The Eltham College Scout troop was formed in September 1931.

If you have any pictures, please email or send them to Mark Stickings: ms@eltham-college.org.uk

Scouts at Thone (the Junior School at Taunton) 1943, from Noel Shepherd

Memories of Scouting at Eltham College          by Roger Scopes OE (1946-54)

"The Scout Troop - a real god-send to bored boarders" is what R.J.Sidey wrote in his memories of boarding at Eltham College, and that expresses exactly what many of us felt, even though we did not go into details on the scout troop in our short answers to the questionnaire sent to us by Heather Gani.  So while we were putting together those responses, it seemed good to us to say a bit more on the subject.

 From it I would like to list some of the topics which are touched upon:
• Annual Scout Camps at: Isle of Wight in '32; near Dartmouth in '33; Brittany in '35 (the camp due to be held in Brittany in '34 had to be postponed); N. Wales in '36;  Gendron-Celles in '37; Cornwall in '38; Normandy in '39 (!); Eltham Palace in '46; Guernsey in '47; Billingshurst in '48; Jersey in '49; Staverton, Devon in '50, Isle of Arran in '51;Kingsdown in '52.   In addition there were many smaller, patrol camps over Whitsun.  What a huge contribution these scout camps made to the life of boarders at Eltham College!
• Competitive sports against other teams: football, cricket, table tennis, swimming.  I remember with great pleasure the table tennis match against the school staff.
• The Scout Hut, built in the Spinney in '38 and redecorated in '50.  This was another enormous asset to bored boarders, as a den of our own, for table tennis, cooking, badge-work, games, campfire sing-songs. I remember chucking water at the ceiling and walls to wash off the old emulsion paint and getting electric shocks from the wet walls!
• Scout leaders who gave unstintingly of their time and talents over many years: notably D.S.Moss ("Panther") and G. R. Higgins ("Higgy") and Stan Gregory (who was unusually a day boy in the boarders' scout troop, and who came back after his National Service to serve as an assistant scout leader).  Other members of staff also contributed to leading (Sutton Smith) and badge-work ( Slader and Buchanan and McIver).  Headmaster Turberville came with us to camp. Boarders owe a great deal to these members of staff.

I hope that this will trigger memories for those who were involved in The 15th Royal Eltham Troop. And to set you off, here are a few of mine:
• Travel to and from camp. Travelling by ferry overnight to Guernsey in '47, the Kingfisher Patrol could not find suitable space on deck, free from being walked over, so we slept under a lifeboat, wedged together in a row to make sure no one rolled overboard.  No one stopped us from using that space!   Travelling by train back from Arran in '51, we pulled down the blinds and used a primus stove to brew up for tea on a table in our compartment! 
• Catching rabbits with snares at camps at Billingshurst, Jersey and Arran. We never caught enough to feed the whole camp, even though Higgy tentatively put rabbit on the menu one night.  We cooked and ate the few rabbits we caught, but we really wanted the rabbit fur to stick on the sheaths of our sheath knives. Curing the skins proved more difficult than we had imagined.  One morning we found a dead cat in one of our snares.  Taylor and I skinned it, and found that it is much more difficult to skin a cat than it is to skin a rabbit!  We never managed to cure the cat's skin.

Happy reminiscing!

Roger Scopes     

This is a selection of articles about the Scouts which appeared in The Elthamian in the period 1932 - 1953.
The dates refer to the edition of the Elthamian, not necessarily to the activites described.

May 1932

The 15th Royal Eltham Troop, was founded last September term. For that term the members were limited to senior boys, who would subsequently become either Patrol Leaders or Seconds. Thus only two Patrols, the Pewits; and Owls, were formed, having a total membership of a dozen boys. This term, however, saw. a great increase in numbers, as membership was extended to all over eleven years of age, and immediately four extra Patrols were formed-the Cuckoos, Woodpigeons, Swifts and Seagulls, and the numbers of members increased to over forty.
The new Patrols got off the mark quickly, and now all except the newest members are Tenderfoots. Moreover, some of the "veterans" who have taken over control of the revised Troop have passed their second-class tests and have been Made Second Class Scouts.

