2nd Edgware through WWII

The War and the Group

For many Scout Groups the advent of the Second World War spelled disaster. The problem was encapsulated by the short entry in the Eagles log for 3 September 1939: ‘War started between Gt Britain and France as allies and Nazi Germany. Many Scouts put their hands to some form of National Service.’

The war was to take away leaders and senior members of Groups across the country, and once the Blitz had started, evacuation deprived many urban Groups of both new recruits and adult help. The 2nd Edgware was not immune. Many senior members, including Scoutmaster Percy Wilson, volunteered for service, while others, including Chief, were evacuated. By August 1940 some 20 members or ex-members were serving in the forces. Whilst the effect on the Troop was seen almost immediately, with a fall in numbers (to 24), within a few months we had bounced back. While many other Troops perished for want of leaders during wartime, the 2nd Edgware ended the war as strong, if not stronger, than at the start.

It is clear from many brief snippets that the Cub Pack was thriving, and with numbers in April 1941 reported as 60, had been divided into two. The returns to the Edgware District Association in October showed a strong Group – 55 Cubs, 52 Scouts, five officers, with 23 others serving in the forces. There is, however, no mention in the returns, or anywhere else, of the Rover crew. It seems likely that the demands of the war had drained the unit of members. The band, meanwhile, struggled on under the guidance of Reg Strand Peter Burr.

Wartime Scouting

The war brought enormous change in the activities of the Troop. Parades (what we today call the weekly meetings) during the winter months were moved to Saturday afternoons, because the blackout required no lights to be visible after 7pm. These parades were held at the headquarters, or on Stanmore Common. ARP drill was held at the end of each parade, so as to ‘be prepared’.

The programme of events over the Christmas 1940 period was essentially unchanged from previous years, despite the deprivations. Some Scouts attended a Christmas Day service at St Margaret’s, and the usual Boxing Day hike took place to Stanmore Common where games were played. The Christmas beano, with six ‘poor boys’ as guests, took place on 28 December. New games with names such as ‘Convoy’ and ‘Bombing the Enemy Lines’ reflected the mood of the time. The shortage of food does not seem to have dampened the party, with the Troop log commenting ‘… what a show of food, the Food Minister should have come along.’

With the fall of France a phase of the war began which had the most perceptible effect on the Group – the Blitz. The disruption to meetings is graphically recorded in an entry for 28 August 1940: ‘An experience has come to this country that we all hoped would never be our lot, enemy air attacks, and during our [meeting] at 9.00 the air raid alert sounded; all the younger Scouts were seen home by the PLs and Seconds who then returned back to the hut at 9.20, but owing to intense air raid and anti-aircraft gunfire we held on at the hut hoping it would abate, but at 11.30 we decided it seemed to be staying, we decided to try and get home.’

On this and other occasions, Scouts were seen to their homes. An alternative, as Eileen Soden recalls, was to take the short walk down Station Road to the nearest air raid shelter, which she recalls as being somewhere near the end of Edgwarebury Lane. These interruptions to meetings became weekly occurrences during this period, and caused the early switch back to Saturday afternoon parades. The Cubs met between 2.00pm and 4.00pm, the Scouts from 4.00pm to 5.30pm.

The war had placed many restrictions on camping. White tents were forbidden, tents had to be pitched under trees and camouflaged. Campfires were a victim of the blackout, and food at this time was rationed. No camps at all are recorded for 1940, but with the worst of the Blitz over, 1941 saw an attempt to return to normality. There is even record of the Scouts at Edgwarebury sleeping through a gunfire alert in Hendon during one camp!

Doing our bit

The ground around the headquarters was husbanded, with cabbages and other vegetables planted as part of the ‘Dig for Victory’ campaign. And in response to a government request, the collection of waste paper began. These last two activities were to prove important to the Group’s survival, as wartime conditions prevented the holding of the usual money-raising activities such as jumble sales and summer fetes. At the AGM in January 1940 Chief ‘… made reference to the paper collecting which up till now had kept the Troop on their feet financially.’

With the Blitz in full spate, volunteers for firewatching were needed, and the the National Association announced that Scouts should put themselves forward. On 30 January, the Association said: ‘Boys of fifteen and sixteen are being accepted … it is not considered necessary to have an adult in charge. A Scout’s training in observation and quickness in emergencies fits him for just such work. Large numbers of Scouts are already qualified to deal with incendiary bombs. It is an adventure after a Scout’s own heart, and we are confident there will be a tremendous response. There has been a good deal of boyish resentment in some places because they have not been permitted to do more. This is their chance and they are taking it.’

