A quick count and I have about 350 pages up – some which will never be read except by accident or by the most careful of researchers. The 47th Cambridge page: nothing but the dates 1931 – 1934 and the village name may lead to this otherwise empty page. No scarf, an IHQ number, but no names or stories.
However, these passing groups do feed into the ‘Demographics’ and if they were missing then the job is not done. And I may find something to flesh out the Group.
I am very glad to say that I have found some pictures of Howard Mallett; the internet had offered nothing but a grainy newspaper photo for the Councils list of past mayors.
Many of the Scouters listed under ‘Individuals’ are now largely forgotten. It is, I was going to say ‘touching’, but I mean upsetting, to read of Arthur Gray sixth son of the Master of Jesus who died in the Great War; and who as Master had to officiate at the opening of the Jesus War Memorial and did not mention his own loss. As upsetting is the tale of Sam Whiteley who was captured with his brother Tom at the fall of Singapore. One survived.
These short lives help us step away from the stereotypes – the ‘military man’ who was called Captain for less than a year after his demob and who worked before and after the war in education; the double-barrelled biblical scholar who was physically weak in his youth but was an Alpinist of note; the Drill instructor who argued against marching.
All of which is to say that I have got a bit sidetracked into these old names. In advance of my finds mentioned in previous blogs I have put Stourbridge Fair 1920 on the site.
JWR Archivist Apr 2019
Cambridge District Scout Archive 