’emergenza, tra le due tornate della Conferenza stessa; 3. il già esistente Bureau Internazionale sarebbe servito da segretariato della Conferenza e del Comitato. Il suo direttore, nominato dal Comitato Internazionale, era membro ex officio di esso, fungendone anche da segretario e provvedendo alla sua organizzazione.

Displaced Persons ovvero rifugiati, profughi ed esuli. Il fenomeno delle "displaced persons" è tipico dell’Europa, di un continente in cambiamento uscito malconcio dalla prima guerra mondiale e avente, al suo interno, svariate pulsioni regionali, oltre che nazionali, d’ordine politico e sociale. Idee utopiche di nuovi ordini sociali e statali si affacciano sullo scenario europeo, sono laboratori di novità, di ricerca di nuovi equilibri interni ed internazionali e, in ogni caso, sempre manifestazioni per la conquista di poteri con tutto quello che comporta, in dolore e in sofferenza, la messa in atto di questi aberranti programmi. Vediamo, allora, queste situazioni una ad una nella forma più sintetica e schematica possibile, organizzandole secondo gli stati in cui si sono generate.

Russia Dopo la Rivoluzione d’ottobre tra il 1917-20, quando l’armata rossa vinse le armate bianche, migliaia di oppositori dei bolscevichi scapparono dalle loro terre, chi ebbe fortuna di poterlo fare, e si rifugiarono in altri paesi. Tra questi profughi c’erano molti scouts compreso il fondatore dello scautismo russo, Oleg I. Pantuhoff, che con sua moglie Nina giunse a Istanbul. Egli stabilì presto contatti con i gruppi dei profughi sparsi per tutto il mondo e organizzò un congresso di Capi scouts russi ad Istanbul (22 marzo 1921), i quali decisero di fondare il Consiglio degli scouts russi, organo di coordinamento generale dei gruppi dei russi emigrati. Il 30 agosto 1922 il Bureau decise di ammettere e di riconoscere gli scouts russi di Pantuhoff come i “rappresentanti dello scautismo russo in paesi stranieri”, con una precisa avvertenza e limitazione che: “quando la situazione in Russia fosse cambiata, in modo da permettere di fare scautismo regolarmente, secondo le direttive internazionali, il riconoscimento sarebbe stato revocato”.

