History of British Scouting Overseas

History of British Scouting Overseas

When the Scout Movement started, few people predicted its rapid growth in the United Kingdom still less in the rest of the world. But grow it did, despite the challenges and obstacles. That story has been told countless times and has inspired so many people to continue to contribute to the building of the great world Movement we see now.

There must have been many surprises along the journey. One of those was that in some cases people had settled, long or short term, in countries other than the UK but wanted to continue Scouting in the same way as they had in the UK. As the Movement developed around the world, national Scout associations were established but sometimes because of the short stay of the youth members in the host country, or for other cultural reasons, special arrangements were needed.

British Scout groups in foreign countries (that was the term used to describe them – it doesn’t seem to have been a formal title) began even before the First World War. As early as 1909 a group was formed in Paris. And in 1912 there was a group in Shanghai (which became one of the largest British groups in foreign countries – more about them later). In 1913, Scout headquarters in London appointed what was called a Special Commissioner at Headquarters to deal with requests for appointment of leaders for British groups in foreign countries. The records do not show what support or encouragement was offered to those who took on those appointments but there was obviously a clear demand for a programme for British young people living at least for a while in other countries.

Most British groups abroad operated as single units but in some areas (as in British Scouts in Egypt), there were considerable numbers because of the large number of British people living there at that time and that meant that more elaborate local structures were needed. A rudimentary District system was developing in other places, such as France.

It seems that there were at least thirty British Scout groups in other countries in 1933 (compared with seventy-four Groups and Units in 2022).

Some groups were run in close co-operation with Girlguiding UK (then the Girl Guides), such as in Oporto, Portugal, registered in 1911, where the group was known as the 1^st Peninsular. Other Guide/Scout groups were formed in Aden (Yemen) and Italy.

A feature of the inter-war years was the visits made by Lord and Lady Baden-Powell (‘The two Chiefs’) around the world, where they were often greeted by British groups operating in a number of the countries visited.

In the 1920s, the Scout associations around the world began to meet in World Scout Conferences every three years or so, as a means of maintaining unity and providing mutual support. The topic of foreign Scouts in other countries came up several times and the policy that developed was that such groups could only be formed with the consent of the host country’s national Scout organisation and that recruitment of young people from the host country was restricted. This policy has remained in place more or less since then. It was important to have a policy applicable to all, as a number of other Scout associations (for example, Canada, France, Greece and the United States of America) were also setting up their own groups in other countries at the same time as the UK was.

As mentioned already, British Scouting in Shanghai had started in 1912. Based at the Anglican Cathedral, it was very active and had members from many countries. In 1926, a member of the group was awarded the Bronze Cross (our highest award for gallantry). Throughout the 1930s, there was tension and open conflict between China and Japan. Shanghai was an international city – open to foreign business and influence - and was often severely affected by the conflict, resulting in air raids, food shortages and all the terror of warfare. The Scouts were prominent in public service and received much praise.

And so it went on, interrupted of course by the two world wars, until in the late 1940s a new approach was put in place.

Getting More Organised

By 1947, it was clear that, with members of the British armed forces and their families being based in Germany in large numbers, there was demand for UK-style Scouting to be offered for them during their stay. Also, members of the British armed forces stationed in Germany had set up many Rover Crews, catering for young British servicemen. British Scouts Germany was established to provide support and coordination. By 1948, there was an overall membership of all ages of about 1,000. In 1952, BSG became British Scouts Western Europe (BSWE). BSWE covered British groups in the whole of western Europe (France, Germany, Benelux and others) and operated substantially like any county did in the United Kingdom, with a volunteer support structure. UK headquarters provided additional support, with the Ministry of Defence providing some funding, through a full-time Field Commissioner resident in Germany.  

Support was organised for British Scout groups outside western Europe in a haphazard way until 1952 when what became known as British Groups Abroad (BGA), was set up with funding from UK headquarters and support from staff at Gilwell Park. BGA for most of its existence was led by the UK Scouts’ International Commissioner, with the support of a volunteer team. The newsletter of BGA – which first appeared in 1986 - was named ‘Far and Wide’ and that described BGA in a nutshell. For example, there were Groups in the South Atlantic, the Middle East, East and South East Asia, Russia and South America. Some of those groups are active still today. Latterly, the leadership of BGA passed to a volunteer Area Commissioner – similar to BSWE – and it also operated much like a UK-based county.

