Badon Powell

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Start of Scouting | Founder | The Handbook

Forest Line

"Boy Scouting teaches a young person to become a good citizen of whatever country he calls home. Training in responsible citizenship, physical and mental development, character guidance through group activity, patrol activity, recognition through awards and learning by doing comprise the international program of Boy Scouting. Over 16 million participants subscribe to the worldwide principles and universal practices that unite boy, young men, and adults in nearly 120 countries. Worldwide principles include: duty to God and respect for individual beliefs; strength of would friendship and Scouting brotherhood; strength of would friendship and Scouting brotherhood; service to others; regard for the Scout Promise and Law as a live guide; voluntary membership; independence from political influence and control; and outdoor program orientation."

-The Boy Scouts by Carolyn Soto

The Start of Scouting

Picture of an Unknown Boy Scout Leading William D. Bryce to his destination. Painted by Norman Rockwell

One day in 1909 in London, England, and American visitor, William D. Boyce, lost his way in a dense fog. He stopped under a street lamp and tried to figure out where he was. A boy approached him and asked if he could be of help.
"You certainly can," said Boyce. He told the boy that he wanted to find a certain business office into he center of the city.
"I'll take you there," said the boy.

When they got to the destination, Mr. Boyce reached into his pocket for a tip. But the boy stopped him.

"No thank you, sir. I am a Scout. I won't take anything for helping."

"A Scout? And what might that be?" asked Boyce.

The boy told the American about himself and his brother Scouts. Boyce became very interested. After finishing his errand, he had the boy take him to the British Scouting office.

At the office, Boyce met Lord Robert Baden- Powell, the famous British general who had founded the Scouting movement in Great Britain. Boyce was so impressed with what he learned that he decided to bring Scouting home with him.

On February 8, 1910, Boyce and a group of outstanding leaders founded the Boy Scouts of America. From that day forth, Scouts have celebrated February 8 as the birthday of Scouting in the United States. What happened to the boy who helped Mr. Boyce find his way in the fog? No one knows. He had neither asked for money nor given his name, but he will never be forgotten. His Good Turn helped bring Scouting movement to our country. In the British Scout Training Center at Gilwell Park, England, Scouts from the United States erected a statue of an American buffalo in honor of this unknown Scout. One Good Turn to one man became a Good Turn to millions of American boys. Such is the power of a Good Turn.

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The Founder of Scouting

Baden Powell

The man who started the Scouting movement, Robert Stephenson

Smyth Badon-Powell spent much of his life serving in the British cavalry. He received his early military training in India, then served in Africa. At the turn of the century he was an officer in the war between Britain and the descendants of Dutch settlers, the Bores, in South Africa. He gained world fame during the war by defending the town of Mafeking against a force of Boer soldiers. He stood fast for 217 days until another British army group broke through the enemy lines and lifted the siege.

Baden-Powell came home to England as the best-known hero of the Boer War. He decided to use his fame to help British boys become better men. He based his ideas of a boys' organization on his own experiences as a youngster in England and as a soldier in India and Africa. In 1907 he invited a group of boys to attend the world's first Boy Scout camp on the English island of Brown sea. The success of the camp led him to write a book he called Scouting for Boys. It was an instant best-seller. Boys by the thousands bought it and decided to become Scouts. Scouting spread like wildfire throughout England and, before long, around the world.

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Scout Handbook

Seventh Edition 1965

The boys joining the new Boy Scouts of America needed a manual of their own. Published in 1911, the BSA's Handbook for Boys was an American version of Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys. It was packed with information about hiking and camping, forming patrols, and having fun in the outdoors. The book also described activities for Scout troops and listed the requirements for Scout ranks and merit badges.

The Scout handbook has been revised 10 times to include the latest developments in Scouting and outdoor adventures. Since 1911, more than 33 million copies of the Boyscout Handbook have been printed. that makes it on of the most popular American books of all time.

Some Parts Based from Scout Handbook (Tenth Edition)