At half-term we went for a day's hike to Cudham, a charming village on the North Downs. No better spot could have been chosen for lunch, which we ate in a clearing in a wood. Numerous attempts were made to get fires going, but only two could be called successful.
On these two tea was brewed -a very welcome beverage on so cold a day. After lunch nearly everyone joined in a game of modified touch-rugger. On the way back a tracking game was organised, but those who blazed the trail carried out their work in so mysterious a manner that the trackers soon gave up their impossible task and returned home.
Congratulations to those who. composed the team sent in by our Troop for the First Aid Competition held in Eltham last February. Out of all the Eltham Troops our team came fourth.
On the following Sunday a Scouts' Own Service was held in our chapel. This service was attended by a large contingent of Scouts from Eltham. Mr. Gunstone delivered an address.
On St. George's Day the Troop took part in the celebrations arranged by the local Association. After a rally in Eltham Park the officers and patrol-leaders joined, those of the other Troops at tea in Sherard Hall. On the following day (Sunday) a small number attended a Scouts' Own ,Service at one of the Eltham churches.
Keen interest is being taken in a big Rally of the South London Scouts, to be held at the Crystal Palace on June 4th. The Chief Scout will be present, and we are giving: a special display of Scoutcraft in his honour.
We anticipate a happy and successful summer term, to be followed by a Camp in the Isle of Wight in August.

October 1932

15th ROYAL ELTHAM (Eltham College) TROOP.
The great event of the Summer Term was a Rally of the Scouts of -South London, at the Crystal Palace. The Chief Scout was present, and, during the afternoon, toured the grounds on horseback inspecting displays of Scoutcraft, given by the members of the various London Associations. The Rally came to an end with an inspiring address by the Chief.
In July a party of us spent a week-end in camp, at Downe-the London Association Camping Ground. It is a delightful spot and we had magnificent weather.
We celebrated the end of term at the Tower House, where we partook of a "big feed," and finished up the evening playing strenuous games.

A very successful camp was held in the Isle of Wight, in August. All who attended came away with many happy memories of a pleasant time.
At our second meeting this term, we were visited by the District Commissioner and a London Scouter who showed us a number of amusing scouting games.
We have said goodbye to Acting Troop Leader Church, Patrol Leader Tayler and Seconds Hartstone and Thomson original members of the Troop; also to J. P. Haile. We wish them well in their new spheres of work. Their places have been filled by new recruits and the Troop remains at full strength.

May 1933

Camping and other forms of open-air scouting are our chief concern, this term. The Summer Camp is to be held near Dartmouth, in Devonshire, and we are hoping to do a certain amount of week-end camping before then. A Patrol Leaders' Camp has already been arranged, and there will be two or three patrols out at Whitsun.
We are fortunate in being able to get some practice in axemanship this term. Up to date we have felled one
tree and all but disposed of it; and there are others being reserved for us.

The Caterham School Scouts have very kindly invited us to spend an afternoon scouting with them; we are greatly looking forward to our approaching visit.
Last term we introduced handicrafts into the Troop, and some progress was made in leatherwork and in bookbinding. We are very grateful to colleagues for their kindly interest in our affairs.
The number of Second ClassScouts in the Troop is steadily increasing ; our next main objective is to become First Class.
D. S. M.

October 1933

SUMMER TERM
Out-of-door activities occupied our time in the Summer Term, and many enjoyable though strenuous hours were spent in tree-felling. As a result, half -a-dozen Scouts passed their First Class Axemanship tests.
Another pleasant feature of the term was our visit to Caterham School. The weather was not too favourable but we thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon and the interesting programme arranged for us by the officers. We hope that this will be the first of many happy meetings with our Caterham friends.
CAMP