Armenia Gli Armeni sono una popolazione di antiche origini con una religione cristiana particolare. Sfortunatamente il loro paese montagnoso era circondato da popoli molto potenti, ambiziosi e spietati, di credenze religiose differenti. Gli Armeni persero definitivamente l’indipendenza e la libertà nel 1079, e furono assoggettati al dominio persiano. Nel 1522 subentrarono i Turchi e vi restarono fino a quando, nel 1828, furono cacciati dai Russi. Nel 1878 l’Armenia fu divisa in due parti tra Russia e Turchia. Nella prima guerra mondiale (1914/18) la Russia era schierata con gli Alleati e la Turchia con le potenze centrali, Germania, Austria, Ungheria ect. La linea di confine che separava l’Armenia russa dall’Armenia turca divenne un fronte di battaglia che causò pesanti distruzioni con gravi sofferenze per gli Armeni. Accadde così che, in conseguenza di una politica di persecuzione e di deportazione, gli Armeni non vissero a lungo in quella che doveva essere la loro patria, ma si dispersero in tutto il vasto sultanato turco, che allora comprendeva aree come l’Arabia Saudita, l’Iraq, la Siria, la Palestina, la Giordania ect. Durante la guerra, i Turchi sapendo che gli Armeni avevano tutte le ragioni per non considerarli amici pensarono che si fossero alleati con i Russi, sebbene in realtà gli Armeni odiavano e disprezzavano i Russi tanto quanto i Turchi. Nel 1915, questo sospetto divenne il pretesto per dare inizio ad un violento massacro, un genocidio nel quale più di seicentomila Armeni furono brutalmente massacrati, non solo nella loro patria, ma anche in tutta la Turchia. Alla caduta dell’impero russo, nel 1917, gli Armeni della zona russa dichiararono la loro indipendenza con il proposito di riunirsi all’Armenia turca. Peraltro la libertà ebbe breve durata. L’Armata Rossa comunista attaccò e, nonostante la disperata resistenza, nel 1920 si riprese la “sua” parte di Armenia. Solo con la dissoluzione dell’Unione Sovietica, 70 anni più tardi, la regione russa dell’Armenia poté dichiarare di nuovo l’indipendenza. Nel 1918 fu fondata l’organizzazione “Scautismo e società di cultura fisica Ho-Men-Et-Hem” nella quale confluirono tutti i gruppi anche quelli situati fuori della Turchia. Un grandissimo numero di Armeni si rifugiarono in Francia, in questo paese l’iniziatore dello scautismo armeno fu Kourkène Medzadourian, un ragazzo appena ventenne, che 1924 fondò il primo reparto armeno a Parigi. Nel 1928 portò il suo reparto al campo estivo in Inghilterra dove ricevette la visita di Hubert Martin, direttore del Bureau Internazionale, il quale pochi giorni dopo portò anche B.P. a far visita al campo e rimasero molto colpiti dall’alta qualità. Medzadourian, visti i buoni rapporti con i capi inglesi, si adoperò per far riconoscere dal Bureau Internazionale, che non era a conoscenza dell’esistenza di “Ho-Men-Et-Hem”, “l’associazione nazionale su suolo straniero” con il nome di “Hai Ari”. Soltanto dopo i rivolgimenti dell’Europa orientale, 1989-90, la WOSM riscoprì “Ho-Men-Et-Hem” e venne a saper che quest’organizzazione di esiliati, all’insaputa del movimento scout mondiale, era stata molto attiva nel Medio Oriente e in Grecia fin dal 1918 ed ora stava contribuendo alla rinascita del Movimento in Armenia.

Risoluzione 20/29 Scout stranieri, reparti. “La Conferenza internazionale ritiene che non debbano costituirsi gruppi scout di nazionalità straniera in alcun paese senza che sia stata consultata la direzione centrale scout di tale paese e che la formulazione dei relativi regolamenti sia stata sottoposta al Bureau internazionale”. Questa risoluzione dovette essere presa perché in Francia accadde che l’organizzazione russa N.O.R.S, (National Organisation of Russian Scouts) presente in Argentina, Australia, Belgio, Bulgaria, Cina, Estonia, Finlandia, Francia, Iugoslavia, Lettonia, Lituania, Manciuria, Olanda, Polonia, Romania, Stati Uniti, Suriname e Ungheria, e quell’armena Hai Ari, presente in Belgio, Egitto, Francia e Sud America, non erano controllabili né influenzabili in alcun modo. Entrambi i gruppi di rifugiati avevano creato raggruppamenti di carattere politico con attività d’opposizione politica anticomunista ed erano anche in lite tra loro. Lo scautismo francese temeva che gli scouts russi ed armeni si compromettessero con manifestazioni e partecipazioni a dimostrazioni anticomuniste. La gente non avrebbe distinto scouts da scouts e avrebbe pensato che lo scautismo era impegnato in politica, mentre il regolamento internazionale obbliga il movimento all’apolicità. Questa risoluzione non soddisfece tutti paesi interessati, ma rendeva, di fatto, impossibile che vi fossero altri riconoscimenti di associazioni nazionali su suolo straniero chiamati “movimenti in esilio”.

