Church work and Parish Magazines

Cambridge District Scout Archive

The earliest relationships between individual churches and Scouting may be tracked through Parish Magazines. Many Parish magazines have a central section not related to the parish. However, I have not come across evidence of a single central view from either these inserts or the local reports.

First Church Troops

Before 1908 many references to Clubs or Lads Clubs may be found. As an example in Cambridge St Paul’s started a Boys Life Brigade, an organization distinct from the Boys Brigade in that it did not include military drill, ‘stretcher (but not Military) drill’. At St John’s a Church Lads Brigade was formed. In 1912 St Matthews opened a Youth Club (draughts, boxing, running, pillow fights, bagatelle, ping pong) the Boy Scouts not starting here, in a very active church working with young people in many ways, for some years. At St John the Evangelist the Scouts started after the Church Lads Brigade stuttered – it failed as leaders moved on. It is not clear if scouts started (c 1909/1910) as a new leader with some experience in Scouting stepped up or if the boys pressed for this new approach. It too stuttered and folded with the disruption of the Great War. For a few short years it was an active and successful troop.

Many churches started Scout patrols sometimes alongside the Lads Clubs, some alongside BB and CLB. Occasionally the BB started after the Scouts. These joint associations rarely lasted long although in some Churches the Cubs survived beside the BB for several years. The history of the Incorporated Church Scout Patrols which ran alongside Church Lads Brigade showed up different approaches. The age groups were assumed to be only marginally overlapping and Scouting was not deemed an appropriate training for CLB which was strongly more militaristic in approach. The ICSP did not last long. 

Some Troops were central to the church work and the activities gained frequent and full reports. Churches in areas of growth with, perhaps, higher young populations were more likely to remain attached tot he Troop. Many others appear to have remained attached purely through through the use of the Parish Rooms – accepted but not adopted. This can be seen in the All Saints (later 8th Cambridge) Parish magazine where the Scouts were never elevated to the list of Church organised bodies. However, the Vicar did write that the Scouts should be seen as part of Parish work.

Intermittent reports in a magazine might suggest that the Vicar was generally not engaged in scouting on a weekly basis. It might suggest that the Scout leadership had become detached from Church oversight and was no longer closely associated with the congregation. This became particularly evident during the Great War when leaders changed regularly. Nevertheless, some reports show an active enthusiasm for the success of the Troop by the parish.

The continuation of Lads Clubs, rather than the more direct competition of Boys Brigades or Church Lads Brigades, suggests a different approach that was not in conflict.  It is difficult to identify quite what the approach was as these Lads Clubs did not have a central scheme. These clubs filled a need for those not willing to step into Scouts, BB or the CLB. 

The Parish of St Andrew the Less, comprising three centres, started a patrol within the existing Boys Brigade Company in one (St Andrew the Less, later Christ Church, St Andrew the Less), and new Scout Troop 7th Cambridge (Abbey) in another (Abbey Church, originally St Andrew the Less). These two organisations were nominally located at the third, St John’s Mission in Wellington Road. Although the Troop did not last the two bodies were equally reported.

Other information unpicked

Occasionally peripheral pieces of information on Troop activities can be garnered from the Scout reports.

Early records also show that in some patrols Scouts were not invested until they had the uniform, but that it was appreciated that not everyone would be able to find the money and external funding was solicited. In the 7th (Abbey) boys were expected to find two thirds of the 7/6 cost of a uniform. Requests for donations to fund the other third were published.

JWR Archivist Mar 2022