| B-P's Footprint | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 B-P's footprint at Gilwell Park | |||
| Location | multiple | ||
B-P's footprint is a casting, usually in bronze or brass, of the right foot of Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scout and Guide Movements, who is known as "B-P." The idea is that people may put their foot into this casting, so that they can say that they have "walked in the footsteps of B-P." [1]
The 1928 Scouting World Conference was officially opened on May 4 in Parád. The next day, the delegates went on an excursion to Lake Balaton and other places returning to Budapest in the afternoon. That evening, Baden-Powell, his wife Olave and Lord Hampton arrived.
On May 6, there was a rally at the playing field of Ferencvárosi TC attended by 9,647 out of the 25,000 Scouts then in Hungary and up to 20,000 of the public. On May 7 B-P came to the Hárshegy Training Park. B-P wrote, about the rally at Hárshegy:
This took place in pouring rain... An unusual incident marked the occasion of my visit when they invited me to make my footprint in the soil. A cast of this was taken and imprinted permanently on the spot in concrete. [2]
From this cast two bronze copies were made, one was for the Hárshegy Training Park and the other was a gift to Baden-Powell, which he passed to the British Scout Headquarters. [3]
During the 4th World Scout Jamboree in Gödöllő, Hungary the British Contingent get a copy from the Hungarian Honorary Chief Scout, count Pál Teleki. [4] One of them passed to the B-P House, London, and the other passed to the Gilwell Park. When the communists took over and banned Scouting in 1948, the training ground was confiscated and houses were built on the land; neither the original concrete footprint, nor the "Hungarian original bronze" has been seen since. [3]
The text is the next on the bronze statue: at right side: 'The Footprint in the Sands of Time', at the left side: 'To Gilwell Park the home of Scoutcraft from Hárshegy Training Park /Hungary/ in memory of the visit of the Chief Scout'.
The Norwegian Boy Scout Organization received a copy of the B-P Footprint as a gift from Gilwell Park by Camp Chief John Thurman [5] [ verification needed ] in the summer of 1959. A Kudu horn was presented at the same time. The footprint then was mounted in front of the house at the Norwegian Gilwell Training Ground on the farm "Sverveli" in Telemark, Norway.[ citation needed ].
There it stayed for 41 years, until June 2010, when Sverveli was sold. The Norwegian B-P Footprint then was removed and is at present a part of the equipment used at the annual Norwegian Trefoil-Gilwell (Wood Badge) training courses.[ citation needed ]. In June 2012, a casting in brass was made from the Norwegian footprint at the Østlandske Lettmetall foundry in Elverum, Norway. It is used during the Trefoil-Gilwell courses as a symbol of the Baden-Powell spirit, along with a 6-bead woodbadge suspended from a tripod.[ citation needed ].
Before World War II a copy of the "British original bronze" was cast and placed at Gilwell Park, the original remained at Scout Headquarters in London. Gilwell was requisitioned by the War Ministry from 1940 to 1945 as a local command, training, and ordnance centre. During this time the footprint was left undisturbed. [6]
In 1991 four Members of the Hungarian Scout Headquarters team visited England, and saw the Baden-Powell footprint at Gilwell. At their request, a plastic mould was taken of the first "British original bronze", by this time at Baden-Powell House, and from this the Hungarians cast a new footprint, which was installed in their new Scout Training Park, given them in 1991 by the Hungarian Government. [3]
On Friday August 3, 2012, there was a dinner to close the 67th Norwegian Trefoil-Gilwell Training course held on the island. A copy of the B-P footprint was presented by staff member Øystein Gonsholt to Brownsea Island, represented by the warden for that weekend, Claire, as a symbol of the deep-felt gratitude felt by the course attenders and staff, but also on behalf of former, present and future Scouts and Guides of Norway as a tribute to B-P, his Scouting idea and Brownsea Island - the cradle of Scouting. [7]
In 1963 the National Trust (the owner of Brownsea Island) opened the Island to the public, in a ceremony conducted by Olave Lady Baden-Powell, the World Chief Guide. [8] On May 13, 2013, as part of the celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the opening, the Brownsea Island footprint was installed beside an existing bust of Lord Baden-Powell and unveiled by one of B-P's grandchildren, Gillian Clay, daughter of the B-P's daughter Betty Clay. It is the donors' highest wish that their gift will benefit Brownsea Island and give joy and good B-P spirit to visitors to Brownsea Island for many years to come. [7]