Prima dell’ora zero di martedì 8 maggio 1945. Dopo la prima guerra mondiale vi furono in Europa forti cambiamenti. In Russia, come abbiamo già scritto, con la rivoluzione di ottobre vi è la presa del potere da parte dei comunisti. In Italia prenderà corpo un altro totalitarismo, quello fascista, del quale abbiamo già scritto sulla Linea della Storia, ma non comporterà la formazione di unità scouts all’estero da parte di fuori usciti dall’Italia. La Germania, invece, sviluppa una sua storia particolare. Dopo la prima guerra mondiale e dopo la grande crescita dello scautismo nel mondo, lo scautismo stesso con B.P. decise di darsi un’organizzazione consona al successo conseguito nei vari stati, promuovendo, dopo il primo Jamboree a Londra, la prima Conferenza Internazionale, la quale si sarebbe occupata dei rapporti tra le varie associazioni nazionali. L’associazione germanica, poiché la prima guerra mondiale era conclusa da poco e Londra aveva subito pesanti bombardamenti da parte dei Tedeschi e quindi i rapporti tra i due popoli erano ancora tesi, non fu invitata a partecipare. Alla Germania fu richiesta la presenza, con una delegazione, alla seconda Conferenza Internazionale di Parigi (1922), tale avvenimento aveva luogo, infatti, fuori del territorio inglese. Lo scautismo tedesco soggiacque alla decisione con risentimento e amarezza, ma questa supina sottomissione provocò divisioni interne che portarono ad una diaspora. Nacquero, per effetto di questa situazione, molteplici associazioni, ognuna con sue proprie direttive e senza legami all’idea originaria dello scautismo di B.P.; alcune di queste cominciavano già ad escludere dai reparti i ragazzi che non avevano “puro sangue germanico”. Il passaggio, perciò, alla “Hitler Jugend” fu alquanto facilitato da queste posizioni. Il potere hitleriano fece il resto perché lo scautismo non era compatibile col modello e l’ideologia nazisti ed era internazionale e non sufficientemente nazionale o nazionalista. Il 21 giugno del 1933 lo scautismo tedesco fu sciolto e ne fu proibita l’attività. Quando Hitler e il suo apparato si impadronirono totalmente della Germania, molti Tedeschi dovettero fuggire dalla loro patria e trovarono rifugio in paesi vicini come la Francia dove formarono reparti scout per i quali chiesero al Bureau il riconoscimento facendo riferimento ai precedenti russi ed armeni. La guerra di invasione e conquista della Germania provocò altri esuli e, appena il regime nazista fu imposto in Austria, Cecoslovacchia, Polonia, Norvegia, Olanda, Fiandre, Belgio, Lussemburgo e la stessa Francia, da questi paesi partirono i dissidenti alla volta principalmente della Gran Bretagna. Proprio lì furono organizzati dei clubs scouts, aperti tutto il giorno, dove si ritrovavano sia gli scouts inglesi sia tutti gli stranieri ivi residenti ed in Inghilterra sorsero le associazioni nazionali temporanee scouts appoggiate dai governi in esilio.

Dopo le ore 8.00 di martedì 8 maggio 1945. A questa ora, l’ora zero, ed in questo giorno termina la seconda guerra mondiale nel teatro europeo: il terzo Reich si arrende senza condizioni ed è diviso in Germania Occidentale, sotto l’influsso degli Alleati, e in quella Orientale occupata e conquistata dall’Armata Rossa sovietica. Furono liberati, perciò, : 1) i prigionieri di guerra, 2) i reclusi, dei campi di concentramento – Lager, 3) i lavoratori schiavi (ostarbeiter) delle fabbriche di armi del terzo Reich. Tutti felici? Certamente molti, moltissimi furono felici della riacquistata libertà, ma non tutti poterono far ritorno alle rispettive patrie, questi erano le “displaced persons” (profughi). Oltre alle categorie descritte in precedenza se ne devono includere altre due: 4) i collaborazionisti, funzionari e simpatizzanti del regime nazista sconfitto e 5) i fuggiaschi dai paesi che l’armata rossa sovietica, nella sua avanzata contro i nazisti, occupava. Questi non si aspettavano per niente, in chiara coscienza, di essere “liberati” dalle forze sovietiche. Tutte le displaced persons (DP) che, quindi, rifiutarono il ritorno ai loro paesi di origine furono organizzati in campi di raccolta in Germania Occidentale, Austria ed Italia Settentrionale per poterli alloggiare, sfamare, curare e rivestire. In questi campi, ben presto, i Capi Scout presenti organizzarono unità funzionanti ed operative, in questo sostenuti ed assistiti dalle autorità politiche e militari e dalle associazioni scouts occidentali. La guerra, di fatto, non aveva risolto il problema delle associazioni nazionali all’estero, ma lo aveva acuito ed ampliato.