A very successful and happy time was spent in camp at Dartmouth, in spite of the fact that the number present; this year was comparatively small. Many things will long be remembered-not least the fine weather; in particular a delightful excursion by motor-launch up the River Dart as far as the old-world town of Totnes, and a visit to the lighthouse at Start Point.
WINTER ACTIVITIES
This term we welcome Mr. G. R. Higgins, who comes to us with a great deal of Scouting experience. A number
of Cubs are coming up from the Pack, and there are no further vacancies in the Troop.
It is to be hoped that in the course of the next two terms solid progress will be made in First Class work; and we are looking forward to the time when we shall have a goodly proportion of First Class Scouts.
D. S. M.
THE WOLF CUBS
At the time of writing, the Pack is undergoing a reorganisation. Eight Cubs left us at the end of the Summer Term, three of whom have now joined the Scout Troop;, and six "New Chums" have joined us this term. During the summer, Star and Badge work has gone ahead. Seven Cubs have "one eye open," and five more have "both eyes open," having passed the First and Second Star tests successfully. Proficiency Badges have been earned by K. R. Daly (Home-craft), P. S. Russell (Athlete and Artist) and M. O. Rowlands (Athlete).
On June 24th, the Pack presented "'The Never-Never Land," an adaptation of "Peter Pan;" in King George's Hall. This was written and rehearsed for an outdoor performance, but the weather prevented this. However, our audience supported us wonderfully, and with the aid of Miss Horsham, who sold ices, and the Junior School Percussion Band, who gave a short programme, we were able to hand over to the Leaving Scholarship Trust Fund the sum of £8 10s.
On July 12th, we all attended the Daylight Rehearsal: of the Woolwich Searchlight Tattoo. There was no need to ask the Cubs if they enjoyed it.
"AKELA."

May 1934

The Scouts
This term, we hope to spend most of our time out-of-doors so that we may make further definite progress towards becoming First Class Scouts.
We congratulate Patrol-Leader Todman on having obtained his First Class Badge, and we trust that this will be an incentive to others who have already passed a number of the qualifying tests.
The " Hobbies " Classes were continued during the winter months, and .the assistance given by colleagues has been much appreciated.

Our camp is being held in Brittany this summer, and so far, fifteen or sixteen Scouts are likely to be going.
Finally, we deeply regret to record the death of one of our number. Cecil Whiteside joined the Troop soon after its formation and had recently qualified as a Second Class Scout. He will be missed by all of us for his very likeable qualities.
D.S.M.
THE WOLF CUBS
THE winter has been very quiet as far as the Pack is concerned. Star and Badge work has gone on as usual, and a few tracking afternoons have been held. The big event was a Party which we gave to the boys of Friends' Hall, Bethnal Green, on December 16th.
All the Cubs worked very hard indeed to prepare this Party, and we had a rollicking time. Each Cub took charge of a visitor for the games and competitions and during tea. After that we were entertained by Mr. C. Folkard with conjuring and 'shadows '-both of which were very much- appreciated-and this was followed by a Christmas Tree with a gift for everybody.
It was a most enjoyable party, and the Cubs themselves were responsible for it all, even helping to make cakes and jellies ! We should like to thank the parents of the Cubs, who made it possible for them to do so much to make their Christmas Good Turn a success.
Now that the summer weather is coming, most of our meetings will be out-of-doors, and there will also be facilities for Cubs to learn to swim and so add to their stock of Badges. I hope as many as possible will do this.
AKELA.

October 1934

WE had hoped to be giving, in the present issue, an account of our adventures in Brittany. Unfortunately, the camp had to be cancelled because of illness. The prospect of a camp in Brittany has by no means been abandoned, and we shall endeavour to organize one next year.
Apart from one long week-end which the Troop spent in camp in the summer, there is not much to report.
We regret that we are denied the regular and efficient services of Patrol-Leaders Crapp this term; but they are not completely lost to us, as they are giving willing help to the Cubs on Wednesdays and attending Troop meetings whenever possible.
There are seven new members this term-four of them having come to us from the Pack. Of the four who have left us, W. F. H. Thorpe is continuing his scouting at Mill Hill School, and we wish him all success.
D.S.M.

May 1935

WITH the advent of the Summer Term, we resume our out of-door activities. In the course of the winter months further headway was made in certain branches of Scouting and we record our indebtedness to Mr. Slader for his continued help with Map Reading.
We confidently hope that before next winter, we shall have an increased number of First Class Scouts.
Last March the local Association arranged a Demonstration of Scouting at Eltham; the Troop took part in it and acquitted itself creditably.

Scout Camp ROTHENEUF/BRITTANY.

