The Scouts involvement in WW1

 

Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout movement, with his military background at the outbreak of World War I put himself at the disposal of the War Office. No command was offered. Lord Kitchener said that he "could lay his hand on several competent divisional generals but could find no one who could carry on the invaluable work of the Boy Scouts."

 

Guarding the Shores - One of the first roles the Scouts undertook was supporting the Coastguard.  The fear of invasion by Germany was a very real threat so watching the coast, ports and estuaries was curial work.

 

Working on the land - Many Scouts volunteered to work on farms, particularly around harvest time.  As men left farming to join the Armed Forces Scouts were able to take on some of the farm work. Before the war Britain imported food from all over the world.  As the war progressed German U-boats (submarines) targeted ships bringing food to Britain.   It became even more important for Britain to grow more food.   In March 1918 the Government approached Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout Movement, to call for at least 15,000 Scouts to help on the land.

 

Fundraising - A desire to support the Armed Forces saw the founding of the Scout Hut and Ambulance Fund.  As today Scouts during the First World War came up with some innovative ways of raising money.  One Cub Pack spent a whole day collecting acorns (these could be used in animal feed) and sold them contributing the proceeds to the Fund. The fund bought much needed ambulances which ended up in service as far afield as the Middle East. Working with other charities, such as the YMCA, Scouts bought and supported the running of huts at Army camps in Belgium, France, Italy and Britain.  The huts provided refreshments and entertainment and a place for men to relax when they weren’t involved in fighting at the Front. 

 

Messengers - The role of messenger boy was very important in a time before mass telecommunications; in 1914 few homes or public buildings had telephones.  Telegrams or letters, the main methods of communication, had to be delivered by hand.  Messenger boys were stationed at Government offices, Police Stations and other places from which messages may have to be urgently communicated.  The messenger boy need to be healthy, strong reliable and have a good sense of direction, criteria that many Scouts fulfilled.  Boy Scouts carried messages for the War Office and guarded important places, such as railway lines, water reservoirs and stretches of coastline.

 

Other duties -Other roles included guarding railway junctions and telegraph and telephone cables against enemy sabotage.  They learned to send semaphore messages with small flags.  Scouts were asked to help care for the sick and injured men of the Armed Forces as well as civilians caught up in attacks such as naval bombardments and Zeppelin raids.  They worked as stretcher bearers and performed basic First Aid as required.  Scouts watched the skies for Zeppelin attacks and sounded their bugles to signal when an air raid was over.