Figure 1.--.

Cubs of course still did wear long grey socks with turnover tops as they needed them for the garters with tabs that they wore. These cub garters,to my mind,are part of the uniform and not just for practical purposes of holding up the socks which our plain garters were since they didn't show once we put then on and turned the tops over them to cover them up. My brother only had one pair of cub garters at a time as my Mum said that they were too expensive to buy. She said that she could have made a dozen pairs for the same cost and said that she would but my brother persauded her to buy the proper ones from the scout shop. She marked them in indelible ink and told him that if he lost them he wasn't getting new ones.

Scout Uniforms

The British Scout Association changed the Boy Scout uniform (1969). The new Scout uniform included long trousers, making kneesocks unnecessary. The Cub uniform was, however, left unchanged. Cubs continued wearing grey short trousers. Cubs ontinued wearing long grey socks with turnover tops as they needed them for the garters with green tabs that they wore. These cub garters, to my mind,are part of the uniform and not just for practical purposes of holding up the socks which our plain garters were since they didn't show once we put then on and turned the tops over them to cover them up.

My Brother's Long Socks

My brther wore our primary school kneesocls for Cubs. We went to a Church of England primary which required grey short trousers and long socks. So he could use both items for Cubs as well.

Garters

My brother only had one pair of cub garters at a time as my Mum said that they were too expensive to buy. She said that she could have made a dozen pairs for the same cost and said that she would but my brother persauded her to buy the proper ones from the scout shop. She marked them in indelible ink and told him that if he lost them he wasn't getting new ones. Eventually the elastic gave way as he grew and he had to wait until Mum was ready to buy him new ones. He was pretty upset because he was a sixer by then and he was the one who was supposed to inspect his "six" to make sure that their uniforms were correct. The garters weren't that expensive I don't think but Mum was making a point. She wasn't over fussy about us caring for our clothes but wanted us to appreciate that they needed caring for. If we pulled on or off our garters carelessly and caused the elastic to stretch she made us do it again properly. It was only a little point but every penny counted for her. God help us if she caught us pulling off our shoes without untying the laces first though! Her homemade garters were ten a penny but our shoes were expensive items and needed care. In the end Mum bought him new cub garters as she wanted him to look smart for church parade which she thought important.

Cub Uniforms and Fashions (1980s)

Cubs socks changed as time progressed. I have an image from the early 1980s of a cub pack getting ready to go off on parade. It illustrates quite a range of fashion trends. The Cubs here are still wearing the traditional paked caps. These went out of style in the 1990s. All the Cubs wear short trousers. Clearly the pack leaders insisted on this. Only one boy wears non uniform shorts. Of particular interest, I think, is the boy in the middle who is not wearing grey shorts. I would suspect that he has been allowed long trousers for school so does not possess the proper shorts. The Cub uniform was still worn with long socks in the 1980s. This mean turn-over-top socks. Some boys here have the proper socks with turnover tops and the garters and some don't. Some boys have the inexpensive pull up kneesocks without the turnover tops. Some boys started wearing these to school as well. Even the boys wearing the turnover top socks do not have coloured hoops on the tops like we had. Although I suspect cub socks were meant to be plain grey anyway. Cubs earlier had long socks with colored loops, but by the 1970s, plin grey socks had become more common. One thing about the 80s (and maybe starting in the 70s) was that fashionable clothes like flares were being manufactured for younger and younger boys.

Bill