Badge Secretaries

Cambridge District Scout Archive

This is a role that receives little recognition but before the advent of on line shopping the provision of badges was dependent on having a named individual to whom Headquarters would sell badges.

POR 2019        Rule 10.22

Badges and Awards – Supply a. Badges and awards must be obtained through County Badge Secretaries; District Badge Secretaries; Scout Shops Limited outlets; or Scout Shops Limited online and from no other source.

The following list of Badge Secretaries for Cambridge District has been compiled from several sources.  1930 remains unclear, as does the date at which Ken North passed on the role.

1915	15th July 1915	C P Le Huray
1915	1918/19	A J B Green
1918/19	1927/29	Miss Laidlaw   at St Columba Hall
1927	1931?	B Armstrong (as deputy)
1931	1932	S W Edward     (Equipment Store)
1933	1943	W T Thurbon
1943	19..	Ken North        (Equipment Store)

From July 1915 IHQ would no longer send badges to individual Scoutmasters. It was announced from the 2nd July a badge Secretary would be available as the conduit between District and IHQ.

Before the Equipment Store existed A J B Green dealt with requests by post and Miss Laidlaw was at the headquarters once a week to supply badges.

Miss Laidlaw resigned in 1927. The resignation was refused as they hoped that her ‘pressure of work’ would diminish and she would return. As she was in training to be a Doctor this was unlikely. ADC B Armstrong became her deputy.

It is thanks to W T Thurbon’s records and analysis that we have the breakdown of badges in 1931.  He regularly produced an analysis for the Executive Committee.  When Ken North took over the role he specifically declined to continue this time consuming task. See Badge Report 1931

John Chambers probably took over the role directly from Ken North. Ken formally retired from all connection in 1977.

Roger Woollard was listed as Badge Secretary around 2000, a time when John was still working in the shop.

The point at which the role was formally handed between members of the Scout Shop team is as yet unclear.

2020 With the final closure in Feb 2020 of the Cambridge Scout Shop the stand alone role of Badge Secretary has been taken up by Bob Benton.

JWR Archivist June 2019