Le risoluzioni del Comitato Internazionale nel mese di novembre 1945. La situazione dello scautismo del dopo guerra aveva bisogno di essere considerata dal punto di vista del futuro pur partendo dalla realtà presente. Nel vasto ordine del giorno, furono posti, fra l’altro, i temi dello Scautismo Polacco, il futuro Scautismo in Germania, quello in Austria, in Finlandia, in Italia, in Cecoslovacchia, il Movimento scout Armeno Hai Ari e quello Russo H.O.P.C./N.O.R.S. Risoluzione 11/45 Associazione degli scouts Armeni. Ritiro del riconoscimento ufficiale ad Hai Ari con il consiglio di sciogliere l’associazione e di confluire con tutti i gruppi nello scautismo francese, vista ormai la lunga permanenza degli Armeni in Francia ed essendone, di questo paese, diventati cittadini. Risoluzione 12/45 Associazione degli scouts Russi. Anche all’associazione russa si convenne di ritirare il riconoscimento con comunicazione a mezzo lettera al colonnello Pantuhoff, questa decisione andava giustificando una eventuale nascita dello scautismo in URSS, se fosse sorta con requisiti atti a partecipare alla fraternità scout mondiale. Anche per loro valeva il consiglio di confluire nelle associazioni nazionali dei paesi di residenza.

La scelta operativa di carattere generale del Comitato Internazionale fu di non favorire la nascita di movimenti nazionali su suolo straniero, nascita che avrebbe creato una situazione insostenibile per la presenza di più associazioni nazionali all’interno del Movimento Internazionale. Le decisioni prese dal Comitato Internazionale non furono accettate di buon grado e produssero comprensibili proteste tra Armeni e Russi. Risoluzione 13/45 Scautismo delle Displaced Persons. Il Comitato Internazionale prende atto e conoscenza del fenomeno delle unità DP nei campi profughi, fenomeno che è stato la causa delle risoluzioni 11/45 e 12/45. Si erano formati reparti scouts delle seguenti nazionalità, assistiti ed alloggiati separatamente: Estoni, Lituani, Lettoni e Polacchi dapprima, poi seguiti da Russi, Ruteni, Ucraini, Iugoslavi, Sloveni, Ungheresi e Cecoslovacchi. Al di fuori dei campi profughi, intanto, in Germania cominciava la rinascita dello scoutismo con l’aiuto delle associazioni americana e canadese.

Nel mese di agosto 1947. Nel castello di Rosny si tenne l' undicesima Conferenza Internazionale, dopo il Jamboree del 1947 a Moisson in Francia, nella quale si pervenne alla: Risoluzione 14/47 Displaced Persons. Nel testo sono anticipatamente ringraziati i gruppi DP ed è adottata la seguente procedura: a – apertura di una divisione speciale del Bureau Internazionale che registrerà le associazioni o gruppi “Displaced Persons”; b – la divisione DP assisterà con consigli e suggerimenti, anche presso le autorità che gestiscono i campi, gli scouts affinché sia realizzato il metodo nei suoi scopi e principi, vigilando che non si faccia propaganda politica; c – la registrazione nella divisione DP non conferisce titolo a divenire membri della Conferenza Internazionale, ma garantisce il riconoscimento della qualità scout; d – nei paesi diversi da Austria e Germania si raccomanda ai gruppi DP di affiliarsi ovvero di entrare a far parte delle organizzazioni scout locali riconosciute dalla Conferenza e a queste associazioni si raccomanda di accogliere in fraternità questi gruppi; e – tutti gli scout che prenderanno residenza in un paese dove esistono associazioni riconosciute, annullando lo status transitorio di profughi, avranno la scelta di iscriversi o di perdere la qualifica scout; f – alle associazioni dei paesi di adozione si raccomanda di consentire pratiche tipiche dello scautismo di provenienza finché non sia acquisita la cittadinanza del paese ospitante

Con questa risoluzione le concessioni di riconoscimento fatte agli Armeni ed ai Russi, di fatto, non avevano più valore ed il problema sembrava finalmente risolto.