Changing Times (again)

With the new millennium, it had become clear that the environment in which British Scouting in other countries was operating was changing fast. Groups in Germany had begun to be fewer in number as the number of service personnel fell, with fewer of their families living there. On the other hand, demand for UK Scouting in other countries was increasing. The need for two separate groupings was questioned. And of course, communications were moving into the digital age which made contact and support in many ways easier and more efficient with larger numbers.

After much discussion and some hitches, the Scout Association took the decision to launch British Scouting Overseas (BSO) which would incorporate both BSWE and BGA. The new Area (managed and supported by volunteers) came into being on 1 April 2012, with BSO’s Area Lead Volunteer (then known as the Area Commissioner) reporting to the Association’s International Commissioner. The Lead Volunteer works in close partnership with the BSO Area President and Area Chair.

Where We Are Now

At the beginning, there was a lot of work to be done to set up the new Area. The aim was to do this so that it would be business as usual so far as our Groups were concerned. The Area Team was set up, with volunteers from both BSWE and BGA involved. District Lead Volunteers (then known as District Commissioners) were appointed for the Districts around the world. As time has gone on, the District set-up has developed into the current four Districts, for the Middle East, Northern Europe, Rest of the World and Southern Europe.

The first year was a time of planning for the future, whilst at the same time continuing to provide practical support to our volunteers around the globe. A key gathering took place in October 2012 in the UK, near Gatwick Airport, that gave the whole new Area Team the opportunity to contribute to planning how to achieve the vision for BSO. The Trustee Board was appointed at the first Annual General Meeting, which took place during the same weekend This set the scene for many BSO events as it was live-streamed - many members, friends and other well-wishes took part.

Providing effective support for all of our adult volunteers has always been a big challenge, not only because of geography but also because of the time differences across the world. BSO has developed online delivery of learning experiences for our adult volunteers, providing face-to-face opportunities as well, wherever possible.

During 2016 a Communications Team was appointed and they have worked on delivering effective communications. Our social media presence has developed, our web site maintained and improved and our newsletter (‘Far and Wide’) published. Communication remains one of the biggest challenges for BSO but as technology improves so quickly these days, we have been quick to use whatever new approaches become available.

Our Districts continue to provide opportunities for our members to come together in such events as District Camps. BSO also has now developed an approach whereby contingents made up from BSO members from all over the world meet up to take part in an international event with other Scouts, usually on the European mainland or in the UK. And we have had representatives included in UK Contingents to all World Scout youth events (for example, Jamborees, Moots and Roverway) since BSO started.

We always aim to develop good working relationships with host country national Scout organisations, to forge Scouting links and to work in partnership to develop programme initiatives. We also collaborated with British Girlguiding Overseas until BGO was closed by UK Guiding in 2023. Happily, some of the volunteers and members of BGO were able to move to BSO.

In 2020, Covid-19 had a huge impact on everyone, of course. The world pandemic meant that most Groups had to suspend face to face meetings. Only 1^st Ascension Island was able to remain open throughout the crisis, due to their good fortune of having no cases on the Island! In BSO, as elsewhere, Groups rose to the challenge of providing virtual Scouting. It was inspiring to see the way in which, once able to do so, BSO re-opened and went from strength to strength.

During our tenth year of operation, everyone was saddened by the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who was UK Scouting’s patron. BSO was well represented in the teams of Scouts who served as volunteers at the lying-in-state of the late Queen and also at the coronation of King Charles III.

Whilst knowing where we have come from is valuable, we also need to look to the future and our aim in BSO (as in the rest of UK Scouting) is to help provide more young people with skills for life, supported by amazing leaders delivering an inspiring programme. We'll be growing, more inclusive, shaped by young people and making a bigger impact in our international communities.

David Bull

December 2023 - Version 5