THE PROBLEM
IN 1907 B-P took 21 boys to Brownsea Island as part of an 'experiment' that was destined to change his and millions of other lives. Though the long-term aim was to 'grow men', the concentration was, literally, on Scouting for Boys and, naturally enough at that time, little thought was given to the next stage in their Scouting development. And the only certain thing we know about boys is that they are destined to grow up.
The cruel reality for many was that the next and final part of their lives was to be spent in the killing fields of Flanders - almost one third of the Brownsea lads, for example, were lost. For those who were just too young to fight, the great game of Scouting must have seemed just that, a game for 'kids' when their older brothers were fighting for King and Country. Very few Scouts remained with their troops past the age of 15. There was a clamour from the few remaining Scoutmasters not at the front to stop this 'leakage' away from the Movement, just at the time older boys were most needed.
The cruel reality for many was that the next and final part of their lives was to be spent in the killing fields of Flanders - almost one third of the Brownsea lads, for example, were lost. For those who were just too young to fight, the great game of Scouting must have seemed just that, a game for 'kids' when their older brothers were fighting for King and Country. Very few Scouts remained with their troops past the age of 15. There was a clamour from the few remaining Scoutmasters not at the front to stop this 'leakage' away from the Movement, just at the time older boys were most needed.
1 comments:
And if it did make it on Crackberry I could only imagine how all the BB fan boys would cry foul.
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