Rose Coston

Cambridge District Scout Archive

Silver Wolf

10th March 1916 – 25th March 2016 (Second known Cambridge Scout Centurion)

Rose May Curzons was born in Coventry 10th March 1916, the oldest of a family of 6 children.  Her mother died between 1925 and 1939 and Rose was resident in Coventry in 1939 with her widowed father, who died in 1946, but not her siblings.  We next know of her in Great Shelford in 1950 where she was living with her brother and sister.

Rose was unmarried at this date and a school teacher working at St Philip’s school where she was both teacher and CSM to Tony Claydon who remembered her fondly.  She is first recorded in Cambridge as a Cub Scout Master in 1950 at the 13th Cambridge, a role she held until 1965.  That she was the lead with a number of assistant leaders suggests either prior experience as a Lady Cub Master or seniority attributed to her teaching skills.  She was 34 at this date.  Another leader with the 13th Cambridge Scouts and a Rover was Fred Coston (see below) whom she married in 1956.  The Cubs provided a guard of honour at the church.

Rose took on catering at camps and was an organizer as well as active doer.

Rose received a

  • Medal of Merit           <1970
  • Silver Acorn                 1973
  • Silver Wolf                  1979

A Silver Wolf supposes a Scouting life of 40 + years – significantly predating the 13th Cambridge involvement of 1950.  It is reasonable to suggest a start date of 1939 at the latest, at which point she was 23 and presumably trained and active as a teacher.  

Rose held some District and County roles but I have no details of her specific posts or events.   She was engaged in many County training events at Abington, Fred acting as assistant.   Like many recipients of the Silver Wolf much of her later work went unreported and with Rose much was probably in the 10 or 15 years before she came to Cambridge.  Both she and Fred are reported as assisting with the Troop up to 1970 when the 60th year history was compiled.  Rose was active with Cubs when two other significant Lady Cub Masters were very strongly in post at District level; she did not hold the ADC Cubs role.

Rose and Fred moved to Gloucester when the Instrument Company, Fred’s employer, moved out of Cambridge. They returned when he retired.

At the award of the Silver Wolf in 1979 Rose was 63 and near the end of her permitted active Scout life.  She was a District Vice President in and around 1984 (with W T Thurbon, John Chambers, ‘Ikey’ Isaacson, Ken North and three others). 

Fred Coston

Cambridge District Scout Archive

Silver Acorn

11th April 1927 – 19th February 2012

Fred joined the 13th Scout Group and is mentioned in some war time logs.  He was fencing with the 13th team in 1944 (won 3 lost 2) against Pye Sports team.  By March 1945 he was    S P/L but he joined the army shortly after this date now aged 18.  By 1948 he had returned and was a member of the 1951 reformed 13th Rover Crew with John Chambers.  (Rover numbers were returned by th 13th for 1947, 1949 and 1950.  It is not clear why it was deemed formed in 1951.) Fred was ASM by 1948 and SM in 1949.

Fred received a

  • Medal of Merit           1968
  • Silver Acorn                 1979    in the same year his wife, Rose, received a Silver Wolf.

JWR Archivist Dec 2022