Everday Scouting - then and now

Part three - 1976 to 2000

Another activity which we found very enjoyable was narrow boating. The inaugural trip was in 1978, when we hired a superannuated boat at Braunston on the Grand Union Canal. This was in the relatively early days; heating was provided by a coal-burning stove (the smoke blew straight in your face when you were steering) and the water was pumped up with a hand pump. On later trips we enjoyed luxuries such as central heating, hot and cold running water, and even TV. The longest of these cruises was a joint Troop/Unit venture, starting from Stratford-on-Avon, via the Rivers Avon and Severn to Diglis Basin, the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, North Stratford and South Stratford Canals - in all 109 miles and 129 locks. Most memorable was the Wast Hill Tunnel, which is nearly 2 miles long and takes about half an hour to pass through.

[Click on the photos for a larger version.

In 1983 we were the first Troop in the County to take up the new Chief Scout's Challenge. This involved small teams of 14-15 year old Scouts undertaking a 3-day hike in wild or semi-wild country, camping out overnight, carrying all gear and including a project of some kind. In 83 we went to the Lake District, and subsequent trips were to Kielder (1984), Dolgellau (1986), Peak District (1988), Dartmoor (1991), Welsh Marches (1997), and Black Mountain (1999). In all 40 Scouts completed the Challenge.

In 1984 I attended the conference at York University when the revised Scout training programme was launched. We now had four stages - Scout Award and Pathfinder Award, aimed at the younger Scouts, and Explorer Award and Chief Scout's Award with more advanced work for the older people.

In 1976 Headquarters had decided that Venture Units could become mixed, but it took a few years before we decided to follow this initiative. The first girls to join the Unit were invested in 1985, and at the Congleton camp in '86 quite a number of them were present with the Unit.

1985 was also the year we launched the Gilridge Troop. To make Scouting available to more boys at William Parker, a second Troop was started, which met on Thursday evenings. The first Leader was John Rose, and he soon built the numbers up to the mid twenties. Their first camp was at Pease Pottage, near Crawley, and the following year he took them to Brecon. But soon after that his job took him away from Hastings, and Roy Gaved, previously with 5th Hastings Sea Scouts took over, and ran the Troop for about seven years. Camps were held at, among other venues, Copley, near Huntingdon, and Thriftwood in Essex. A narrow boat cruise was also undertaken. When Roy retired, Sean Smailes was his successor, but numbers dwindled and the Troop closed in 1995.

The Overland Hike is a competitive event open to Scouts from all over Sussex. It takes place at the end of March over two days on the Downs, and involves teams of four hiking 25 miles, via various check points where incidents are staged, and camping out overnight. We have taken part in this on various occasions, sometimes entering as many as three teams, and even managing a place in the top 6. This photo shows our team of 1998 preparing to set off.