Intanto in Austria risorsero le due associazioni esistenti prima della guerra e si fusero in una unica associazione, Pfadfinder Osterreichs (P.O.) e il 3 novembre 1946, John S. Wilson, consegnò di persona il riconoscimento del Bureau. In Germania si formò il Ring Deutscher Pfadfinderbunde dall’unione di tre associazioni ed il 21 agosto 1950 il Ring fu riconosciuto ufficialmente. E’ stata la prima associazione tedesca riconosciuta a livello internazionale poiché quelle esistenti prima della guerra non avevano mai ottenuto il riconoscimento.

Nel mese di giugno 1950. Col riconoscimento delle associazioni austriaca e tedesca era arrivato il momento di sciogliere le associazioni nazionali DP e prendere atto che la divisione provvisoria, presso il Bureau, “Displaced Persons” aveva esaurito il suo compito. Con la data del 30 giugno 1950, forse un po’ prematuramente, la divisione DP fu chiusa e cessò la sua attività. Alcuni numeri possono essere interessanti per capire la portata del fenomeno DP. Quando il Bureau Internazionale prese in carico gli scouts DP questi, tra Germania, Austria ed Italia settentrionale, erano circa 30.000, nel mese di settembre del 1948 c’erano 1.000 Estoni, 3.000 Lettoni, 2.000 Lituani, 250 Sloveni, 600 Ruteni, 150 Iugoslavi, 1.200 Russi e 2.000 Ucraini, in totale 10.200. Il numero continuò a scendere fino a 300 scout DP che residuavano alla data del 30 giugno 1950.

Il caso Polacco. L’associazione Zwiazek Harcerstwa Polskiego aveva operato bene e in clandestinità durante l’occupazione nazista, ma il loro dramma fu di essere stati “liberati” dal loro secondo principale nemico, l’Unione Sovietica. La Polonia divenne satellite dei comunisti russi i quali non abolirono l’associazione, ma in essa s’infiltrarono per riformarla in movimento giovanile comunista. Gli scouts profughi polacchi avevano mantenuto contatti con la Z.H.P. e di essa facevano parte anche se esuli all’estero e ben conoscevano ciò che stava accadendo a Varsavia. Nell’aprile del 1947, nella fase preparatoria del Jamboree di Moisson, il regime comunista polacco ritira la Z.H.P. dal Movimento Internazionale precludendo agli scouts polacchi all’estero di rappresentare la Z.H.P. e divenendo, per effetto delle risoluzioni del 1945, parte della divisione DP in Europa. Coloro che risiedevano nel resto del mondo, se volevano esser riconosciuti come scouts, dovevano aderire alle associazioni in cui risiedevano. La Z.H.P. di Londra si rifiutò di sciogliersi, i polacchi non si arresero, fecero pressioni, combatterono, cercarono alleati e, più tardi, con gli ungheresi, divennero il nucleo del movimento degli esiliati.

