Both the Scout Troop and the Cub Pack were based in the Cage Lane Evangelical Free Church at the junction of Lakedale Road and Brewery Road in Plumstead. I think that all Scout and Cub groups were associated with a church. The weekly meetings were held in the main hall which was more than ample enough to allow for Scouting activities and for playing hand-ball.
The uniform was a dark green short sleeved shirt, grey short trousers and belt with a Scout motif clasp, grey knee length socks, held up by elastic with a green flash which hung below where the top of the sock was turned over, a green beret and a scarf and woggle. The scarves, which were emerald green with bright yellow edging, were made by Gran. They can be seen on one of the pictures on Mum's Cub page. The patrol was indicated by a flash on the left shoulder.
When the 21st Woolwich was formed, the Cub Leader (Akela) was Mrs McWilliams, while her husband was the Scoutmaster. They had two young children, Elizabeth and Christopher, who were unable to pronounce each others' names and were therefore known as Blitz and Tigger.
For most of the time I was in the Scouts, the Scoutmaster (Skipper or Skip) was Arnold Day. I cannot remember whether Mr McWilliams was still Scoutmaster when I moved up, or whether he had resigned by then. Arnold, like my brother and me, was an Old Olavian. Tony used to do Arnold's maths homework for him on the train. Arnold was a Civil Servant in the DHSS and I bumped into him a few times at work after I had left the Scouts.
The Assistant Scoutmaster (Bosun) was Mick Radley, who had previously been a Sea Scout. Mick was the son of one of the ladies in the Church Sisterhood. She and Mum were friends and were part of a small group of the Cage Lane Sisterhood, who used to go to other Sisterhood groups to sing and take meetings. Mike played the organ at the Cage Lane church services. He worked as a section head in Burroughs Wellcome in Dartford and I worked on his section for four and a half years from 1967 to 1972.
The troop was divided into patrols and I became the leader of Eagle Patrol. I cannot now remember how many patrols there were or any of their names. There was also a troop leader, whose name I think was Derek Hopper. He probably led a patrol as well.
Each meeting started with the unfurling of the Union Jack, when we would all salute and swear allegiance to Queen, Country and God, although not necessarily in that order and probably not very convincingly. The meetings would finish with the lowering of the flag and the swearing of allegiance to the local chippy.
Going to the Tony's Fish and Chip Shop in Plumstead High Street afterwards was probably the highlight of the evening. A piping hot "six o'chips" in newspaper on a freezing cold winter night - Mmmmm.
The flag rope was attached to the metal roof supports and was accessed by ladder. One evening, when I was standing around minding my own business, the ladder slipped and fell on my head. Fortunately, the ladder wasn't damaged.
The use of rope was an important part of Scouting. We were taught quite a large number of knots but I can only remember how to do two - reef knot (right over left, left over right) and the bowline (the rabbit comes out of the hole, round the tree and back down the hole). We were also taught how to whip a rope, ie to use twine to bind the end of the rope to stop it fraying.
Finding your way around using a map and compass also played an important part. I can remember one day, when we were taken out somewhere in Kent and were dropped off, probably in pairs, at different places. Each pair then had to find their own way to a designated spot using the map and compass.
For fun and exercise we would often play handball, a game like football, but guiding the ball with the hand - very enjoyable but a bit hard on the legs as you had to squat down a lot.
On some summer evenings we would go to Bowman's Hollow on Bleak Hill on the south east corner of Winn Common to play Tin Can Tommy. This was one of a number of outdoor activities called Wide Games For this game a tin containing a few stones would be placed on a bench and one player designated as the guardian. The guardian would have to stand with his eyes closed for a while while the others hid in the surrounding undergrowth. The others would then have to try and get to the tin, rattle it and shout Tin Can Tommy, before the guardian could get back to the tin. The guardian was not allowed to stay by the tin, but would prowl around looking for the others. If he saw some one and could identify him and where he was hiding then he would have to retire from the game. If someone successfully reached the tin, or everyone was spotted, a new game would start with a new guardian. Although a game, it was, of course, designed to improve powers of observation and the ability to move about undetected.
