England’s rebel scouts storm the Palace

Press, 30 August 1977, Page 21

England’s rebel scouts storm the Palace

By

ISABEL HILTON.

“Sunday Times,’’ London

It was just before the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace when a 1926 Rolls-Royce (registration No. U K 2) purred through the Palace gates. The Baden-Powell Scouts had arrived. Resplendent in their traditional uniform of shorts and broad brimmed bush hats — “None of this long trouser nonsense” says their leader the Rev. Bill Dowling — the breakaway scout movement has defied the mainstream Scouting Association for seven years. It has now sought to gain publicity by presenting a bound volume of signatures in loyal tribute to Her Majesty’s Jubilee. The Baden-Powell Scouts stick to the old faith of Scouting, setting their face against the changes of the 19605. “Orthodoxy,” says Mr Dowding, “is my plea.” When the "heretics” of the Scouting Association abandoned the traditional shorts and uniform in favour of a modem image

and long trousers in the mid-19605, Mr Dowling resisted. This led, he claims, to his expulsion. The Scouting Association prefer to say that he simply left. Whatever the politics of the split, the stubbornly beshorted Mr Dowling chose

to go his own way and founded his own movement It was not easy at first. He started with only two troops and a mere 30 scouts; now he claims a membership of 2500. He has never had a moment's regret. Regrets, claims Mr Dowling are the problem of the Scouting Association. “They were complacent in 1969," but now they realise they have thrown away the image of scouting and landed themselves with the dated look cf 1966. People

s say they look like Hitler ; Youth.” • Along with the changes . in uniform went changes in t the Scout Law. A reformr ation which brought the traditional ten “laws” down f to seven. Mr Dowling thought this went against * the principles of the scout-

ing founder, Baden-Powell. “They rewrote it by committee,” he says, “in bad English. And they left out courtesy, cleanliness in thought, word, and deed, and kindness to animals.” But Mr Dowling’s movement has unorthodoxies of its own: he has girls in the movement. “The Guides.” he explains, “protected the name ‘Guide’ legally, so we have to call our girls ‘Scouts’.” The girls, according to Mr Dowling, are happy to shell out $7.90 for a becoming bush hat and tur*

out in khaki shirts and green or blue skirts. He is convinced the Founder would not have minded. The Scouting Association is sceptical about Mr Dowling’s success. The mainstream, they say, has enjoyed a boom since the change in image. And

besides, they hint, not all of the Baden Powell Scouts bare their knees. Mr Dowling admits there are problems. “I have been whistled at myself,” he confessed, “on the streets.” More serious for the Baden Powell Scouts is the question of affiliation to the World Scout Movement. The World Bureau only recognises one body in each country, although some countries have several groups which act in association. This is the arrangement the Baden Powell Scouts

are now seeking with the Scouting Association, an arrangement which would give them access to international scout hostels. “It’s a bit of a cheek,” says Ken Stevens, of the Scouting Association, “but we are discussing it.” As the discussions show, individuals on both sides of the split try to maintain a fraternal scouting front. “A very nice chap, Mr Dowling,” says Ken Stevens, “though I expect you’ll find he’s a bit more cynical about me. But when we met the other day, we could still greet each other with the left-handed handshake.” Could this modest rapprochement be a signal for reconciliation between the sacred principles of long trousers or short? “Never," says Mr Dowling firmly. “Very little chance,” says Ken Stevens.