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About 2nd Goring and Streatley

The Scout Group Title

The 2nd. Goring & Streatley Scout Group.

The Scout Group Comprises

A Beavers Colony (6-8 years), Wolf Cubs Pack (8-11 years), Scouts (11-15 years), Senior Scouts (15 to 18 years) and Rover Scouts (18-24 plus years) and a friendly band of loyal and trustworthy adult volunteers as leaders. The Scout Group caters for boys and girls in all Sections.

Each of our Sections strive to provide an exciting programme designed to stretch and develop the young people.

Scout Group Location

Group Scout Master

All enquiries regarding the Scout Group to be directed to the Group Scout Master in the first instance :

David A. Cooksley Dip. Arch.(Hons)., RIBA., Group Scout Master,
e-mail

David founded the 2nd. Goring & Streatley Scout Group in August 1982 in the eightieth year of the founding of Scouting and after many years as a Wolf Cub, Boy Scout, Senior Scout and finally Scout Master within the ‘Boy Scouts Association’ later to become the ‘Scout Association’ 1st. Goring Scout Group.

David would welcome your call enquiry. e-mail.

Scout Group Treasurer

Mrs. Helen Braidley. e-mail

Payments to the Scout Group

All cheque payments to the Scout Group to be made payable to the ‘2nd.Goring & Streatley Scout Group’ and not to any individual.

Aims of the 2nd. Goring and Streatley Scout Group

Scout Group Activities Include: Camping, cycling, hiking, pioneering, backwoodsmanship, survival, abseiling, climbing, archery, art and crafts, a great variety of both indoor and outdoor games and many more activities covered by the progressive testing and badge systems. Activities are adjusted to suit the appropriate scout Group section and age group.

Scout Group Association Memberships:

Admitted as Associate Members of the ‘British Boy Scouts and British Girl Scouts Associate’ (‘BBS & BGS Scout Associate’) in September 1995. The ‘BBS & BGS Scouts Associate’ was founded on Empire Day, 24th. May, 1909 and has admitted both boys and girls since that date. The ‘BBS & BGS Scouts Associate’ is a Registered Educational Charity at Law No. 288631.

Admitted as Associate Members of the ‘Order of World Scouts’ (OWS) in September 1995 through membership of the Admitted as Associate Members of the ‘BBS & BGS Scout Associate’. ‘Order of World Scouts’ was founded on the 11th.November, 1911. A world wide order of Scouts covering many countries brought together to bring peace, understanding and good fellowship between young people throughout the world.

Admitted as Associate Members of the ‘Berkshire Association of Clubs for Young Persons’ in March 1994. ‘Berkshire Association of Clubs for Young Persons’ is a Registered Charity No. 1007822 and a Registered Company No. 4493501.

Admitted as Associate Members of the ‘National Association of Boys Clubs for Young Persons’ in March 1994. ‘National Association of Boys Clubs’ was established in 1925 and is incorporated by Royal Charter and a Registered Charity No. 306065.

Policies and Procedures:

Child Protection; Health & Safety; First Aid; Accident Investigation and Prevention, Training; Fire Regulations; Leader Vetting and Equal Opportunities policies and procedures are compliant with those of the ‘BBS & BGS Scout Association’ membership and the ‘Berkshire Association of Clubs for Young Persons’.

Insurance is through the ‘Berkshire Association of Clubs for Young Persons’ renewed annually as a condition of membership of that Association.

Registered Educational Charity status through membership of the ‘BBS & BGS Scout Association’ membership. Charity Commission No. 288631.

The Future

We are an ever-expanding group; we always have a need for adults (young and older) to get involved with either becoming scout masters or lay helpers within one of the Sections or becoming a member of the Scout Group Committee to assist with the administration of the Scout Group and its fund raising. Anyone over the age of 18 years can become a scout master, no previous Scouting knowledge is needed, just a good willing and helpful disposition towards young people because full training is provided by the Scout Group and also at area-organized training courses that are great fun. So if you want to preserve traditional Scouting values then please contact us.

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About British Boy Scouts (BBS) and British Girl Scouts (BGS)

The Roots of The British Boy and Girl Scouts Association

In the early 1900s there were several uniformed youth organisations and a big debate developed over the influence of militarism within these youth organizations. These fears were expressed for exampled by the approach and training of the ‘Boys Brigade’, as one example, who adopted military drill and dummy rifles. It is considered that Sir Robert Baden-Powell (B-P), the generally acclaimed founder of the Scout Movement, considered that such organisations would serve the Country better if they were less militaristic and more for the promotion of friendship and peace, respect for nature, oneself and others and God fearing; but being of a military background this was not appreciated by his piers and many supporters and whilst B-P advocated these things through his writings as fundamentals for Scouting, the early Scouting was seen as yet another militaristic idiom.

B-P did not envisage a large Scouting organisation when he first drew his ideas for worthwhile activities for young boys, however, so popular was his ideas for activities and training of young boys that between 1908 – 1914 there grew various Scouting organisations usually associated with and within established youth, Church and other organisations - examples being the ‘Boys Brigade’, ‘the Church Lad’s Brigade’ and others such as the ‘London Diocese’, the ‘Salvation Army’ and ‘Young Men’s Christian Association’ sponsored troops. So the existence of several Scout organisation was not new.