| Country | City | Location | Provenance | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Victoria Point | Eprapah | Copy of a 1931 print made by B-P from his visit to Eprapah. Australian original is now at the Baden Powell Scout Park. [9] | |
| El Salvador | San Salvador | Scout Association of El Salvador headquarters | Gift of William D. Campbell, Provenance unknown | [10] |
| Hungary | Budapest | Sztrilich Pál Scout Centre | Copy of the Scout Association copy | [4] |
| Hungary | Budapest | Hárshegy Training Park | The original - lost in 1948 - copy of the Scout Association copy | |
| Kenya | Nairobi | Rowallan Scout Centre | Unknown | [11] [12] |
| Mexico | Córdoba | Paso Coyol Ecological Park | Unknown | |
| Mexico | Tepoztlán, Morelos | Meztitla Scout Camp School | Gift of John Thurman, Copy of the Scout Association footprint | [13] [14] |
| Norway | Telemark | Sverveli | Gift of John Thurman, Copy of the Scout Association footprint | In storage |
| United Kingdom | Poole Harbour, Dorset county | Brownsea Island | Copy of the Norwegian footprint | |
| United Kingdom | Chingford, London | Gilwell Park | Copy of the Scout Association footprint | |
| United Kingdom | London | Scout Association | Only copy of the Hungarian original | [4] |
| United States | Elbert, Colorado | Camp Cris Dobbins | Provenance unknown | [15] |
| United States | Ward, Colorado | Tahosa High Adventure Base | Provenance unknown | |
| United States | Miami Lakes, Florida | Thomas L. Tatham Scout Service Center | Copy of the Meztitla footprint | [16] |
| Zimbabwe | Gordon Park, Matopos | Zimbabwe Scout Centenary Camp | Provenance unknown | [17] [18] |
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth social movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking, and sports. Another widely recognized movement characteristic is the Scout uniform, by intent hiding all differences of social standing in a country and encouraging equality, with neckerchief and campaign hat or comparable headwear. Distinctive uniform insignia include the fleur-de-lis and the trefoil, as well as merit badges and other patches.
Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the world-wide Scout Movement, and founder, with his sister Agnes, of the world-wide Girl Guide/Girl Scout Movement. Baden-Powell authored the first editions of the seminal work Scouting for Boys, which was an inspiration for the Scout Movement.
Olave St Clair Baden-Powell, Baroness Baden-Powell was the first Chief Guide for Britain and the wife of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting and co-founder of Girl Guides. She outlived her husband, who was 32 years her senior, by over 35 years.
Wood Badge is a Scouting leadership programme and the related award for adult leaders in the programmes of Scout associations throughout the world. Wood Badge courses aim to make Scouters better leaders by teaching advanced leadership skills, and by creating a bond and commitment to the Scout movement. Courses generally have a combined classroom and practical outdoors-based phase followed by a Wood Badge ticket, also known as the project phase. By "working the ticket", participants put their newly gained experience into practice to attain ticket goals aiding the Scouting movement. The first Wood Badge training was organized by Francis "Skipper" Gidney and lectured at by Robert Baden-Powell and others at Gilwell Park in September 1919. Wood Badge training has since spread across the world with international variations.
Gilwell Park is a camp site and activity centre in East London located in the Sewardstonebury area of Waltham Abbey, within Epping Forest, near the border with Chingford. The 109-acre (44 ha) site is owned by The Scout Association, is used by Scouting and Guiding groups. As the original base of leadership training in the Scout movement, it is an important site of the worldwide Scouting movement.
The World Scout Indaba was a series of three gatherings of Scout Leaders from around the world, held in 1952, 1957 and 1960. The idea was proposed in 1949 at the 12th World Scout Conference in Elvesæter, Norway where The Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom submitted that of the large number of Scouters working in a pack, troop or crew, only a very small percentage were ever able to take part in a major international Scout gathering. Indaba is Zulu for "tribal conference" and the name was suggested by Lord Rowallan.
Scouting started in Victoria, Australia, as early as 1907 and local Boy Scout patrols and troops formed independently. Several separate central organisations began operating including Boys' Brigade Scouts, Church Lads' Brigade Scouts, Chums Scouts, Imperial Boy Scouts, Girl Peace Scouts, Imperial Boy Scouts Victoria Section, Imperial Boy Scouts Victorian Section, Gippsland Boy Scouts Association, Australian Boy Scouts, Australian Imperial Boy Scouts, The Boy Scouts Association, Life-Saving Scouts of the Salvation Army and Methodist Boy Scouts.
