A MILLION SCOUTS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 58, 3 April 1946, Page 6

A MILLION SCOUTS

BRITISH 5-YEAR PLAN

NO SHORTAGE OF BOYS The future of the Boy Scout movement had been under review for some time before the war came to an end. It was in 1941 that Lord Somers, who succeeded Lord Baden Powell as Chief Scout, appointed a Commission to make recommendations as to the post-war development of the Scout movement in all its aspects. In an interview with Lord Rowallan, the present Chief Scout, he discussed some of the chief points aimed at.

“Our target,” said Lord Rowallan, “is the figure of one million by the end of the next five years. As the first Chief Scout always used to say, ‘There’s no difficulty in getting the boys, but there is a difficulty in getting the requisite number of young men for Scouters,’ or Scoutmasters, as they used to be called.” Training Necessary

From the thousands of young men now being released from the forces he hopes to secure the numbers necessary to train the young Scouts. It is essential, he said, that young men of character should be obtained before any great inflow of boys begins. And they should be in sympathy with the ideals and aims of the movement if they are to be successful. The safety, welfare and progress of the Scouts must be the first, and indeed, the only consideration. The committee which has been at work to bring the Scouting movement up to date stresses eight points which deserve the attention of all Scouters. The first of these calls for more attention to the importance of making duty to God the inspiration of their work. The last says, “We should always bear in mind our founder’s description of Scouting as a game, and our organisation and rules should be subordinated to this.” Full of Hope

Lord Rowallan is full of hope for Scouting in Continental countries with the return of peace. He admits difficulties in Poland at present but tells of the great work they did in the underground movement during the war. The recrudescence after six years of suppression is only delayed. In Germany the Hitler Youth which mopped up all the Scouts is suffering from disillusionment and defeat. The Duce-Fuehrer-Prinzip is of no further use. But, says the Chief Scout, the German leaders of youth have got to realise the value of Scouting for themselves and bring it into use.

Holland, Belgium, France, Greece, Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia are all getting busy. Even in the big “displaced persons” camps, too. In Italy it lived all through Mussolini’s rule and boys may now be seen wearing their fathers’ old Scout kits which had been carefully hidden away.