Morecambe Guardian 24 November 1928
SCOUTMASTERS WANTED.
Good Work Amongst Boys in Lancaster.
An appeal for more scoutmasters was made at the annual meeting of the Lancaster Boy Scouts Association in the Town Hall last Friday evening. The Mayor (Coun. E. G. Smith), presided, and amongst others present was the Deputy District Commissioner (Mr. T. W. Helme). Apologies came from Dr. Tomb, Mr. F. G. T. Adams, and the Rev. E.J. Lawson.
The Mayor said he saw many old friends of is present. They were giving their time to a good cause, because many helpless-looking lads had been made fit and healthy by the movement.
Plenty of Scouts.
Mr. T. W. Helme said he thought the movement had the goodwill of the majority of people but they were short of active workers. He could not let this opportunity pass without a reference to the loss they had sustained by the death of Alderman W Briggs. Nobody knew what good work Mr. Briggs had done for the scouts in Lancaster. During the Great War he was a power in the movement and as long as he had health and strength he continued to be so. The Association will always hold his name in happy memory. Another great friend of the scouts had passed away in the person of Canon Bardsley, who was keenly interested in the Association. There was no difficulty in getting a boy scout. What they wanted was a number of competent, reliable men within knowledge of and interest in boys to take over the duties of scoutmasters.
A scoutmaster’s lot was not enviable, as he had to give all his spare time to the scouts. In conclusion, Mr. Helme said that they had now succeeded in getting people to talk; it only remained for them to get people to act.
The Chief Constable Mr. C. E. Harriss deplored his own lack of activity in the Association, but explained that he had a number of “irons in the fire.” The Scout movement was undoubtedly a great undertaking but when one saw all those boys in their uniforms one knew they were on the right road to becoming upright citizens.
A flourishing movement.
The report of Mr. J Bishop, hon secretary, stated that the movement in Lancaster and district continued to flourish. In addition to the Deputy District Commissioner, there were 23 officers, seven rovers, 27 scouts and 43 wolf cubs, a total of 346, and an increase of seven officers one rover, 21 scout and 15 wolf cubs. The Association now controlled 11 troops, as against ten last year. Early in the year the 2nd Morecambe troop was unfortunately disbanded. On the other hand, the 11th Lancaster troop, which last year had had to be discontinued, was revived, and a new troop (the 1st Ellel) had been formed at Galgate. Although small, the rover section had done good work. Some of these senior scouts, as they were often termed, have been assisting in the running of troops other than their own, and one had been appointed assistant scout master of the 11th Lancaster troop.
The annual fire drill competition was held on March 29th, and it was pleasing to note that the Morecambe troops, which took part for the first time, did exceedingly well. The shield was won by the 4th Lancaster troop. On June 23rd the annual rally took place at Springfield Park (by kind permission of the trustees of the Ripley Hospital). The County Commissioner Capt. Kennedy was unable to attend, and the D.D.C. (Mr. T. W. Helme) was therefore in charge. The county cup was retained by the 4th Lancaster troop, which had gained 32 marks, the 1st Caton being second with 21 marks and the 7th Lancaster third with 19.
The annual swimming gala was held on September 17th, the Mayor Mr. E. C. Parr presiding. All the races were keenly contested, and the 13th Lancaster troop was again the champion after a hard fight. Weekly swimming classes were held during the summer months, the average attendance being higher than it had ever been.
The badge Secretary (Mr. T. D. Wright) had reported that the badges, etc., gained during the year were: First class eight, King’s scout six, red and white cords one, green and yellow cords eight, gold cords one, bushman’s thong one, ambulance 19, camper two, carpenter four, cyclist 22, engineer 12, firemen 37, friend to animals 34, gardener 22, handyman 28, healthyman 22, leather worker 19, missioner 22, musician two, naturalist seven, pathfinder seven, pioneer six, public healthyman four, rescuer nine, swimmer ten, and thriftyman three. During September the association sustained its greatest loss through the death of the District Commissioner, Mr.W. Briggs. Mr. Briggs came into the Association when scouting in Lancaster was at a low ebb, and it was largely due to his genial personality and interest that it had been able to carry on its work without a break since it was formed in 1910.
Election of officers.
The following officers were unanimously re-elected: President, Ald. J. Travis-Clegg; Vice-President, the Mayor (Coun. E. G. Smith), Ald.. E. C. Parr, and Ald. I. J. Curwen; hon Secretary Mr. J Bishop; hon treasurer, Mr. E. S. Bailey; badge Secretary, Mr. T.D. Wright; district scoutmaster Mr. R Wright; warrants committee, Messrs. J Bishop, R Wright, E. S. Bailey and Inspector J. Bennett; executive committee, Capt.W. Musgrave Hoyle, Dr. J. Tomb, Dr. J Ferguson, Messrs. F. G. T. Adams, Cass, Slinger, C. E. Harris, J. Cole and H. Bennett.