We were allowed to wear a sheath knife on our belts at all times when we were wearing our uniform. When camping we were allowed to carry a hand axe around; the head of the axe would be placed in a pouch with a loop which could be attached to the belt. These days Scouts are only allowed to carry a Swiss Army knife with a blade under three inches. If there is a need for a proper knife, and presumably an axe or Kalashnikov, then it has to be looked after by a responsible adult, and only handed out when necessary.
Ging gang goolie goolie goolie goolie watcha,
Ging gang goo, ging gang goo.
Ging gang goolie goolie goolie goolie watcha,
Ging gang goo, ging gang goo.
Hayla, oh hayla shayla, hayla shayla, shayla, oh-ho,
Hayla, oh hayla shayla, hayla shayla, shayla, oh.
Shally wally, shally wally, shally wally, shally wally,
Oompah, oompah, oompah, oompah.
We used to go camping twice a year, for a weekend at Easter and for a week in the summer. I spent about 50 nights under canvas during my time in the Scouts. One weekend we went to the Scouts Official Headquarters at Gilwell Park in Chingford, but usually we found ourselves in an ordinary field. The only place I can remember was near Battle in Sussex. I suspect that there was probably a list of sites where the farners or landowners were willing to have Scouts camping, because we always had to mark the site of the latrines when they were filled in. Mind you, there never seemed to be any evidence of other Scouts having used the sites.
We used to travel to and from the camp in a removal van with the back doors kept open. This was always enjoyable if rather uncomfortable.
I think that the tents were for two persons but Skip and Bosun probably had a tent each. There was also a separate large store tent.
Cooking was done using billy cans and frying pans over an open wood fire. We were allowed to use matches to light the fire, but the trick was to grade the wood by size, start the fire with some light tinder then gradually add larger and larger pieces.
Wood for the file was obtained by a wooding party, from a nearby wood. We could only pick up dead wood from the ground. We weren't allowed to hack off branches or fell trees. We would use hand axes to cut the larger pieces into a size suitable for the fire. We were allowed to use matches to light the fire, but the trick was to grade the wood by size, start the fire with some light tinder then gradually add larger and larger pieces.
* Although felling trees wasn't allowed for obtaining firewood, we were occasionally allowed to practice our tree felling skills on small trees, using the troop's felling axe. (Having first removed the tree hugger, of course.)
A game which we used to play involved two players standing facing each other a short distance apart on soft ground and with feet together. The first player would then throw a knife to the side of the other player. If the knife stuck in the ground, then the second player had to place his nearer foot against the knife. He would then pick up the knife and do the same thing to the first player. If the knife did not stick in the ground, the other player did not have to move his feet. After a throw or two, instead of trying to stretch the other player, a player could set his own feet back together by throwing a knife to stick in the ground between the other players legs. The game was over when one player could not stretch to the knife. What would Elf 'n' Safety have to say about that?
The latrines consisted of a square "dry" hole and a round "wet" hole, with a canvas surround for privacy. To prepare the holes, the turf would be removed with an entrenching tool and put aside to be replaced at the end of camp. The soil would be dug out and place by the sides of the holes. The entrenching tool was left in the latrine so that earth could be put in the "dry" hole after use. Nearby was the washing area.
During the camp we would sometimes go on a hike, but I cannot remember how far we would have walked. Sometimes the hike would be at night, when the person in front would have a white light and the person at the back would have a red light.
Most nights would end with a sing-song round the camp fire, when a blanket was usually required as it used to turn quite chilly, particularly on your back. The song quoted above, written by Baden-Powell, is probably the most well known Scouting campfire song. The only other one I can remember is the Quartermaster's Store with the chorus - "My eyes are dim I cannot see, I have not brought my specs with me."
