INTRODUCTION  Page last updated 04/10/2016 

Welcome to our website containing the history of the Eynsham Scout Group which is maintained by F.O.E.S. - The Friends of Eynsham Scouts. Eynsham is a small village five miles to the west of Oxford, England, whose scout group was started during the first world war. Through documents, photos, films, video and memories, we hope to build up a comprehensive archive of Eynsham's scouting past in time for its centenary celebrations in 2018.

This website is a working document and will grow as more current and former members of the group donate material to add to the site, so check back regularly to see what's new. If you or a relative were part of the group, either as a child, leader or committee member, we would love to hear from you. Perhaps you, or someone you know, has some memorabilia stored away, or stories that you would like to add? If so, please contact Mark and we will arrange to copy your items or record your memories and put them on this site. If you have the technology, please send them to us by email with attachments and photos of at least 1Mb size so we can edit the photos and still maintain reasonable quality when they are compressed to web format.

We hope you will find it easy to navigate around the site using the links above. Details of the current Eynsham Scout Group, Friends of Eynsham Scouts and the annual Eynsham Scouting Reunion can be found by clicking the links above. We have divided the archive into decades with general or undated information to begin and then details of each year in it where known. Every effort has been made to check the accuracy of the information where possible, but memories fade with time and it's inevitable that some inaccuracies may occur. If you spot any, please let us know so we can collaborate it and update our records.

WHAT'S NEW

Our website is regularly being updated with lots of material in the archives still to be put on, and more coming in every month. So check back regularly and see what's new. There's a bit of a back log getting items on to the site so if you can send it by email or disc, we'd really appreciate your assistance. But don't let that put you off, we'd love to borrow your Eynsham Scouting memorabilia, so get in touch if you can add to the archive.

4th October 2016 - A date for your diary, the next Eynsham Scouting Reunion will be held on Friday 7th April March 2017 at the Scout HQ. Same format and approximate price as last year. Full details will be sent to all those registered with us in January. If you were part of the scout group and would like to be added to the mailing list, please email us before 28th January 2017.

12th April 2015 - We had 39 people attend our 2015 Annual Reunion on Friday 20th March. We met in the new Scout HQ and celebrated 10 years since the it was opened. The event was at bit more informal than in previous years with less speeches and a hot buffet meal, followed by much socialising! See the report on our reunion page.

26th October 2014. Some good news from the Scout Group. Due to the demand for more scout places, a second troop is opening up on Wednesday's from 5th November and will be bringing back the Pinkhill name. We add our thanks and best wishes to the 4 new leaders.

27th April 2014 - At the annual reunion, FOES chairman Steve Batts brought in some old newsletters and documents he'd found. You can see the first Evenlode Scout Fellowship newsletter on the right (click to read a bigger version) and discover more about the beginnings of what became FOES on our 1988/9 pages. The newsletter tells the story of why and how the fellowship was formed, the first event and meeting reports, a forthcoming events list and committee details. He also found a copy of the first West Oxon District Magazine called Rattler from January 1982 which includes an interview with Andy Wotherspoon about our Kestrel Scout Troop. You can read the full magazine in our 1982 section.

21st April 2014 - At the 2014 reunion, there was the usual exchange of memories and photos, including this one on the left of Eynsham Guides from around 1980. It's on our Scouts Archive website because it was taken in our old scout hall and shows some people who have since become part of the group. In the centre is Guide Leader Marlene Gardener (now Turner) who lent us the photo and next to her on the right is Sandra Parker (now Scott) daughter of Boss's night founder Derek. Also in the photo are Sarah Rogers, Caroline Rainbow (now Watson), Diane Whitlock, Heather Smith, Philipa Neville, and Elaine Reading. Jenny Fathers (now Salmon) got in touch with a few more names. Joanne Evans, Amanda Reading, Penelope Edwards, Susie Atkins and a Todd? If you can name any of the other girls, please get in touch. Click the picture for a better quality image. The photo was taken at the back of the old pre-fab scout hall. This part was extended to make the hall bigger and add a store room. You can see the entrance and some patrol boxes just inside on the right, and a picture of BP and Boss's plaque on the partition wall.

THANK YOU'S

Thanks go to all those who have supported the archive and donated items for us to share on this website including....

Derek Parker, ex scout, band member and organiser of the Bosses Night Reunion for 50s years for his photos, documents, newspaper cuttings and memories.

Richard Smith for the group history project he researched in the 1980s by talking to many of the original members of the group (see 1986 for contributors).

Sue Greenwood, Group Scout Leader and Ex-Beaver Leader for her Beaver Scrapbooks from 1992-9 and Carnival videos, and links with the current Scout Group.

Bill Harris, one of the early members of the group, whose memories live on in his photo albums and slides that have been donated to us.

Roy Parsloe for his memories of his time in Eynsham Scouts and his photos of the 1947 Jamboree he went to in France.

Vic and Marline Turner, for their photographs, memorabilia and slides of Cub Camps in 1988.

Trevor Winstone, ex Scout, Venture and Explorer Leader for his memories and documents of Eynsham Venture Scouts.

Steve Batts for his early Eynsham Scout Fellowship and FOES newsletters.

Andy Wotherspoon for his memories documents, Scout Badge Manuals and Scout Record Cards from when he was Troop Leader in the 1980s.

Jim Hanks for his pictures of the 2007 Centenary camp near Kirtlington.

Marisa Keeley for loaning us her Falcon Cub Pack Scrap Book and Photo Album from 2001-2008.

Penny Berry for transcribing Derek Parkers hand written reports of Boss's Nights.

Former Scout Harry Russell for the photos he took of Boss's Night in the 70s.

Geoff Watson for his pictures of Eynsham Carnival from 1973-1978.

Anthony Batts for his photos of the Eynsham Ex-Venture Scouts walks along the South Coast in 2011 & 12.

David 'Chip' Carpenter, former Eynsham Cub Leader for finding photos and information on Eynsham Scouts in the Oxfordshire Scouting Museum at Youlbury.

The Trustees of The Scout Association for providing documents and pictures and kindly giving permission for them to be reproduced on this website.

Mark Watson, ex cub, scout, leader & reunion committee member for his films, videos, photos, Scout Association research & for maintaining this website.

MESSAGES

We welcome your feedback on the site, possible improvements, additional information and corrections for any errors you may have spotted. We can also post messages if you want to get in touch with other ex-members of the Eynsham Scout Group to perhaps share memories, check details and get together some more information for the website.

James Beresford emailed, can you help? - At the age of thirteen, I joined The 1st Eynsham Scout Troop in December, 1955, staying with them until July, 1957. I am currently writing my boyhood autobiography, and would like information on the troop for that period, including, if possible, the names of the Scouts, Rovers and Scout leader. I am more interested in the names of Rovers for personal reasons, but any information you can give would be most welcome.
 

I'm loving the new website....happy days. Thanks for setting this up, it's great to look back and remember, I have so many happy memories of this time. Huggy.

What a fantastic piece of work - congratulations. Best wishes, Josie and George Smith.

Here is a selection of pictures that we have no dates for. Can you tell us when they were, what's going on and who is in the pictures? Even if you don't know yourself but know someone who may, please get in touch. We can take a laptop round to non computer users to show them if they can help fill in any gaps. It's your archive and your help will be appreciated to get it as accurate as possible.