Add your comments
News RSS feedNews
17 Mar 08Be Prepared for Scouts Exhibition
A rare hand-written manuscript penned by the founder of the Scout movement 
is going on public display for the first time as part of a major new exhibition at Poole Museum.
“Scouting for Boys… and Girls” will chart the growth of scouting, from its humble origins on Brownsea Island to its modern-day status as a worldwide movement today.
The exhibition, which opens at Poole Museum on March 21, will feature a number of iconic and rare treasures from the early history of scouting, many of which have never gone on public display. Among the main attractions is the original manuscript of Robert Baden-Powell’s Scouting for Boys. First published in 1908, Baden-Powell’s handbook went on to become the fourth best-selling book of the 20th century.
The historic manuscript is one of a collection of important items from the early history of scouting, generously loaned to Poole Museum from the Scout Association’s archives at Gilwell Park, London. Among the other exhibits on display will be Baden-Powell’s own iconic scout hat, medals from his military career and the Union flag flown both at Mafeking and the original Brownsea Island camp. Other loans have been made from the Poole Scout Museum Collection.
Michael Spender, Manager of Poole Museum, said: “The international importance of the collection from Gilwell Park makes this the most significant exhibition to be associated with the centenary of scouting.
“Baden-Powell’s Scouting for Boys was first published in 1908, one year after he had held an experimental scout camp on Brownsea Island, in Poole Harbour. As a result of his successful holding of the town of Mafeking during the Boer War, Baden-Powell was a national hero. He used his experiences of military scouting in his campaigns as the basis for Scouting for Boys. The publication of the book created extraordinarily widespread enthusiasm among boys and girls, and within weeks scout groups were spontaneously being formed all around the UK. From its origins in the battlefields of South Africa and the Brownsea Island camp, scouting became a worldwide phenomenon, with over 38 million scouts and guides.”
Cllr Peter Adams, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Culture and Leisure, Borough of Poole, said: “We are delighted that Poole Museum is holding such a significant exhibition. It is highly appropriate given that the scouting movement is so closely linked to Poole and its origins on Brownsea Island.”
“Scouting for Boys… and Girls” will be on display at Poole Museum from March 21 to November 2. Admission is free and the museum is open from Monday to Saturday between 10am and 5pm, and Sunday from 12pm to 5pm.
Directgov