Fulbourn

Cambridge District Scout Archive

1914

Fulbourn Chronicle reports on 9th October 1914 a meeting at the Assembly Room 50 boys joined the Boy Scouts. In December a investiture was carried out in the Church

They are not reported during WW1, the local Girl Guides get some references in these years.

1919

Fulbourn is mentioned in July 1919, as defunct.  It may have failed during the war. It is not named in the 1920 District review ‘Reveille!’ but they were acting as Guard of Honour in May 1920 with the Scout Master SM Beard at the new War Memorial.

1921-1928

It is formally recognized as being in existence in 1921, with a number – 18th Cambridge District. It had the Imperial HQ number of 10758, a dark blue scarf with a green triangle.

At this date two numbering systems were running,

  • Cambridge (inside town boundaries)
  • Cambridge District (outside Town boundaries)

It certainly ran until 1925 and recorded census numbers in the years 1922 – 1925. Census numbers are available from 1921 and usually lag a year.

  • Arthur F G Coe ASM Oct 1923
  • J Henry Rogers ASM Oct 1923
  • Rev T H Hennessy SM Nov 1923
  • Arthur F G Coe SM May 1924 (possibly a newspaper error)
  • Miss Chambers SM July 1924

Miss Chambers was a Sunday School teacher in 1920 and took the role whilst both Mr. Coe and Rogers were in role. The Troop had a bugle band (1924) known at the Admission of the scout Leaders at the Church. The flag was dedicated in November 1924 and the troops of the 14th, 22nd, 23rd and Balsham, the Girl Guides , DC and SDC Slater were in attendance. Last known local report Nov. 1927 but it had dropped from the 1925 – 1926 Annual report (published early 1927). See also Fulbourn Chronicle D G Crane 1901 – 1930, Cambridgeshire Collection

Census returns from 1923 – 1925 for Scouts

1928 – 1933?

It is not recorded between 1928 and 1933 – it is not entirely clear if there was a hiatus or if they were not engaged in District events and missed the ‘engaged in’ lists. (I suspect the former)

At this point the Group system came into operation and the dual numbering system went (not quite at the same time and not very well documented) and it becomes harder to track.

1933 – 1934

Fulbourn became 57th Cambridge – IHQ 15127. Scarf was Green with red diagonal. They are first listed as such on 11th April 1933. This very specific date is a little late for many of the new Group numbers which occurred in 1928 (although the full list is not available until 1933). Again a reason to suspect a hiatus or hibernation if not a full closure. It was listed as ‘closed or in abeyance’ in November 1934/5 after one year of census returns, 1933. In the 1934 Annual report they list 14 Scouts. They do not appear in the 1933 or 1935 reports.

  • W G Blackall SM

The number 57th was proposed for a Group on Oakington in 1950, but did not go ahead. We can assume that no Fulbourn Group was in the offing at that time. Numbers were generally saved for groups in an area of town or a village. This was not always a fixed fact, and the very short lived 57th may have slipped the collective memory.

1956 – date

The Fulbourn Scouts restarted in 13/12/1956 with the 57th Cambridge number (some one remembered) and the IHQ number 32948.

Census returns

  • Scouts 1957 -1983
  • Cubs 1957 – 1983
  • Rovers 1963 – 1968
  • Ventures 1972 – 1983

at which point Census records end.

The Parish Magazine of 1952 – 1957 does not record monthly Scout events. It neither hosted nor was named for the Troop. However, it did record that the Rector Rev T C Ledgard MA was the County Scout Chaplain and attended the St Georges Day at Ely Cathedral in 1954. In 1957 the Scout Troop, Pack and Cambridge Scouters attended Evensong when the original colours of the Troop were laid up in the Church and the new colours dedicated.

Census returns reappear in1957 with a pack and troop until the end of records in 1983. Between 1962 and 1964 Rovers were also recorded.

The Scouts and Cubs provided a Guard of Honour at the funeral of Leonard Pearce in July 1970. He had been their Scout Master.

In 1971 and 1983 a venture Scout Unit is listed and was active until at least1984 when records end. If the Ventures took a name it is not recorded. The Explorers 2003 – became the Twisted Firelighters.

It is interesting to note that someone held on to the original flag and returned it to the new (1956) Group for it to be ‘laid up’.  It was by then the wrong name and decidedly old style.

Districts

  • ‘Fulbourn Scouts’ started in Cambridge District
  • Ahead of the 1935 split was part of the Sub Division ‘North Cambridge’ (which was to be renamed East Cambridge then Mid Cambridgeshire) but so quickly defunct only in North Cambridge.
  • At the 1983 Split became part Cambridge South. 
  • Reverted to Cambridge when the two halves re-joined in 2001

JWR Archivist May 2022