Scout badges, other badges, pins

Hi Neil,

I sent you a PM but wanted to say thanks again.

Mitchell, Georgie & Gemma had a great time sorting through the badges & patches and have, after negotiation, decided who gets what. One of the Dandenong Jamboree badges will be presented to Akela as he is very interested in Scouting history.

The Scout related badges will go on their Camp Blankets (not too many kids have these but we stick with tradition here).

Over a few years I've picked up several Scout hats (Mountie type & Akubra type) along with belts from Op Shops. The last Mountie type hat had the plywood storer to keep the brim straight !
A few years ago I was asked to carve a small wolf's head to mount on a stick to be used by Akela at ceremonies (something from the past I believe).

Our eldest dropped out of Scouts, the next dropped out of Venturers but we still have a Venturer, Scout & Cub plus SWMBO is a Cub Leader. I'm a parent helper and have been asked several times to put on a uniform but we need one sane person in the household....
Mitchell went to America last year on the International Jamboree and I can see him going on to Rovers and then back as a leader.

Anyway, many thanks because the badges are greatly appreciated.

Colin

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Originally Posted by gromit

Hi Neil,

..................A few years ago I was asked to carve a small wolf's head to mount on a stick to be used by Akela at ceremonies (something from the past I believe).

Colin

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You're stirring up the memories here Colin. Back 'in the day' when I was a cub (early 1960's) our pack had a hardwood staff with a carved wooden wolfs head. There was a large steel ring just below the wolfs head to which coloured streamers of cotton tape were attached. Whenever a cub gained a merit badge they were required to embroider the details onto the tape and attach it to the ring.

I went through the whole thing, cubs, scouts, senior scouts (Queen Scout), rovers and was an assistant scout leader for a number of years. A very positive experience :)

Speaking of woggles, dug this one up in the archives

Attachment 157619

I was fortunate enough to attend the Jindalee Jamboree in Qld in the late '60's. Indelible memories of this Jamboree include surfing the bottom of the Brisbane river on a speed boat towed sled and 'Peg Legs Coffee Tavern', a 'den of eniquity' somewhere in Brisbane :)

Deano :)

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Originally Posted by DeanoH

You're stirring up the memories here Colin. Back 'in the day' when I was a cub (early 1960's) our pack had a hardwood staff with a carved wooden wolfs head. There was a large steel ring just below the wolfs head to which coloured streamers of cotton tape were attached. Whenever a cub gained a merit badge they were required to embroider the details onto the tape and attach it to the ring.

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That was what was explained to me when the wolf's head was requested
I think the staff I made was used a few times but getting the kids to embroider wasn't working so it's been in storage since.

The uniform has been updated in recent years as the khaki uniforms were felt to be 'old fashioned', even The Promise has been re-worded. On the plus side there seems to be more kids joining the movement but a lot of parents see it as a paid babysitting service and take no part in fundraising etc.

One time I was dropping off one of the boys on a Friday night to go to camp over the weekend, paid my $45 for the food etc. and offered another $45 if they could keep him for another couple of days, the Group Leader looked at me and said "do you think I haven't heard that one before......"
There are a number of funny stories I've heard over the years relating to problems with kids/parents.
One kid took 'designer clothes' to wear on a camp, the parents then wanted the Group to pay for replacements when they were damaged ! We learnt early on, for a big camp they have to take their uniform but all the other clothes come from the local Op Shop, that way you can throw them away when they come back stuffed in a bag after being left wet and muddy for several days.
One kid said he was Halal so the group had to specially cater for him, turned out he said it as a joke !
One of my boys put on one of the many forms you have to fill in nowadays that he was "allergic to vegetables".



Colin

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Originally Posted by DeanoH

You're stirring up the memories here Colin. Back 'in the day' when I was a cub (early 1960's) our pack had a hardwood staff with a carved wooden wolfs head. There was a large steel ring just below the wolfs head to which coloured streamers of cotton tape were attached. Whenever a cub gained a merit badge they were required to embroider the details onto the tape and attach it to the ring.

I went through the whole thing, cubs, scouts, senior scouts (Queen Scout), rovers and was an assistant scout leader for a number of years. A very positive experience :)

Speaking of woggles, dug this one up in the archives

Attachment 157619

I was fortunate enough to attend the Jindalee Jamboree in Qld in the late '60's. Indelible memories of this Jamboree include surfing the bottom of the Brisbane river on a speed boat towed sled and 'Peg Legs Coffee Tavern', a 'den of eniquity' somewhere in Brisbane :)

Deano :)

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My Scouting "career" was the same as yours including Queen Scout and Jindalee. I went on to Leader and Rover Leader and didn't give it away until I was about 35 or so.
My neice still has my badge shirt after doing duty with other neices and nephews. It's getting pretty threadbare and has bugger all empty space on it. Every badge on it was earned by the various holders of the shirt. It's waiting to be handed down to her son.
We had a hardwood wolfs head staff at 1st Footscray too.
And what do I remember most about Gillwell ? Cold and WET...[bigsmile1]

Hello again from Brisbane.

Having started the thread and then getting to relive a bit of nostalgia from the responses, let me run a link between my Cub/Scouting past and Land Rovers. Here it is.

Growing up on a farm in the Hunter Valley I was surrounded by Land Rovers from an early age - about four or five years old I believe. For quite some time all of those trucks were owned by farmers. Anything else was owned by the Army - Singleton being the nearest town.

When I was in the cubs one of the kid’s father was a builder and he had a 107” long wheel base with a canopy on the back. This was replaced eventually with a 107” wagon. Both were occasionally dragooned into transporting some of us and/or the kit to camp - Glenrock or Rathmines near Newcastle were two cases. This seemed odd because the guy wasn’t a farmer - hence why own a four wheel drive? It was put down to him being English and hence a bit queer.

My, haven’t times changed?

Cheers,

Neil

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It was put down to him being English and hence a bit queer.

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Land Rover, look at me, Wonkers existed even back then it seems.[biggrin]

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Originally Posted by 4bee

Land Rover, look at me, Wonkers existed even back then it seems.[biggrin]

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Out of the mouths.....

Cheers,

Neil