Cambridge District Scout Archive
This brief history waits on a fuller version in preparation by Ken Drake.
The 19th Cambridge (Wesleyan) was registered on 5th December 1944 having been closed since circa 1920. Within Cambridge numbers had stopped being reused for new groups between the years of 1921 and 1944. The 19th regained its original number, as it was intended to do under the policy of not reusing the numbers. Whether before or after the change in rules is not clear.
An undated list of leaders gives us
- G.S.M. J. E. Halstead, 112 Chesterton Road
- C.M. Miss I. Hole, Wesley Manse
- A.C.M. Mrs. Ramsbottom, 442 Milton Road
- Chaplain Rev. R. V. Spivey, Wesley Manse, Christ’s Pieces.
John Edward Halstead was in the RAF in WW2 and Ivy Hole is registered in town in 1945 but no later than 1948, R V Spivey was active 1947.
The Group returned census figures for
- Cubs 1944 – 1957, 1959 – 1972+
- Scouts 1944 – 1957, 1971 – 1972+
No reference to Air Scouts, Sea Scouts, Senior Scouts or Rovers has been found from census returns but a Senior Scout section was mentioned as starting in 1949 in a history of the church. Ken Drake gained his Kings Scout at this time,
The gap in returns in 1958 is explained as the leaders but it is not clear if it was more than an administrative delay.
A later list, nominally after 1950 but in some cases a long way after, gives
- I K Drake as Scouter in charge. (Ken Drake) 1945 – 1957
- V Drake Cub Leader 1945 – 1957
The Group was Controlled by the Church and met in the Wesley school. The scarf is described as Maroon in 1945 (the original colour from 1914) and Brown in 1975. The troop was active in the 1950’s camping at several Jamborees but diminished over time the Cubs running on
It closed in 1979 but a strong link to Scouting remained through the members of the Leys school and congregation Maurice Howard and Reg Ayers, both 60th and District.
JWR Archivist Jan 2023
Cambridge District Scout Archive 