Dopo la chiusura dei campi profughi. L’emigrazione dai campi verso i nuovi paesi ospitanti non portò la cessazione del problema delle DP, non era loro la scelta di stabilirsi in altri paesi, in qualche modo erano obbligati a subire la situazione politica ed era rimasto, forte in tutti, il senso di appartenenza alla propria nazionalità, della quale non volevano perdere storia e tradizioni. Per questo motivo rimasero uniti e nulla valsero le risoluzioni del Bureau Internazionale che consigliavano ad assimilarsi nelle associazioni riconosciute. Di più vi è da considerare la loro fedeltà allo scautismo della loro nazione poiché nulla andasse perduto e rimanesse viva la fiamma dell’entusiasmo per i giorni in cui, nei loro paesi liberati dal comunismo, sarebbe risorto lo scautismo nazionale. Loro avrebbero preservato la fedeltà alla Promessa, alla Legge Scout e l’identità patriottica. I contatti si mantennero tra le varie espressioni dello scautismo DP ormai emigrate in vari paesi. La Z.H.P. polacca e gli Ungheresi, che erano i movimenti più numerosi, meglio organizzati ed attivi, convinsero le altre associazioni e formarono il “Consiglio di Associazioni scout in esilio”. Tutti gli sforzi per rientrare nella fraternità mondiale furono vani e furono chiariti nella 14^ Conferenza Internazionale di Vaduz (Liechtenstein, 1953). Il tema delle Associazioni scout in esilio restò all’ordine del giorno fino alla 17^ Conferenza del 1959 a Nuova Delhi, anche in quella occasione non fu trovata una soluzione soddisfacente. Il problema rimaneva anche se queste associazioni erano invitate ai Jamboree e, i loro Capi, a i corsi di formazione Gilwell.

Cuba Fidel Castro, il primo gennaio 1959, entrò trionfante a L’Avana: fu il caos, poiché tutto l’apparato amministrativo del dittatore Fulgencio Batista fuggì. Gli scouts cubani supplirono alla mancanza di organizzazione improvvisandosi vigili urbani, autisti di ambulanze, infermieri del pronto soccorso, corrieri, postini e distributori di cibo alla popolazione. “Non ci fu bisogno di organismi di repressione perché gli scouts, con la loro gentilezza, seppero risolvere la situazione ovunque ce n’era bisogno” così si esprimeva Fidel Castro, ma ben presto fagocitò l’associazione facendola sua, del suo regime. Si presentò lo stesso problema degli esiliati europei per tutti quegli scouts cubani che fuggirono dal loro paese, ma in questa occasione il Bureau li convinse a non creare un altro movimento di esiliati, infatti costituirono il Comitato degli scouts cubani all’estero.

La 18^ Conferenza Internazionale di Lisbona di settembre 1961. I movimenti degli esiliati non erano stati invitati e all’ordine del giorno non era stato inserito la problematica a loro riferita. Alcuni Capi di esiliati erano presenti a Lisbona e con discrezione facevano pressioni per ottenere il solito riconoscimento ufficiale. Una proposta ufficiosa prese corpo riconoscendo al Consiglio delle Associazioni scouts in esilio uno “status di osservatore temporaneo”: una sorta di associato senza diritto di voto, ma nello stesso tempo protetto e collegato alla Organizzazione Mondiale del Movimento Scout. Questa situazione di temporaneità, ufficiosamente, sarebbe durata per sempre; era una buona offerta e, senza dubbio, l’ultima. La Z.H.P. in esilio, per ragioni politiche, non accettò nulla che non fosse il pieno riconoscimento. La richiesta non poteva essere, ovviamente, accettata ed il problema era disposto al fallimento, cosa che avvenne anche se molti, non polacchi, avrebbero accettato lo status di osservatore temporaneo. Il Movimento Mondiale tagliò subito i ponti con i movimenti in esilio, non vi sarebbero stati più inviti ad incontri e a campi di formazione, non sarebbero state accessibili le riviste e altre informazioni. Anche il Consiglio delle Associazioni scouts in esilio, per effetto dell’azione dei polacchi, si dissolse e gli scouts in esilio non erano più scouts, perchè isolati dal Guidismo e dallo Scautismo Internazionali.

Vietnam – maggio 1975. Le forze del Vietnam del nord conquistarono Saigon. Migliaia di persone fuggirono dal paese e si rifugiarono in altri paesi asiatici, in Europa ed in America. Fu la fine dello scautismo vietnamita in patria, ma non quello nel mondo che scelse la formula dei cubani, quella di censirsi con i movimenti nazionali dei paesi di residenza.

