The first Scout uniform adopted by the new British Scout association appeared in 1906. The uniform adopted for the Cubs, especially the cap also became a standard. The English Scout association has made several major changes in the uniform, but the influece of that uniform can still be seen in the Scout uniforms of today. Perhaps the most significant was the new uniform adopted in 1969 including long pants for the Scouts. The basic organization of Scouting was set in England with the creation of the Scouts in 1906 and the addition of cubbing in 1916. The organizatand has remained unchanged except for the creation of Beaver Scouts in 19??. Most countries initially adopted the British system, although some countries changed the names. The English Scouts from the beginning have give more attention to the uniform than Scouts in many other countries. The English Scouts continue to require a uniform while Scouts in many other countries, especially in Europe, have virtually given up on uniforms.

History

Baden Powell gave considerable thought to the uniforms for the new Scout movement. I'm sure he must have written in detail about why he selected the uniform and specific garments. I have not yet come across such writing, but it would certainly make a valuable addition to HBU. B-P was aiming to make the uniform look UN-MILITARY. It was youth organisations which one might have expected to be of pacific intent, such as the Boys' Brigade and Church Lads' Brigade, which adopted military trappings. The religious groups also drilled with rifles (real or wooden) in the early days, which the Scouts would never have done. One HBU contributor reports seeming to recall that B-P's experiences in South Africa during the Boer War had some influence on the uniforms. HBU needs to examine Tim Jeal's definitive biography of B-P and Michael Rosenthal's The Character Factory for more information.

Chronologies

The first Scout uniform adopted by the new British Scout association appeared in 1906. The uniform adopted for the Cubs later in 1916, especially the schoolboy-type peaked cap, also became a standard. The English Scout association has made severalmajor changes in the uniform. Perhaps the most significant was the new uniform adopted in 1969 including long pants for the Scouts. There have, however, been many other changes made over time in British Scout uniforms, some major, others only minor.

Garments

Lord Baden Powell selected a uniform of Smokey Bear wide-brimmed hats, khaki shirts and short pants, with kneesocks. This uniform has a rather military look to us today, but that was not Baden Powell's intentioms. He was in fact trying to move away from the "spit-and-polish" uniforms of some other youth groups like the Boys' Brigade. The Scout uniform garments selected by Baden Powell proved tremendously influential and were adopted by Scout groups forming in different countries around the world. Gradually other countries introduced national garments into their uniforms, but the original garments selected by Baden Powell were and continue to be highly influential. The garments have gone through many changes, especially in 1969 when long pants were introduced.

Levels

The basic organization of Scouting was set in England with the creation of the Scouts in 1906 andf the addition of cubbing in 1916. The organizatand has remained uncvhanged except for the cretion of Beaver Scouts in 19??. Most countries initially adopted the British system, although some countries changed the names.

Wolf cubs

The Wolf Cubs began operating in 1916. The uniform designated for Cubs in 1916 was worn by English boys for decades virtually unchanged. It was subsequently adopted by Cubs all over the world although it was gradually modified and changed. In England, however, it continued virtually unchanged.

The traditional English Cub uniform consisted of the following garments:
Cap: A green peaked cap with yellow piping was chosen for the Cubs. The style was similar to the school caps commonly wore by English schoolboys. The caps , always green , were flatter then, with narrow yellow cordage.
Jersey: Early Cubs wore a navy blue jersey (sweater) made of heavy wool. Merit badges and unit badges were sewn on the jersies. Grey jerseys were also worn, but green became more popular over the years. I'm not sure why green emerged as the Cub color. Perhaps because it shows the dirt less. It also matched the cap. Perhap it was more in keeping with the green of the jungle and of course Cubbing was belt around Kipling's jungle lore.
Belt: Belts were initially worn outside the jersey. I'm not sure what the idea behind this curious fashion was. Schools and scoutgroups in France and German also adopted this style. Later French Scouts adopted a related style where they tucked in their sweaters so the belt was visible.
Neckerchief: The jersies were worn with colorful kerchiefs. Individual units selected neckerchiefs to identify themselved. Some Packs tied their scarves with a knot.
Short pants: Early Cubs wore knee-length grey shorts, which in England were called short trousers or knickers.
Kneesocks: The Cubs wire grey wool kneesocks wuth the shorts and garters wuth tabs (to keep the socks up).
Shoes: Rigid leather footwear, often boots or shoe-like boots, completed the first uniform .

