History | 2nd Edgware Scouts

A short history of Scouting

2nd Edgware in 90 Years

In October 1929 Rector Lea asked for a leader to start a Scout troop, and the arrival of Mr A J Martin (known as ‘Chief’) was his answer. The Scout troop was formed out of the then existing Boys’ Club, choir and Sunday school of St. Margaret’s Church. Mrs Moss of Hendon, who previously had worked with Chief there, came to start the Cub Pack. This early start of the church-Scout connection continued for the next 40 years, involving later the Children’s church, Covenanters, with Scouts at 14 years old attending Confirmation class.

The first Troop meeting was on Wednesday 9th October in Truth Hall, next to the Church. It was proposed our scarves be Oxford Blue and Cambridge Blue, however these were unobtainable at the time so grey scarves were worn temporarily. At the start there were two patrols, the Bulldogs and the Lions.

A couple of years later a First World War army hut was offered to the Scouts by Rector Lea if they raised the vast sum, at the time, of one hundred pounds to move it to the present site. With a lot of effort this was managed, and we had our own home.

In 1930 the first camp saw the Patrol Leaders under canvas through rain, hail and snow. Better weather was forecast in June for the first Troop camp, which built up to the first summer camp in Guernsey. This must have been a terrific adventure for the Scouts, many of whom had not been away from home for any length of time before, let alone abroad. The fortnight was spent engaged in large amounts of exploring, hiking, sightseeing and cricket matches against other troops camping in the area.

In 1932 the band was started as a gift by Mrs Whitehouse, the lady who gave the churchyard wall, and the bugle band first played at the wall dedication. Later the band was devolved to a full brass band which has played at the Albert Hall, Gang Shows at Golders Green Hippodrome, the Mansion House, Horse Guards Parade and a tattoo at Fleet, Hampshire; as well as at church parade every last Sunday of the month, even during the war.

A year later the temporary grey scarves were replaced with red and black – the very same we wear today.

1939 saw the start of the Second World War. Winter meetings moved to Saturday afternoons due to blackouts with Air Raid Precaution drills to finish each meeting. In 1940 we had our first air raid, with the PLs and 2nds taking home the Scouts late at night. That same year we also had our first war casualty, Scoutmaster Bill Wilson.

The Scouts did their bit for the war effort, with indoor shelter erection, waste paper collection, growing vegetables in our headquarters garden, and a total stint of 3000 hours of fire watching during the Blitz of 1942. Camping continued with camouflaged tents and ration books, keeping locally. On one camp the Scouts slept peacefully through a gunfire alert over Hendon on camp.

During the war our group newsletter ‘Yoicks’ was started, originally this was to keep leaders on the frontline up to date with group activities, as well as share the war stories they wrote back home with. Despite war paper shortages forcing Yoicks to stop after 9 issues, it was revived in 1952 and became a main source of communication with families and friends for the next 50 years.

The Group came out of the war well – now with two Cub Packs and a Senior Scout section – but sadly our headquarters did not. It was accidentally burned down overnight in May 1945. The insurance arranged by the Rector, unbeknown to the Scouts, allowed us to buy a further hut, our headquarters until 1987.

By the end of the decade both Rector Lea and Chief said their goodbyes to the Group as they moved away. Both had been monumental in establishing 2nd Edgware. The reigns were now handed to Arthur Pitcher (Bosun) who continued to be a terrific driving force behind the Group.

The 1950s saw our coming of age. With increasing numbers, the Cub Pack split into two – the Seeonee Pack and the Waingunga Pack. A few years down the line, the Scouts followed with Martin and Wilson Troops. Meanwhile, the Band made their first (of seven) appearances in Ralph Reader’s London Gang Shows, and the Group become District Sports champions for five years running.

Whitsun Camp 1956 – tea at the Wolves kitchen

Highlights of the ’60s include Rosetree (the Rovers and Seniors European expedition to 5 countries), the Mohawk Rover Crew cooking for a hotel restaurant, and in 1964 the Band appearing in Ralph Reader’s London Gang Show – which was then chosen for the Royal Variety Show and performed to Queen Elizabeth II. That same year we recorded our highest ever membership of 154. That was 44 more than the next largest Group in the District.

However, not all Groups across the country were so doing so well. In 1967 Scouting was given a new look and structure. Keeping in line we opened our Venture Unit (replacing Seniors and Rovers) and an unofficial Mohawk Rover Club continued scouting for young adults. However the biggest change was around new sponsorship rules, and as the Group was never officially sponsored by the church, the ‘St. Margaret’s’ was dropped from our name, although the involvement between church and Scouts continued, as did church parades.

