Figure 1.--Here we see a back garden image of four English children in the their couting uniformd. We see a Girl Guide and a Brownie, the junior division of the Guides. We also ee a Boy cout and a Cub, the junior division of the Scouts the snapshot is undated, but looks like the 1950s.

Scoting was founded by Lord Robert Baden-Powell. He was a fampous commander during the Boer War siege of Mafeking. During the eige, boys made themselves useful by carrying messages and even supplies for the soldies. He also was aware that many of the recruits were not in good physical condition. He began thinking of a Scouting program for boys. He was not thinking of the girls. When he returned home to England, he decided to put his ideas about Scouting to the test. Baden-Powell found 21 boys and set up a camp on Brownsea Island, near Poole in Dorset in southeastern England. His experiment was a success. And based on his ideas and Broundsea Island experiment, he wrote Scouting for Boys. The book covered scoting and camping topic like camping, cooking, signalling, and tracking mixed with instruction in 'good citizenship'. [Miils, 2013] As a result, British boys all over Britain began organise themselves into Patrols and Troops and calling themselves 'Boy Scouts'. Youth organization were not new. The Boys' Brigade had been operating for two decades. Actually Baden-Powell had been working with the Boys' Brigade. The Scouts had, however, broader appeal because it was not just focused on religion. Bden-Powell had important decision to make. Baden-Powell did not just encounter the problem of unauthorized patrols of younger boys, he also had to contend with the girls--some of whom were also keen on the idea of Scouting. Girls saw their brothers joining up and did not one to be outdone. Times were changing in Britain with sufergettes making headlines. They bought Poell's book as well and began formed Patrols of Girl Scouts. There were also mixed groups of boys and girls. [Mills, 2011] All of this was something that Powell had never thought about. Beyond nursery school, most British schools were single gender schools. At the time strenuous in activities and sports for girls were not common. Ths was beginning to change a little with girls seconadary schools appearing that adopted the methis of boys' schools which had a strong games (sports) ethos. Scoting organizers were beginning to wrestle with the issue. One couter wrote, "If a girl is not allowed to run, or even hurry, to swim, ride a bike, or raise her arms above her head, how can she become a Scout?" [Scout Headquarters Gazette] Scout Headquarter began registering the girls. The first major Boy Scout rally was held at the Crystal Palace in London (1909). Several thousands Boy Scouts showed up along with several hundred Girl Scouts, along with a group from Peckham Rye without tickets. They asked Baden-Powell to let them join in on the event and he agreed. Apparently the press and the British public was not that aware that girls were participating in Boy Scouting. There was negative press comments. [The Spectator] Initially he favored allowing girls to become Scouts (in separate troops), but had to change his mind due to the pressures of Edwardian society. It was not considered right that young ladies should be out-and-about, camping, hiking, etc., (remember this was about the same time as the Sufferagette movement). Baden-Powell decided that a separate single-gender organisation would be needed for the girls. He turned to his sister, Agnes Baden-Powell. His wife, Olav, also joined in. The result was a brand new organization--the Girl Guides. The Guides were officially formed only a year later. The first Guide Company to be registered was 1st Pinkneys Green Guides--Miss Baden-Powell's Own). They still are active in Pinkneys Green, Maidenhead, Berkshire. This was the beginning of the Girl Guide and Scout movement around the world. To differentiate the girls from he boys, Baden-Powell selected a new name for the gurls based on his service in India. This was a regiment in the British Indian Army--the Corps of Guides. They served on the Indian Northwest Frontier and was renowned for its skills in tracking and survival. Some countries such as the United States preferred the Scout name. The cout and H\Guide movement was eparate, but operated closely together. The American approach was must different. The Bou anf Girls couts operated completely separate. A major controversy emerged 80 years later (1990s). English Scout Groups have been given the option of whether to allow girls in Scouting in all sections. The only proviso was that if you allowed girls into a Group that was it, there was no turning back, and they had to have the option of staying in Scouting. So, if a Cub Pack went mixed, then the Troop and Unit it fed into had to be mixed, but not necessarily the Beaver Colony that fed it. Some 5-10 percent of English Scout Groups in the Country were mixed (2000).