At one camp there was a large pond nearby, so we set up a Bosun's chair across it. A long rope was tied to two trees on opposite sides of the pond, with one end higher than the other. On one side, a wooden stave was driven into the ground and another stave at right angles to the first was then twisted round and tied at each end to the rope, which had the effect of tightening the rope. The chair was attached to a pulley wheel, which was free to run down the rope. Another length of rope was tied to the seat so that it could be pulled back to the start after each run. We invited some Girl Guides from a nearby group to try it out. All had gone over successfully except for one rather timid girl, who took a lot of persuading before she would try it. Unfortunately for her, when she was over the middle of the pond, the upright stave broke, and she was lowered into the water. She wasn't in any danger, of course, but it was a while before we stopped laughing and waded into the pond to get her out.
There was one occasion when I had to move the tent in the middle of the night, because it rained heavily and a stream of water started to run through it.
The Cubs and Scouts, of course, were a Christian based organisation and this was demonstrated by our monthly attendance at the Cage Lane morning service and at the yearly district service at the Woolwich Tabernacle, which stood on the north west corner of Beresford Square in Woolwich. The Tabernacle, which I think was a Methodist Church, is long gone but Beresford Square is still there and is the site of a daily outdoor market. On the south west corner stood a cinema where Buddy Holly once played.
For the monthly parade, both the Cubs and Scouts would assemble outside Cage Lane, from where we would march round Plumstead before entering for the service. Both groups would be led by the flag carrier and escort. On arrival at the service the flag carrier and escort would process down the main aisle and the flag would be presented to the Pastor, who would place it in a prominent place in the church. At the end the flag was collected again by the carrier and escort and paraded out.
For the yearly parade, all of the groups would assemble at the top of Wellington Street in Woolwich and march down Wellington Street to the Tabernacle. The salute was taken by the District Scout Leader, Mr Beaman, the District Cub Leader, Miss Hester and the Mayor of Woolwich.
Bob-a-Job week was held once a year and was designed to encourage Cubs and Scouts to help out in the Community and to raise funds for the Troop. Each Cub or Scout was allocated an area and given a card for the jobs to be recorded. The job giver would have to sign the card and write down what the job was and how much was given. I heard tales of some people taking advantage of this and getting the Cub or Scout to do a lot of work for little reward.
The requirements for the First Class Badge are set out here The 1956 requirements, which were probably in force when I was in the Scouts, are at the bottom of the page. Reading through these, there was far more to it than I remember, and, indeed, I cannot remember doing morse or semaphore at all. Some of the requirements I have mentioned above, but here are a couple more thoughts -
The Hike - I did the hike with my friend and fellow Scout, Bob Grimwood. We started from Horton Kirby in Kent, and according to the requirements we had to walk at least 14 miles, but I cannot remember where we finished. At the end of the first day we had no trouble finding a field to spend the night in, but when we unrolled the tent we found that there were no tent poles. We should have course checked before we set out, but perhaps they were removed by someone intentionally. Still we suspended the top of the tent from a tree and pegged it out with the guy ropes as usual. It was probably just as well that there was no thunder storm overnight. It was, however a very wet night, and getting a fire going and keeping it going long enough to cook breakfast was difficult, so we had the meal in stages. Before writing up our logs, Skip suggested that we should say that we enjoyed a three course breakfast.
The logs were passed to the District Scout Leader to read, and Skip said later that he was much amused by the fact that we made frequent use of Pubs to describe the route - "We turned right at the King's Arms and then proceeded along the lane past the Lamb and Flag until reaching the ...", etc
The 50 Yard Swim - Now, this was tricky as I have always hated being in water and tend to panic if my feet aren't touching the bottom. Still, with Skip and Bosun walking along the side of the pool shouting encouragement, I did just about manage it, using a very ungainly breast stroke. The crawl? Put my face in the water? You must be joking!
In the end, I did get the badge.