Presented the Edgware District Athletics Sports Trophy 1961 by future PM Thatcher

In the decade building up to our Golden Jubilee we swapped the summer fetes for Christmas Bazaars, held our first family camp, and the band performed in the last London Gang Show.

In the 1980’s, necessity dictated that before the second fell down, we needed to set in motion a project to build a new headquarters. The Group committee had foresight in the early 1960s to establish a building fund, and so to add to that, with seven further years of intensive fundraising and planning, matched with a tremendous enthusiasm by everyone associated with the Group and the 7th Edgware Guides, 9th May 1987 saw the opening of the new Scout and Guide Centre. Chief Scout Major-General Michael Walsh opened the new building before many hundreds of uniformed and invited guests. What a day to remember!

Opening ceremony of the new headquarters

The success of the Centre attracted an increasing number of young people to join the Guides and Scouts. In June 1988 we opened our Beaver colony, for boys aged between six and eight. Three years later, The Scout Association welcomed girls into all sections.

Throughout the 90s there was a lot of change. The costs incurred by the building of the new headquarters were, incredibly, paid off by 1992. The opportunity to work the refreshment stands at Wembley Stadium made a substantial contribution to this effort. Co-operation with local Guide Association units had strengthened in 1993 with arrival from St. Lawrence’s of the 2nd Edgware Brownies.

Barn dances, and annual events such as the plant sale and the increasingly successful pig roasts all made significant contributions to Group funds, while regular bookings and hosting Bo-Peep Nursery has ensured that the Group remained financially secure.

Change, of course, involves not just the introduction of the new, but the loss of the old. The decade saw the demise of the jumble sale, the Christmas bazaar and regular monthly church parades, as well as the traditional march to the church from the headquarters. Towards the end, the Venture unit, after many years of being the only single group unit in the District, found itself unable to continue.

The biggest loss, however, was that of Arthur Pitcher in 1997.

The 2000s was quiet decade for the Group. We were without a Group Scout Leader for much of it, and struggled to involve parents. With volunteers in short supply, many group events and fundraisers faded out. Around 2008 the Cub Pack closed, whilst the Scouts merged meetings with the 3rd Edgware, who were in a similar position to us.

Despite this struggle, the group continued to offer new opportunities to young people in Edgware. Perhaps the most special of those opportunities came to Rickesh, a 2nd Edgware Cub, who was chosen to represent The Scout Association in wishing The Queen a happy 80th birthday at Windsor Castle!

Another special occasion was the Group’s 75th birthday, celebrated with a camp and socials.

By 2010 things were starting to turn around. After the 3rd Edgware merger ended we recruited on a handful of new, younger leaders. We also had a new GSL, a new Akela who re-opened the Cub Pack and a new District offering a fresh line of support to volunteers. The wheels were back in motion and the older Cubs moved up to join the (less than five) Scouts each week. Soon enough we were back into a full programme of Scouting.

We have also started many new traditions, including the ever-popular Narrowboat Camps with 1st Finchley each spring, water sports at the Welsh Harp each summer, and end of year group photos and the ‘Awkward Awards’ each winter. Also, thanks to the quick first aid skills of two Cubs in 2017, we added two more royals to our list and another TV interview.

In 2019 we celebrated our 90th birthday. Throughout the year our Cubs and Scouts joined in decade themed programmes to countdown to the main event in October, which included an open day for members past and present. There was a huge cake, special videos and we buried our time capsule.

That would turn out to be our last group gathering for some time, as the 2020s started with a global pandemic, with scouting at home and video call meetings. In between national lockdowns, face-to-face meetings took place with social distancing rules, group size limits and face masks worn indoors.

Into 2022 we were keen to get back out there! A group of scouts attended the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Trooping the Colour, as well as parading down The Mall with other youth groups. Seeing the Royals and the fly-past up close was a particularly special moment. A year later two of our Explorers were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the newly crowned Charles III as they helped at the State Opening of Parliament.

Into our 95th year, we’ve already had a handful of different camps, spent plenty of time outdoors and (after years of Roni promising it) the scouts finally went go-karting! Now we look forward to the big 100…

Half the Cubs in person meet the other half over video call (2020)

Discover more…

Share your memories

We want to hear your experiences and histories of 2nd Edgware! Email them in here.

We’re particularly keen to fill in some gaps around the 2000s.

Memorabilia donations

If you have any memorabilia (badges, photos, booklets or other items) you wish to donate to the Group, we’d love to add it to our archives. Drop our archivist a message if you have any items. Likewise, if you want to find out more about 2nd Edgware’s history, feel free to get in touch!