﻿Scouter Nicknames

Cambridge District Scout Archives

The archives are largely formal and records eschew such frivolity as nicknames. It is in memoirs that we find nicknames; invoking the camaraderie, introducing the characters, acting as a recall mechanism for the author and generally adding colour. Such written recollections are few. Robert Baden Powell was known as the Chief (at the 1917 Cambridge Rally, his arrival delayed by an air raid, the messenger ran up calling The Chiefs here, The Chiefs here’) and elsewhere as The Founder. In some older records in the Gilwell Archives this is denoted by a capital F.

The only the most active have nicknames that are sufficiently well known to be clear for publication across a district.

Cambridge Archives

‘Scouts have a great gift for deflating their leaders. When in the late 1920’s William Wolfe received a warrant as A.S.M. (Assistant Scoutmaster to you moderns) I was at the 23rd H.Q. and wishing to speak to William, said to one of our younger scouts “Will you ask Mr. Wolfe if he can come and see me for a moment”. Alas for my efforts to maintain William’s new dignity. The scout walked to the connecting door and shouted at the top of his voice “Clacker, Bill wants, you.” W T Thurbon The Archaeology of Scouting 1978

T G Room	Grafton St Gazette, Rovers	Ruffingham
‘Bunny’ Bennett	13th Cambridge	Bunny
‘Corbeau’ Rook	9^thand Balsham (French for Raven)	Corbeau
E H Church	District Chairman ‘known to the irreverent as’	Daisy
W A Mackrow	12^th (aboard the Adventurer)	Skipper
	(elsewhere)	Mac or Mack
A Hutchinson	SM 13^th (1919 – 20) 11th and 6th (1921 -22)	Hutch
Miss F E Isaacson	28^th CM 1930 – 1970’s (Leader name Iki [not Ikki])	Ikey
Miss Irene (Rene) Long	42^nd CM 1930 – 1960’s	Longey or Longy, Miss Akela
G MacFarlane Grieve	5^th SM GSM Dist Treasurer	Uncle Mac
Brigadier Duchesne	CC c.1955 – 1969	Dutch
H G F Cann	43^rd and 26^th	Skip
T. S. Hele, (Thomas Shirley)	CC or C President pre ’53 and Vice Chancellor of the University 1943 – 1945	Timmy
W L Wheeler	14^th	Chiefy
‘Happy’ Davis	Named in CSG and elsewhere (Initialls H A P)	Happy
S W Edwards	first worker at Scout shop	Waggles
George Westcott Martin	7^th Cambridge Sec of L A	Georgey*
Arthur Oliver	23^rd, 28^th, Fellowship	Snowy
John Wolfenden	7th Cambridge	Flea
Sidney Elwood	Cambridge Scouts’ Boat Club	Squid
John Holmes	As listed in District directory	Smokey
Colin Taylor	As listed in District directory	Ding
Tony Fowler	Crafts Hill DC 1981	Chick

*C T Wood (CC) wrote ‘To all of us he was ‘Georgey’ (Not to his face, no fear!)’ . Mackrow signed himself Mac, and Happy was the name signed to an article.

The following transition from Scout to Scouter was recorded on 1931 by the 13th Cambridge.

Florence Issacson was always known as Ikey, and signed herself as Iki in the very early list of Seeonee Pack members. This was clearly pronounced as I-key, and neither spelt or pronounced Ik- ki as is perhaps more usual. Whether it was picked for an association with her surname is unknown.

This selection of Cambridge nicknames are generally shorn of explanation, however, from the Evercircular of the 23rd Rover crew on Active Service come the following standard nicknames. The Evercircular were for a small known readership and these common nicknames were not likely to be confused with others.

Gnr W H Miller Dusty
Clark Nobby (‘Nobby found a Rover Crew in Aden‘)

Similarly within (the 7th) photo albums we find ‘Ginger’ and ‘Dicky’, neither yet sufficiently distinct District personalities to stand outside the troop by that name.

Outside Cambridge

These names are used in National literature and the individuals widely known because of their prominent rolls

John Colquhon (HQ) Koko
‘Tiny’ Chamberlain Travelling Commissioner Tiny

Scouts

Nicknames in youth are not often recorded by the adult reporters of events. The following have survived.

‘Snake’ Davis 2^nd Cambridge Morley Trophy winner 1933 Snake

Brian (Cabbage) Greenwood 13th Cambridge 1931 Cabbage

JWR Archivist Mar 2019

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