New York – 7 novembre 1976. Dopo un lungo periodo di delusione e di assopimento, di contatti con Capi del Movimento Mondiale, qualcosa si mosse nel 1976: polacchi ed ungheresi si riavvicinarono fino a giungere alla decisione di fondare la “Organizzazioni Internazionali di Guide e Scouts Associati” (A.I.S.&G.O.).

Oltre la cortina di ferro. Il comunismo accusò lo Scautismo ed il Guidismo mondiali di essere uno strumento del potere capitalista per ingannare ed opprimere i giovani e nemico, di conseguenza, della classe operaia internazionale, perciò doveva essere combattuto e distrutto. Molti Capi furono arrestati, “rieducati” e anche uccisi, ma altri non dimenticarono e rimasero fedeli agli ideali scout mantenendo accorti contatti personali con amici, con i quali celebravano il Thinking Day e la ricorrenza di S. Giorgio. In Iugoslavia l’associazione era stata sciolta come nel resto dei paesi comunisti, ma, quando Tito fece lo strappo da Mosca (1950), permise la rinascita sperimentale dello scautismo, anche se mai riconosciuto a livello mondiale in quanto organizzazione politica.

Michail Gorbacev – Glasnost e Perestrojka. Le idee nuove di Gorbacev, salito al potere l’11 marzo 1985, di trasparenza e di riorganizzazione dello stato sovietico introdussero e produssero tali cambiamenti che l’intero sistema sovietico sarebbe collassato assieme a tutti i suoi paesi satelliti tra gli anni 1988/89. Già nell’88 in Ungheria risuscita lo scautismo, è la prima nazione, ma poi seguono tutte le altre; anche la Russia ricomincia con dei giovani che avevano ottenuto informazioni dall’estero, anche in paesi dove non era mai esistito sorgono nuove associazioni. Nel 1993 il governo comunista vietnamita permise la rinascita dello scautismo, così come, nell’anno seguente, accade in Cambogia e nel Laos, solo a Cuba continua l’assenza degli scouts.

Una speranza e un sogno. La fiamma tenuta viva dagli esiliati nella speranza dei cambiamenti, che si stavano verificando e che accaddero, ora avverava il sogno della rinascita nelle loro nazioni dello scoutismo, finalmente libero e gioioso di partecipare alla fraternità mondiale. WOSM e WAGGGS si ritrovarono a collaborare con le organizzazioni degli esiliati per la rinascita dello scautismo ove era stato soppresso, mettendo una pietra sopra a tutte le incomprensioni e alla sofferenza patita, da entrambe le parti, per l’espulsione. Lo scautismo rinato nei paesi ex comunisti ha richiamato in vita le idee e gli ideali di oltre quarant’anni prima, custodite nei loro cuori e provate dalle sofferenze morali e sociali del regime che avevano sopportato. Per loro era rimasto fermo il tempo che, invece, nell’occidente era andato avanti portando a fumare e bere in uniforme, usando la stessa in modo trascurato e non avendo più lo stesso rispetto delle regole. Quale scautismo sia migliore, se quello rinato o quell’occidentale, non è dato sapere e non ci appartiene il metro di giudizio, la cosa veramente importante è che sia rinato!

Early honor societies of the Boy Scouts of America

http://usscouts.org/museums/missouri.asp by state

David Miura The Wolfeboro Pioneers are one of the few surviving local Boy Scout honor societies in the United States that has not been absorbed by the Order of the Arrow. The Wolfeboro Pioneers is a Boy Scout camping honor society based out of Camp Wolfeboro near Arnold, California. The society was founded in the summer of 1929 by returning Scouts and Scouters who were devoted to creating and preserving the camp's unique tradition.

In the 1930s, the Order of the Arrow absorbed many of the small Boy Scout honor societies that had thrived during Scouting's first two decades.

