EYNSHAMS EARLY YEARS
The exact origins of the Eynsham Scout
Group are probably lost in the mist of time, as there are many conflicting
memories and reports.
It is thought that there were possibly two
groops of scouts in the village following the Scouting For Boys manual.
Ex Scout
Jack Green remembered the St Leonards Church Organist and Choirmaster Mr Owens
forming a group in around 1914 or 1915. He took the Scouts camping. He also told The Oxford Mail in 1981 that
he though the group was started in May 1917 by Ken Carter from Oxford and with
help from the St Leonards Church Vicar, they started a troop with 28 boys, most
of them were from the church choir.
Research by Richard Smith in 1986 states
that the Eynsham Troop was formed twice. Once in 1914 when it was attached to
the 19th Oxford Group, and again in 1918. Unfortunately we have not subsequently
been able to confirm the 1914 date with documentary evidence and also as you can
see here, other stories we have been told conflict this date. The official
registration document of the Eynsham Troop in 1918 is shown below.
Mrs Sheppard who formed the Eynsham Cubs
in 1922 when she was Miss Rosemary Oakley, recalled that Mr Owen, the church
organist, temporarily looked after the scouts after its inception and Jack Green
took it over.
Don Holloway told us in a letter that he
remembers seeing an article in Scouting Magazine reporting that the 1st Eynsham
Troop was the first Scout Band to be allowed to march down Whitehall in London
in 1916. The Scout Association holds a card in its archives recording that 'The
Eynsham Scout Band, formed in 1916, was reputed to be the first scout troop band
to march through the streets of London.'
Samuel Harris remembered joining scouts
during the war in late 1916 or early 1917. He was a Patrol Leader in Beaver
Patrol and left to join the Navy in 1919. He recalled that Scout Master Rhodes
liked his drink so the troop was not particularly successful. They used to meet
in the Club Room up stairs of the Railway Inn on the corner of Station Road and
Acre End Street (opposite The Swan). Sam remembered that also in the Troop were
Jack Green, Bert Mumford and Ben Tovey (who went to New Zealand). He remembered
that Miss Dorothy Rippon used to send him The Scout Magazine via Mrs Dormer who
worked with her in Abingdon. They learnt first aid and other things from the
magazine. The boys saved pennies and half-pennies for their uniform although
most could only afford a hat and a broom stick was used for a pole. He also
mentioned that The Cruickshank girls were the only Guides in the village.
One of the 'old boys' at Bosses Night
once told a story that the scouts used to meet at a tree in Monks Wood. Tink
Sawyer and Chris Biggers said they were in Scouts before Boss joined.
Possibly the earliest documented mention
of an Eynsham Troop was found in the Youlbury Scouting Museum. It has copies of
The Scout Gazette which reported that on 23rd August 1913 there was a church
parade with Scoutmaster MacDonald of the 1st Eynsham Hall Troop with the 20th
Oxford, Ramsden and Hayley Scouts who were camping during a bank holiday weekend
at East End Farm near North Leigh. David Mason confirmed that his family had
been involved with scouting from its early days. His Grandmother Lady Evelyn
Mason formed the Eynsham Hall Troop and later became District and County
Commissioner. |