Camp Inspection

Cambridge District Scout Archive

See also Camp Permit

It was expected that camps would be open to inspection by the District. The Host DC of any other District was to be informed of your presence ahead of the camp and would often visit. A comment would be added to the Visit Report.

The Camp warden at Abington County Scout campsite, which stayed open during WW2, had strict instructions to take down tents without warning if they did not comply with the requirement to be dispersed and camouflaged.  It is not known if this ever occurred, but a camp on an informal site in the North of Cambridge was machine gunned where these precautions were not observed.

Few ‘poor’ reports are found in archives, but occasionally they are found among the general paperwork. The 1972 camp below, in very poor weather, was one such in which the camping was below par for the troop (5th Cambridge, Perse) being merely ‘Generally Satisfactory’, but ‘Good’ and near ‘Excellent’ for the programme. The camp atmosphere, referenced on the Certificate for the camp (second down) is a common point of reference, as is the welcome and ready responses by the troop. These are regularly found on the ‘open’ reports.

1975 The poor siting of the latrines and the fact that the campers were not on site at the time the inspection was to have occurred (as advised) did not help this report.

1986 ‘Morale good’, ‘impressed by politeness off the boys and their general bearing’, ‘Patrol system working well’.

JWR Archivist Oct 2021