I have re read John Sweet’s ‘Scout Pioneering’ and it is a very practical set of instructions on how to develop pioneering skills within a pack and troop. This appreciation is echoed by Geoffrey Budworth, co founder of the International Guild of Knot tyers, who considers John to be the best writer on scouting knots.
More importantly he thinks about the teaching both in terms of the projects but also how the cubs, scouts and leaders react.
Further he puts pioneering into perspective as a teaching aid, one that was and largely remains the preserve of Scouting.
His merits as a skilled pioneer should warrant his inclusion, where this not a Cambridge District Scout based website. However, the District was fortunate to have John as Field Commissioner for several years (by 1959 – 1969) and invited him to be AGM speaker in both 1965 and 1978. The Abington Spring Bridge is named for the site of its first creation and both Ely and Thorrington are name checked in his work.
JWR
Cambridge District Scout Archive 