The Cub uniform continued unchanged for decades. The only major change was that in the 1970s, English boys started wearing shorter cut shorts.

It is in the 1990s more and more unusual to see English Cub Scouts wearing their traditional full uniform of grey shorts, long grey socks and green garter tabs with their green pullover and colored scarf.

Cub caps were abandoned a few years ago, and although the full uniform is still sold by Scout shops, shorts, socks and garter tabs are no longer manditory uniform requirements. The exact uniform choice is left up to individual Cub packs and perhaps 1 in 10 packs still wear the traditional uniform. There were few changes in the Cub until the early 80s when the green wool jerseys was replaced with a green sweatshirt the cap was no longer required. The Cubs were also allowed to wear jogging bottoms.

Scouts

[details on the early uniform needed]

Figure 1.--The English Scout Association made many changes to the Scout prgram in an effort to better appeal to boys. One of the changes was a new long pants uniform.

English Scouts made some major changes in their uniform in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. Scouts in the 1940s wore blue shorts and blue kneesocks. During the 1950s a change to an all khaki uniform was made. The English Scouts unlike America did not have a summer and winter uniform. The uniform called for short pants and keesocks throughout the year.

The Scout Association's Chief Scouts at that time, Lord Maclean, in 1969 set up an Advance Party to determine how to modernize Scouting and better appeal to boys. The outcome was to change English Scouting for ever. The Association got rid of the names Wolf cubs and Boy Scouts for Cubs and Scouts. He put all the Scouts in to long pants by changing the uniform that was set out by Baden-Powell to a new uniform of green long sleeved shirts and mushroomed coloured long pants. Some English Scouters, at this time, broke away from the main-linw Scout Association and formed the Baden-Powell Scouts Association.

Since 1969, the English Scout uniform as stayed roughly the same. They were allowed to get rid of their berets, green shirts and mushroomed pants for green sweatshirts and school pants.

Other Associations

Scouting in Britain has been diminated by NBaden Powell's Scout Association. There have, however, been several competing associations. The British Boy Scouts in the early years of the movement was an especially serious competitor.

British Boy Scouts

HBU at this time does not have details as to the uniform worn by the British Boy Scouts--an early rival to Basen Powell's Scout Association. The British Boy Scouts in the early years of the movement was an especially serious competitor. The BBS foundered on the attempt to purchase uniforms. There is some indication, however, that the BBS had a profound impact on Baden Powell's Scout Association.

Figure 2.--Traditional Scouters left the mainline Scout Association in the 1970s to form the Baden Powell Scouts. These Cubs belong to a Baden Powell pack.

Baden Powell Scouts

Some British Scouters disagreed with the decission by the main British Scout Association in 1969 to adopt a long pants uniform. These more traditiinal Scouters also object to a variety of other "modernizing" changes made to make Scouting more appealing to British boys. These traditinal Scouters felt that the reforms were poorly conceived and in moving Scouting away from the original traditions conceived by Baden Powell, boys would miss much of the value of the Scout experiece. As a result, a new Scout Association was formed--the Baden Powell Scouts. This Association adopted a more traditional program with a uniform based more on the traditonal uniform designed by Baden Powell.

FSI Scouts

Colors

There was comsiderable variation as to the uniform colors worn by British Scouts. Although the most well known image of the British Boy Scout is a khaki shirt and shorts, up until 1968, troops could choose to wear khaki, grey, blue or green shirts, and a similar range of shorts. Thus identifying the countries in some images can be complicated. Of course the uniform colors were not always apparent in old photographs because most were black and white images.

Attention to Uniform

The English Scouts from the beginning have give more attention to the uniform than Scouts in many other countries. The English Scouts continue to require a uniform while Scouts in many other countries, especially in Europe, have virtually given up on uniforms. We note that uniform inspections were an important part of English Scouting. Some Scout masters wre sticklers for a spit and polish turn out, but this varied quite a bit. This was less true in other national Scout programs. Certainly it was less true in Ameirican Scouting. Uniform standards are less rigorous in English Scouting today, but few European Scouts groups have such high uniform regulations as the English. A reflection of this attitude towatd the uniform can be seen at Scout band competitions.