From the early days of the Troop's existence the idea of a camp abroad had appealed to us. This summer we achieved our ambition and camped at Rotheneuf in Brittany.
The coast of Brittany is very beautiful. Headlands of old worn rocks run out into the sea and between them are bays of fine sand. Our camp was just above one of these bays in which bathing was possible at all times.
The site was ideal, although we found it necessary, soon after our arrival, to encircle it with barbed wire. Visitors had evidently been accustomed to using it as a parking ground for their cars, and in spite of a notice we put up to the effect that on payment of the paltry sum of three francs they could still continue the practice, they chose to treat our offer with contempt !
We often walked past Paramé into St. Malo along a sea front of large French hotels. St. Malo has a strong city wall and other points of historic interest which attract many English visitors from Dinard.
Naturally we paid frequent visits to Rothéneuf - a Breton seaside village with an attractive harbour ; like most towns and villages on this coast, it is only "alive" in Summer.
One day we walked to the point of a headland some ten miles east and saw more of the country inland. The soil seemed more fertile than that near the coast ; it was extensively cultivated, and windmills added to the picturesqueness of the scene.
Towards the end of our stay we made an excursion to Mont. St. Michel, which rises mysterious and majestic out of the wide expanse of sand which surrounds it. The few houses on this rock seemed to have been built on top of one another. We entered by a gate in the wall and climbed a narrow winding street. Souvenir-shops and restaurants lined the way until we came to the steps leading up to the Abbey, through which we were conducted by a French guide who raced through his recitations of architecture and history. We walked through various halls-between massive pillars, beneath Gothic arches , through wonderfully carved cloisters, and along parapets until we reached the chapel at the summit from which we gained a marvellous view.
We were denied the thrill of seeing the tide rise. At such times the vast tract of sand, about ten miles long, becomes quickly covered by the rising tide rushing across its surface faster, it is said, than a horse can gallop. The Mount itself is quickly surrounded and transformed into an islet.
A small travelling circus came to Rothéneuf one day and we visited it that same evening.' Whilst we did not understand all that the clown said, we much enjoyed the " tours de force." We should not have been entirely surprised if the whole marquee had collapsed, for it swayed quite dangerously at times.
As regards the camp itself, everything was very satisfactory. We had one disadvantage to contend with : the rate of exchange was so unfavourable to us that we found everything very expensive. We spent our time fishing, bathing, rock-climbing, cooking or talking to two French soldiers who were on duty in a dilapidated fort nearby.
After ten days of glorious weather the camp came to an end and we had to bid farewell to our French friends. Many were the amusing incidents which, during the camp, contributed to our enjoyment, and some of which must for ever remain unrecorded. We have happy memories of fishing parties in pyjamas-for we dared not expose our sun-burnt legs!
On one occasion the little fishes were unexpectedly disturbed by one of the officers giving a totally unheralded demonstration of a somersault dive in full dress. When he reappeared from the depths he still had his pipe in his mouth!
On another occasion we swam out to a small boat anchored in the bay ; this boat was the property of a fierce -looking old sailor whom we had christened " Sinbad." On seeing us approach the boat he emerged from his " cave " and ran down to the beach gesticulating wildly and pouring forth a torrent of unprintable French. Later, however, he enlisted our help, and the threatened police did not arrive.
They were happy days, and it is confidently hoped that camps abroad will become a definite feature of the Troop's programme.     J.P.R. D.S.M.

October 1937

Scout Camp

CAMPING abroad has many attractions ; there is the thrill of crossing the Channel perhaps for the first time, and the attempt to make oneself understood in a foreign language when there is no slot-machine available.  Our site was chosen for us by the Scoutmaster of an English Group in Antwerp and it proved to be ideal for our purpose.

After an uneventful night-journey from London (via Ostend and Brussels) we arrived at a station called GendronCelles ; but apart from the station and the Cafe de la Gare there appeared to be no sign of Gendron nor of Celles. Later we discovered that these places did exist, some distance away.

At the outset it looked as if the food problem might present difficulties ; but we found the genial proprietor of the Cafe de la Gare a real friend in need. Through him we arranged to get the bulk of our supplies from Dinant. We paid more than one visit to this charming town, saw its caves and its citadel, and came down the four hundred odd steps into the town, feeling glad that we had not taken that way up ! During another visit, one of our number spent the best part of half an hour chez le coiffeur ; and so delighted was he with the improvement in his appearance, that he went about the town.  Has he since found a local hairdresser to cut his hair in the same style, or did he accompany Mr. Higgins to Dinant later in the summer ?  We spent another pleasant day at the famous " Grottes de Han."