The 2nd Edgware needed no second bidding and the first fire watch from St Margaret’s church took place on 1 February, by two unnamed Scouts and a member of the church. Watches began at about 10.00pm and continued throught the night until about 7.30am. Those on duty took up their positions at the top of the churchtower. A climbing rope provided a means of descent to the nave roof in the event of a strike by an incendiary device. Two Church Guard log books covering the period from February 1941 to May 1943 were kept. The first, unfortunately, is missing, and we cannot therefore read the Church Guard’s account of the night of 10 May, when the Bulldogs log reveals that bombs dropped on Edgware, with a 2nd Edgware Scout (John Henman) having a narrow escape. The second book, dating from November 1941 shows a largely uneventful record of the nightly vigil, the most significant items being the burning out of the kettle and the purchase of a new lilo for off-duty guards. The latter item was purchased with contributions from the guards. The church guard was a nightly affair until January 1942, when air raids became less frequent. Thereafter, a system of ‘callout’ was established. By November 1941, the Group had clocked up more than 3000 hours of firewatching.

At this time the Troop was also ‘doing its bit’ by constructing air raid shelters. One of these was for Mrs Moss, so it is evident that although no longer taking Cubs, she was still in the area.

Members in the forces

It was inevitable that the war, having taken members away from the Group temporarily, would also take some away permanently. On 4 June 1940, former Scoutmaster Bill Wilson became the Group’s first war casualty, killed when his aircraft crashed into a barrage balloon during the evacuation from Dunkirk. He was 27.

With so many members and ex-members of the Group serving in the Forces, it seemed only natural that some means of maintaining contact should be established. At the Scout’s Own on Sunday 26 January 1941, with Skipper as Editor, the first edition of Yoicks appeared – three pages of typed script, with a hand-drawn masthead and a cover price of 1d (0.41p) (it does appear that, at first, Yoicks was sold, as opposed to being given away free of charge). Printing was undertaken by a Mr Unwin.

There was a general lack of the ‘gung-ho’ attitude in most of the letters from serving members which were published. In Edition 2, for instance, Doug Ramsey refers to ‘…roaming around Southern England while in the Army … have been very lucky indeed in ‘dodging’ the war’ while in Edition 3 Charlie Gibbins wrote modestly, and cryptically, about his recent activities: ‘I was first stationed in X on a X. We used to bathe every afternoon in the Z, which flowed about ZZ away from the site. After that I went to France for a very short time…’ The last comment is a reference to Dunkirk.

Other writers sounded a little more upbeat. Charlie Hynam, based in Scotland with the RAF, hinted at future operations when he wrote: ‘Life in the RAF is pretty good … we are all looking forward to
the coming month when a few debts will, no doubt, be paid. Everyone here is confident that this summer will see a turn in our favour.’

The most optimistic notes were struck, however, by Sam Wade, who was called up on 1 September 1939 at the age of 17: ‘I am now a member of an army entertainment unit on account of my great musical attributes. I have not seen one atom of action yet and I posess great envy for those of the old ones of us who have had the luck of being in some action, such as Charles Gibbins. However, I might be lucky yet’. In the event, it was to be more than three years before Sam’s ‘luck’ changed, when as a glider pilot, he was involved in the massive airdrop at Arnhem.

Inevitably, Yoicks also had bad news to impart. In edition 4 the first death was reported – not, ironically, of a serving member, but of Mr Unwin, Yoicks’ printer. But in edition 7, the editor reported the death in Cairo of Brian Jefferys. In the following edition, Charlie Hynam was reported as missing after an air raid on Berlin. They were two of the Group’s earliest recruits.

In edition 8 (December), Skipper looked forward to the newsletter’s first birthday – but it never happened. This was not due to the demise of Mr Unwin, but government intervention. Despite the national paper collection campaign, to which the 2nd Edgware had contributed some £26’s-worth, it was still necessary to restrict the commodity’s use. The Control of Paper Order (1941) prevented the publication of any journal not already in existence before August 1940. The Troop log promised that ‘we will start again. Just wait.’ The author probably did not anticipate that it would be a ten year wait.

After re-starting in 1952 as a newsletter for members and parents, Yoicks went on to be a regular source of Group communication for 54 years.