There was a move to unite the various Scout organisation by B-P’s followers into one organisation, under the banner of the ‘B-P Boy Scouts’ with their own Scout Headquarters. Although many of the different Scout organisations joined the ‘B-P Boy Scouts’ and B-P had appointed amongst others, Sir Francis Vane as his London Commissioner to consolidate the organisation; in 1909 there grew great discontent over the emerging organisation and the bureaucracy of the Scout Headquarters and the alleged influence and drive towards militarism and conscription that many considered this foreign to the spirit of the movement and they found themselves unable to remain in it. There was no direct argument with B-P who was still at this time a serving soldier. These discontented Scout Masters wishing to retain the original B-P spirit for Scouting, therefore on Empire Day 24th. May, 1909 launched the ‘British Boy Scouts Association’ (BBS) lead by some Christian minded people, also some from military backgrounds, but determined to make Scouting a peace movement rather than a military movement. However it was agreed by all that the B-P Training tests of 1909 would become the standard tests.

The BBS found great support from other organisations, business and influential people of the time, notably Cassell & Company the publishers and later the Cadbury family amongst others. Sir Francis Vane whilst still B-P’s London Commissioner offended the B-P organisation by his writings on peace Scouting and bring more democracy into the organisation and rejection of militarism, but this attracted the BBS Association towards joining B-P’s Boy Scouts. However Sir Francis Vane’s views brought him into conflict with the B-P Boy Scout Headquarters and his post a London Commissioner was abolished. A protest was called by over 200 London Scoutmasters at which B-P was present, so popular was Vane that he carried the vote by 198-2 in support of his popularity and views. B-P promised to rescind the letter abolishing Vane’s post, but latter this was retracted and Vane was sacked by B-P. This lead to a greater protest with 300 London Scout Masters attending but clearly it was not going to change the situation, so at this meeting Sir Francis Vane accepted the presidency of the British Boy Scouts.

Sir Francis Vane support grew the BBS so that in 1910 the BBS had 50,000 Scouts as members out of a total Scout number of 150,000 throughout the United Kingdom, possibly the largest Scout organisation at the time. The BBS continued to grow and prosper with Sir Francis Vane travels, starting peace Scouting in Italy, and leading to BBS spreading to Australia, Africa and Canada and later in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South America, USA, France and Egypt. Some of the other Scout organisations in the United Kingdom were drawn towards and gave support to the BBS but retained their titles, forming the ‘The National Peace Scouts’ that was practically synonymous with ‘The British Boy Scouts’. B-P’s organisation later organised a world tour for B-P to promote their organisation to spread this across the world also.

The BBS formed the ‘Order of World Scouts’ (OWS) on the 11th.November, 1911 due to the great expansion abroad and within the British Empire, the date chosen to echo the Crusader Knight who had successfully concluded the first crusade and established a Christian King of Jerusalem.

There was a call from girls to also belong to the Scout movement and so shortly after the formation of ‘The British Boy Scouts Association’ this was enlarged to admitted both boys and girls and became Known as ‘The British Boy Scouts and British Girl Scouts Association’ (BBS & BGS).

During the First World War many BBS & BGS Scout Masters were lost having a great impact on the Association, a recruitment campaign was launched amongst the Churches to start with, this ‘The B-P Boy Scout Association’ responded in 1921 by gaining sponsors for a Bill in the British Parliament ‘ The Boy Scouts (Protection of Name and Uniform) Bill’. It sought to outlaw such organisations as the ‘BBS & BGS’ from using the name ‘Boy Scouts’ and from wearing Scout uniform and badges. But with support in Parliament particular from committed Christian MP’s and others, this Bill and the following Bills introduced in 1922, 1923 and 1924 all failed. But in 1926 ‘The Chartered Association (Protection of Names and Uniform) Act was passed, but contained a clause that exempted ‘bona fide national organisations’ from ceasing to wear such uniforms, badges or titles, if they had been in regular use at the time of passing of the Act. Thus the BBS & BGS still enjoyed its freedom to use ‘Boy Scout’ as part of its title. To avoid further crippling and costly legal fees in defending its name, the BBS voluntarily changed it main title to
‘The Brotherhood of British Scouts’ to avoid further conflict with ‘The B-P Boy Scout Association’.

Since then ‘The B-P Boy Scout Association’ change their title to ‘The Scout Association’ in 1970 that they current maintain as their title, despite their expensive and hard fought legal actions to retain and preserve the ‘Boy Scout’ title for themselves; additionally they have changed the appearance of both their uniform and badges so that they are now un-recognizable from the uniform and badges forming part of their earlier legal actions that they considered so important at the time. The BBS & BGS still hold true to the uniform, B-P’s Scout training tests and badge tests and are clearly recognized as Scouts, or ‘real Scouts’ as some would refer to their membership.

The BBS & BGS continues as a Christian Scouting Association, holding to the convictions the BBS leaders held when it was first formed; avoiding bureaucracy, seeking to promote the cause of peace, of being a Christian organisation.

The Christian commitment of the BBS is now framed within the constitution "The Association is first and foremost a Christian organisation and seeks to serve the Christian Church as a means of advancement of the Christian Faith. This is achieved through local Churches sponsoring BBS & BGS Groups or Companies, in which leisure, education and Christian influence are combined in an attractive way. It can provide both an activity for Christian young people and be the means of introducing young people to the Christian Faith". Whilst not excluding other faiths who believe in peace to all, no matter to what country, class or creed they may belong.

More information can be found on the official BBS and BGS Association website

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