Jon Copner - Northern Europe
Steve Sutton - BSO Transformation Lead
Congratulations to our Good Service Award Recipients
The Scout Association in the United Kingdom offers a series of Good Service Awards to recognise adult volunteers who have demonstrated exceptional dedication and service. These awards are progressive, each with specific criteria:
- Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service: Awarded for a minimum of five years of noteworthy service.
- Award for Merit: Granted for outstanding service over at least 12 years (exceptionally after 10 years), reflecting keen, conscientious, imaginative, and dedicated contributions.
- Bar to the Award for Merit: Presented after an additional five years of outstanding service following the initial Award for Merit.
- Silver Acorn: Bestowed for specially distinguished service, typically after 20 years of exceptional commitment.
- Bar to the Silver Acorn: Given after at least five more years of similarly distinguished service beyond receiving the Silver Acorn.
- Silver Wolf: The highest award, it is the unrestricted gift of the Chief Scout, awarded for service of the most exceptional nature, usually after a recipient has been awarded the Silver Acorn.
I am delighted to congratulate the following recipients of good service awards from British Scouting Overseas who received their awards between 1 January 2025 and 31 December 2025.
Graham Eden
Lead Volunteer
British Scouting Overseas
Silver Acorn
Bar to the Award for Merit
Gillian Barratt - Southern Europe
John Hunter - Southern Europe
Award for Merit
Matt Lightfoot - BSO Trustee
Becca Felgate - Northern Europe
Bernie Steadman - Lone Scouts
Alfonso Sanchez - Southrern Europe
Rachel O'Rourke - Southern Europe
Becca Taylor - Rest of the World
Shelly Burrows - Middle East
Irina Kirshnan - Northern Europe
Jos Wittevrongel - Northern Europe
Chief Scout's Commendation for Good Service
Neil Brown - Rest of the World
Caroline Drumm - Rest of the World
Nicole Sparkes - Rest of the World
Nicholas Slone - Rest of the World
Emma Barker - Rest of the World
Jennifer Clarke - Rest of the World
Katrin Talwar - Rest of the World
Martin Haines - Southern Europe
Victoria Haines - Southern Europe
Thomas Danson - Southern Europe
Hugo Hart - Southern Europe
Lucia Carrio Argos - Southern Europe
Alan Kendall - Southern Europe
Tim Payne - Southern Europe
Melissa Pearce - Southern Europe
Alba Fernandez Rueda - Southern Europe
Ursula Theobald - Southern Europe
Maria Fernandez Marcos - Southern Europe
David Maynard - Southern Europe
Paul Stropford - Southern Europe
Claire Maynard - Southern Europe
Linda Wickenden - Southern Europe
Neil Thomson - Southern Europe
Paul Mcaree - Southerrn Europe
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Join us at 4:15pm on Saturday 5th September for our Annual General Meeting on Teams (link previously sent out) or in person at Gilwell Park You can read our Annual Report for the year here
Originally posted at scouts.org.uk British Scouting Overseas share their experience seeing a total eclipse of the sun For lots of young people, 12 August 2026 was a special chance to watch the moon move between the Sun and Earth, blocking most or all of the Sun’s light. Here in Britain, we popped on our special safety glasses to see a partial eclipse just after 7pm last night. Other countries – such as Spain and Portugal – were treated to a total eclipse, where the Sun’s light is completely blocked.
I'm delighted to share the news that Theo Lasar has been appointed as our BSO Youth Lead. Theo will succeed Charlotte, who has given outstanding service as our BSO Youth Lead since 2022, at our AGM during Gilwell Reunion in September. Theo brings has a background of scouting within BSO having started as a Beaver in Telstar, going through all the sections locally in Luxembourg before joining Scout Network last year. On his appointment Theo says, "Having served as Deputy District Youth Lead for Northern Europe over the past year, I have had the opportunity to work alongside District Youth Teams, volunteers and, most importantly, Young People across BSO. As BSO Youth Lead, I look forward to building on that experience by working with the Leadership Team, District Youth Teams and Young People across the Area to continue strengthening youth-shaped Scouting and creating more opportunities for young people to shape their own Scouting experience." The BSO Youth Lead role helps to champion youth voice across Scouts, lead our Youth Team across BSO and contributes to BSO-level decision making as a member of our BSO Leadership Team and BSO Board of Trustees.. The role also supports us to deliver our strategic priorities, and we're confident Theo is the best person to help us do this. He is passionate about giving all young people a place to belong, delivering our strategy to 2035. We're incredibly thankful for everything Charlotte has done for BSO during her term in the role and look forward to celebrating her achievements in the future. We wish Theo every success in his new role Graham Eden BSO Lead Volunteer