But let no one imagine that we did nothing but make excursions ! We put in a fair amount of hard labour in the camp itself and the cooking was of a very high standard.  With regard to the general routine, some would say that they were made to walk rather more than they wanted ; others, that there were too many streams to ford (admittedly the stones were a bit hard to bare feet 1). And who will forget the Château de Walzin ? Not Brindle! wonder if he still has in his possession the picture postcard which played such an important part in his adventures that evening ?

There is however one thing of which the officers are justly proud. They were able, on the last afternoon, to gratify completely the general wish of the camp to have a " Wide Game." It proved to be a little wider than anyone had anticipated and space will not allow us to describe the adventures we encountered while following clues of red and yellow wool tied on to small branches. We returned to camp without finding the " Hidden Treasure," but it is pleasing to record that after tea a party set out again, and this time succeeded in discovering it.

After all these excitements there was always the Cafe de la Gare where we used to adjourn and discuss these matters over foaming glasses of " Spontin " and watch the proprietor and his friends the woodcutters getting highly excited over their games of billiards.  We left Gendron-Celles, bringing with us very happy memories which not even our drenching at Brussels was able to obliterate. D.S.M.

June 1938

IN the last number of the ELTHAMIAN mention was made of the new Hut which was then being built in the Spinney.  The Hut has since been completed and 19th March was a red-letter day in the history of the Troop. The Hut was officially opened by the District Commissioner, Sir Richard Gethin, Bart., and the event was celebrated by a Tea in the Tuck Shop, followed by Games and a Camp Fire. The generosity of the donor is much appreciated ; we now have a home of our own in very delightful surroundings. 

Another item of interest is the news that we succeeded in winning the Local Association FootbaTrophy—actually on the afternoon of 19th March !  These and other activities have stimulated interest amongst the members of the Troop who are now keener than ever.  We are holding a Whitsun Camp at Knockholt and our Summer Camp is being held in Cornwall. 

It is pleasing to record that some of our " Old Scouts who left the Troop on leaving school, have not lost their interest in Scouting. One of them has recently joined a local Troop as Assistant Scoutmaster.         D.S.M. 

Here are 2 articles by Kenneth Smith about scouting before and during the 2nd World War. The pictures below are referred to in his text.

1939 Whitsun Camp near Westerham                                             Photos by Kenneth Smith

Garrick, Marrack 1, Mr Turberville, Mr Moss (standing)  George Gillanders (seated, foreground)

(from the right) JC Pike, RG Sneesby, Garrick, Marrack 2

1945 Scout Troop in Taunton - Seniors (from the three schools)

Back Row: 3^rd and 4^th from left, the Clarke twins. 2^nd from right, tall figure, JGH Taylor.

Second row from back: 3^rd from left, between the Clarke twins (A and J), D.Watkins, and on his left Tony Northfield. In the jumble of boys on the right, about third from right, in dark shirt and next to boy in white shirt with no scarf, RNJ Hobbs.

First row standing behind seated row. On right in suit, Morgan, who transferred from Eltham to Taunton. 5^th from right, Hugh R Thomas.

Seated: 4^th from right, K.M.Smith. The scoutmasters in the middle of this row are, from the left, A.A.Smith, Assistant Scoutmaster. E.L.King, Scoutmaster. Mr Tewfick, Egyptian, Assistant Scoutmaster.

1945 Scout Troop in Taunton - Juniors (from the three schools)

Back Row: Extreme left, GC Taffs, extreme right RBC "Dumbo" Williams

Second row from back: 4^th from left is G Davies, slightly behind 5^th who is Noel Shepherd in darkish shirt, 7th is Bill Sipple (shorter and nearly hidden).

Third row from back: Right in the middle, 6^th from the right, Stephen Smith.

Bottom standing row, 2^nd from right, fuzzy figure is Alan “Gumboil” Casebow

Seated: 2^nd from right, Arthur Wyatt. 3^rd from right, John Dart. 5^th from right, Keith Sandilands.

Seated on the ground: 6^th from right, in front of Tewfick, in light shirt with no scarf, is John Wylde.  3rd from left is Keith Lester, also in light-coloured shirt

1959 Scout Troop                                See 1959 page for some of the names

Other Scouting photos