Boy Scouts

Scoting was founded by Lord Robert Baden-Powell. He was a fampous commander during the Boer War siege of Mafeking. During the seige, English boys made themselves useful by carrying messages and even supplies for the soldies. Arikaaner boys also played a role with the Boers. He also was aware that many of the recruits were not in good physical condition. He began thinking of a Scouting program for boys. He was not thinking of the girls. When he returned home to England, he decided to put his ideas about Scouting to the test. Baden-Powell found 21 boys and set up a camp on Brownsea Island, near Poole in Dorset in southeastern England. His experiment was a success. And based on his ideas and Broundsea Island experiment, he wrote the ground breaking book, Scouting for Boys. The book covered scouting and camping topic , a range of outdoor activities like camping, tracking, signalling, and cooking mixed with instruction in 'good citizenship'. [Mills, 2013] As a result, British boys all over Britain began organise themselves into Patrols and Troops and calling themselves 'Boy Scouts'. Youth organization were not new. The Boys' Brigade had been operating for two decades. Actually Baden-Powell had been working with the Boys' Brigade. The Brigade was thinking about a Scouting activity as part of the program. The Scouts had, however, broader appeal because it was not just focused on religion. Baden-Powell had important decision to make. The Brigade did not have the outdoor adventure appeal that Scouting had. Baden-Powell work in England was the beginning of a huge world-wide movements.

Girl Guides

Baden-Powell did not just encounter the problem of unauthorized patrols of younger boys, he also had to contend with the girls--some of whom were also keen on the idea of Scouting. This issue had not yet come up with the Boys' Brigade. The times they were a changing. Girls saw their brothers joining up and did not one to be outdone. Times were changing in Britain with sufergettes making headlines. They bought Poell's book as well and began formed Patrols of Girl Scouts. There were also mixed groups of boys and girls. [Mills, 2011] All of this was something that Powell had never thought about. Beyond nursery school, most British schools were single gender schools. At the time strenuous ine activities and sports for girls were not common. Ths was beginning to change a little with girls seconadary schools appearing that adopted the methis of boys' schools which had a strong games (sports) ethos. Scoting organizers were beginning to wrestle with the issue. One couter wrote, "If a girl is not allowed to run, or even hurry, to swim, ride a bike, or raise her arms above her head, how can she become a Scout?" [Scout Headquarters Gazette] Scout Headquarter began registering the girls. The first major Boy Scout rally was held at the Crystal Palace in London (1909). Several thousands Boy Scouts showed up along with several hundred Girl Scouts, along with a group from Peckham Rye without tickets. They asked Baden-Powell to let them join in on the event and he agreed. Apparently the press and the British public was not that aware that girls were participating in Boy Scouting. There was negative press comments. [The Spectator] Initially he favored allowing girls to become Scouts (in separate troops), but had to change his mind due to the pressures of Edwardian society. It was not considered right that young ladies should be out-and-about, camping, hiking, etc., (remember this was about the same time as the Sufferagette movement). Baden-Powell decided that a separate single-gender organisation would be needed for the girls. He turned to his sister, Agnes Baden-Powell. His wife, Olav, also joined in. The result was a brand new organization--the Girl Guides. The Guides were officially formed only a year later. The first Guide Company to be registered was 1st Pinkneys Green Guides--Miss Baden-Powell's Own). They still are active in Pinkneys Green, Maidenhead, Berkshire. This was the beginning of the Girl Guide and Scout movement around the world. To differentiate the girls from he boys, Baden-Powell selected a new name for the gurls based on his service in India. This was a regiment in the British Indian Army--the Corps of Guides. They served on the Indian Northwest Frontier and was renowned for its skills in tracking and survival. Some countries such as the United States preferred the Scout name. The cout and H\Guide movement was eparate, but operated closely together. The American approach was must different. The Boy and Girl Scouts in America operated completely separate.

Mixing

A major controversy emerged 80 years later (1990s). English Scout Groups have been given the option of whether to allow girls in Scouting in all sections. The only proviso was that if you allowed girls into a Group that was it, there was no turning back, and they had to have the option of staying in Scouting. So, if a Cub Pack went mixed, then the Troop and Unit it fed into had to be mixed, but not necessarily the Beaver Colony that fed it. Some 5-10 percent of English Scout Groups in the Country were mixed (2000).

Sources

Mills, Sarah. "Scouting for Girls? Gender and the Scout Movement in Britain," Gender, Place & Culture Vol. 18, No. 4 (2011), pp. 537–56.

Mills, Sarah. "'An instruction in good citizenship': Scouting and the historical geographies of citizenship education," Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers Vol. 38, No. 1 (2011), pp. 120–34.

Scout Headquarters Gazette (1909).

The Spectator (1909).