Today, only a handful of minor organizations, the Wolfeboro Pioneers among them, exist in the United States.

scrolling

http://usscouts.org/netresources/other.asp http://usscouts.org/GoScouting/index.asp Firecrafter

Firecrafter, Historical Information Firecrafter

Tribe of Mic-O-Say

Camp Geiger Tribe, Pony Express Council H. Roe Bartle Tribe, Heart of America Council. Tribe of Mic-O-Say (Unofficial) Tribe of Mic-O-Say (Unofficial)

Other Honor Societies

Alpha Phi Omega Aquehongians Black Crescent Society Black Diamond Society Blue Spruce Lodge Braves of Decorah BSA Camp Promotion Society [1] Buckskin Camper Society Buckskin Men Buckskin Sons of Camp Wauwepex Camp Manatoc Honor Patrol Camp Wisdom Honor Campers Chadwick Braves Chi Sigma Society Clan of the Mystic Oak CMR (Camp Mountain Run Society) [2] Council Fire Circle Elgae [3] Firecrafter Four M Gimogash [4] [5] [6] Golden Tomahawk Indians of Treasure Mountain Indian Tribe of Honor Campers Kanawa Knights of Dunamis Knights of Yawgoog Ku-Ni-Eh [7] Manhawka Mic-O-Say on Bartle Mikanakawa Tribe Mohawk Indians Moon Scouts Mound Builders Mystic Arrow Mystic C Nani Ba Zhu No-Su-Ca-Ba [8] Order of Nikiwigi Old Guard Old Guard of Glen Gray OOBADOSTOOM [9] Order of the Axe Order of the Black Arrow Order of the Black Diamond Order Of The Chingagook Order of the Crimson Arrow Order of Kamp Kia Kima Order of the Modern Merit Scholars Order of Owls Order of Cochipainee Order of Taunkacoo Order of the Blue Knot Order of the Golden Sun Order of the Links Order of the Mystic Circle Order of the Pawnee Order of the Red Arrow Order of the Rising Sun Order of the Silver Marmot Order of the Solo Hiker Order of the Spear Order of the Tipi Order of the Uinta Moon Order of the White Swastika Pathfinders of the Golden Trail Pawnee Tribe Pequoket Pipestone Honor Powderhorn Polaris Lodge (non Order of the Arrow) [10] Red Feather Sagamore Service Troop SA-KA-S-EMBA [11] Scout Legion Scouts of the Mountain Secret Order of the Black Arrow Senior Division Senior Degree Honor Society [12] Frank F. Gray Sequoia Indians Silver Tomahawk Ta-Tonka-Saba TIPISA, The Order of the Red Lodge Tribe of Ahwanee Tribe of Aquanuschioni Tribe of the Black Arrow Tribe of Chawanakee Tribe of Chickamauga Tribe of Chief Tonnaleuka Tribe of Gimogash Tribe of Golden Eagle Tribe of Gorgonio Tribe of Ingawanis Tribe of Keokuk Tribe of La Porte [13] Tribe of Manatee Tribe of Matilija Tribe of Mazasha Tribe of Mic-O-Say Tribe of Nacopen Tribe of Nikiwigi Tribe of Oh-Hit-E-Kah Tribe of Oljato Tribe of Pahatsi [14] [15] Tribe of Papago Tribe of Pokagon Tribe of Quivira Tribe of Sha Utes Tribe of Sierra [16] Tribe of Siniwa Tribe of Siwinis Tribe of Tahoe [17] Tribe of Tahquitz [18] Tribe of Talako Tribe of Temescal Tribe of Tonkawampus Tribe of Torqua Tribe of Wakpominee Tribe of Wapsipicon Tribe of Winton Tribe of Wokanda Tribe of Yosemite Vi et Consilio Wabiningo Honor Campers Society Wah Tut Ca Braves Wakondale Tribe of Ohiyesa Indians White Bears White Feather Society White Horse Tribe White Sharks of Tahkodah Wigwam Lodge Wimachtendienks Tribe Wincheck Indians [19] Wolfeboro Pioneers Wolf tribe of Medawewin Wonnux Tribe

became