Scouts' Day or Guides' Day is a generic term for special days observed by members of the Scouting movement throughout the year. Some of these days have religious significance, while others may be a simple celebration of Scouting. Typically, it is a day when all members of Scouting will re-affirm the Scout Promise.
Youlbury Scout Activity Centre is one of a number of The Scout Association's National Scout Activity Centres in the United Kingdom and is the oldest permanent Scout campsite in the world.
Queen's Gate House, still commonly known by its previous name of Baden-Powell House, is a conference centre in South Kensington, London. It was built as a tribute to Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, and has served as the headquarters for The Scout Association, as a hostel providing modern and affordable lodging for Scouts, Guides, their families and the general public staying in London and as a conference and event venue.
Arthur Robert Peter Baden-Powell, 2nd Baron Baden-Powell, was the son of Lieutenant-General Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, and Olave St. Clair Soames. He served for two years in the British South Africa Police in Southern Rhodesia and then in the Southern Rhodesian Civil Service until the end of the Second World War, when he returned to Britain to assume his title and became a director of companies, and a Special Constable with the City of London Police.
The Brownsea Island Scout camp was the site of a boys' camping event on Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, southern England, organised by Lieutenant-General Baden-Powell to test his ideas for the book Scouting for Boys. Boys from different social backgrounds participated from 1 to 8 August 1907 in activities around camping, observation, woodcraft, chivalry, lifesaving and patriotism. The event is regarded as the origin of the worldwide Scout movement.
Throughout the world there are many museums related to Scouting dedicated to preserving, communicating, and exhibiting the heritage of the Scouting movement for purposes of study, education, and enjoyment of society. A downloadable world directory of Scouting museums is available from the US Scouting Service Project.
Sir Percy Winn Everett was an editor-in-chief for the publisher C. Arthur Pearson Limited and an active Scouter who became the Deputy Chief Scout of The Boy Scouts Association.
Betty St Clair Clay was the younger daughter of Olave Baden-Powell, the first Chief Guide and Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting. She was the sister of Peter Baden-Powell, 2nd Baron Baden-Powell; the aunt of Robert Baden-Powell, 3rd Baron Baden-Powell, and Michael Baden-Powell, 4th Baron Baden-Powell; the grandmother of murderer, Gerard Baden-Clay; the niece of Agnes Baden-Powell and Baden Baden-Powell; niece and goddaughter of Warington Baden-Powell; and granddaughter of the Rev. Prof. Baden Powell.
The 9th World Scout Jamboree, also known as the Jubilee Jamboree, was held at Sutton Park, Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, England, for twelve days during August, 1957. The Jamboree marked dual milestones as it was both the 50th anniversary of the Scouting movement since its inception at Brownsea Island and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Scouting's founder Robert Baden-Powell.
The graves of Lieutenant-General The 1st Baron Baden-Powell and his wife, Olave, Baroness Baden-Powell, G.B.E., are in Nyeri, Nyeri County, Kenya, near Mount Kenya. Lord Baden-Powell died on 8 January 1941, and is buried in St. Peter's Cemetery in the Wajee Nature Park. When his wife Olave, Lady Baden-Powell, died, her ashes were sent to Kenya and interred beside her husband. Kenya has declared Baden-Powell's grave a national monument. Scouts consider the grave, "one of the most revered shrines and pilgrimage sites in the world."
Hárshegy is a part of Budapest's 2nd district. Its entire area is made up of Nagy-Hárs Hill and Kis-Hárs Hill, from which there are sweeping views of Budapest. The area is a popular place for recreation, and the Hárs-hegy railway station of the Children's Railway is located in there.
The Gilwell Oak is an oak tree on the grounds of The Scout Association's headquarters at Gilwell Park, Essex. It is reputed to have been used as a hiding place by Dick Turpin and since the 20th century has become closely associated with the Scout movement. The tree is situated close to the training ground for the association's first Scout leaders and provided material for the earliest Wood Badges. The oak inspired Scout movement founder Robert Baden-Powell to create "the moral of the acorn and the oak" an analogy for the growth of the Scout movement and the personal growth of its members. The Gilwell Oak was voted England's Tree of the Year by the public in 2017 and was subsequently selected by a panel of experts as the UK Tree of the Year.
Ferenc Hill is located in the Buda Hills in the 2nd district of Budapest.
