SCOUT NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 81, 2 October 1929, Page 16

SCOUT NOTES

(By "8.A.M.";

La3fc:Sa±urday week, being St. Matthew's Day,' the week-end was a-Very important .one for all Scouts and Cubs belonging to St. Matthew's.';.Troop-and Pack., On Friday. afternoon, a special court of honour was held, during which the patrol leaders and seconds' Had tea together in the Scoutirs'jN"Den." In tUe evening a combined'gatEering of"Scouts'arid Cubs took place-in their "Den." After the grand !howU .several new.Cubs- were.invested and jpitiated intp thf/mysteries-of the jungle; An interesting 'Iff tie' ceremony - then took place, when Sixer .Watson was farewelled by the Cubmaster. and. his fellow-hunters, and as the ribbon o£ the troop colours was broken he passed into the Scout horseshoe! ' After being suitably welcomed into the^ Scout Troop he was escorted to his patrol by ;the rflag-bearers and patrol leaders. . Then : followed the investiture ceremony,- when the stag patrol (Mauriceville boys) were admitted into the great brotherhood around the camp fire. The Cubsj gave two little plays entitled "Doing Their Best for' Mrs. Jenkin," and "Wolf Cubs to i the-Rescue/' cleverly illustrating their good turns. In competitive games the Cubs defeated the Scouts, but the honour of the latter was restored by a team of six Scoutmasters easily beating a team of six Wairarapa Cubmasters. This will be readily understood when it. is pointed, out-that it was : a team of lad., cubmasters.. .This event aroused some amusement arid noisy enthusiasm. The Scoutmaster expressed' great pleasure in welcoming several visitors in the persons of the Eev. W. J. Durrad and A.S.M. Halpin, of the Featherston Troop, the Eev. J. -;.H. Datson,. late Scoutmaster of the present St. Matthew's Troop,^ Mr. Selby, . District Commissioner' for Gore, Southland, and the Cubmasters from other parts of the Wairarapa. It was .a great joy to all leaders to see so many parents and friends present. The Scouts by their hakas, cheers,. and noise gave all visitors a good welcome. In every way the evening was most successful aud enjoyable. The following is a.list of Scout and: Gub badges presented:—Tenderfoot, Clifford Watkiris, Arthur M'Govern, Rees Walking, ;owen-Walking, Ronald M'Govern, Japk Heaven, Ronald Bishop, Norman 'WilliaiSsj 'Cedrie Clarke. First-class, Scout Hopkins. One year service stars, Scouts Handyside and Peterson. Cyclist, Patrol Leader Green, Scouts Rutherford, Handyside, and Sansou. Handyman,, Troop Leader. Blunt,; Scouts Hopkins, Palmer, Rutherford, Reed. Missioner, Scouts Ninnes and Chamberlain. Pathfinder, Scout Thompson. Public health man,. Scouts Phillips, Hopkins, and Palmer. Cook, Scouts Pitt, Pabner, Hopkins',- and Jenkin. Leatherworkers, Scouts Hopkins and Reed. Green cord (sis-proficiency badges), Scouts Hopkins arid Reed: Plumber, Patrol Leader. Wylie. -1 Telegraphist, Patrol Leader Eichards and Wylie. Ambulance, Patrol Leaders Wylie and Stubbings.' Fireman, Patrol Leaders Buckton, Wylie,. and Stubbings. Patrol leader's badge. Scouts Finlayson, Stubbings, and Watkins. Second badges, Scouts Ninnes, Eeed, and .■■. M'Govern; King's Scout, Patrol Leader Stubbings and Scout Phillips. Service star, Patrol Leader .Richards (sixtli year). J Tenderpad, X.: Stecle, J. Horton, A. M'Hattie, B. Dean; A. Judd, D. Ackerman, P. Wadam, T. Kilmister, M. Easthope, C. Carle, E. Carle, First star, L. Peterson, T. Russell, /G. Peers, J. Simpson, B. Southey, R. Hendry, B. Drummond. Second star, D. Askew, D. Steele, B. Baberi Proficiency badges: Householder, R. Clarke, R. .Clarke; team player, T. Denbee; first aid, T. Denbee, 18. Baber, R. Clarke, R. Clarke, O. Thompson, A; Thonipson, B. Watson, G. Basset. The.boys specially honoured three of thenownnumber, P/L Richards, who received his sixth year service star/ and P/L Stubbings and Scout Phillips, who received King Scout badges. Thursday night last was a red letter night for the Eoseneath Scouts. . D.S.M. Donkin presented service stars to Troop Leader Pegrain, P/L's Wilson^ Hawthorne, and Keajr, and Seconds Keay and Nolan, Lwho completedl three years' service in.the troop. Scout Merrie received.his second class, Scout"Jl'Naught cook's badge, and R. Kemball and' R. Gray were initiated into.i the. ;great brotherhood by the presentation of tenderfoot badges. Scouts Hawthorne and Keay received handyman's lifflges • and^;Sc.dut.,W...;,Merrie his .cook's

badge. The evening was brought to a close with patrol competition games. The Ngaio Scout Troop is at present being.reorganised, and is doing well under the new scheme. The troop meets on Fridays in tljp Methodist Schoolroom and Wednesdays in the Ngaio School, and holds parades every Saturday afternoon. The following Scouts have qualified for badges:—Electrician, Scouts Woods, M'Leod, Stephens, and Percival. Missioners, Scouts E: Larkins aud A. Munro. Entertainers, Scouts N. 'Waite and "R. Howe. Two new members, joined up with the troop, Gordon Prince and H. Sirams. The' Ngaio Pack still makes very good progress under the Cubniaster, meeting every . Friday night and Saturday afternoons; .' '' ■■'.-■ '

The Kaiwarra Troop has started a cycle patrol, and several good outings have already'been held. A camera club is now ; m full swing., The Cub Paes, unaei' Sliss Harris, is making good progress. . District Commissioner Miller held an investiture at the Boys' Institute on Monday, when the following badges were presented:—Tenderfoot, Scouts J. Fox and R. M'Kenna. Ambulauce, T/L M'Crca. Handyman, and two first year stars, IYL :J. Beiifield. Cyclist, P/L L. Miles. Two ; one year stars, P/L R. Kellahan. Second glass and metal worker", Scout P. Forbe= ; Three one year stars, Scout Welply.. Signalling competitors gave a demonstration of signalling with Morse ■ lamp,. and after patrol competitions supper was provided by the Earn.Patrol. Commissioner Miller congratulated the boys on their efforts in winning their badges,, and hoped that the high standard would be maintained ' The Island Bay Baptist Troop is holding a Labour Day week-end camp at Paekakariki, when some twenty boys will be tinder canvas. 'D.S.M. Bell -and A.D.S.M. B. Heath will be in camp. The troop is now ; 40 strong, and eighteen Scouts are at pre- ' sent in training • for their electrician's badge under Mr. A. Gibbs. THE JAMBOREE. "A remarkable incident in -the German camp during the ..week-end came to light , to-day," says the London "Times" of : 13th August. • By a strange coincidence two ■ English ex-service men called at. the camp .at different times, each with a wallet ; belonging to a German killed in the early days of the war. One of the men passed his wallet over" to Assistant Jamboree Scoutmaster Leland K. Hill, a Mormon missionary from Utah, who has lived in ; Germany, for some years.- The JSnglishi man said that he had killed the German soldier and then taken his wallet, which . contained letters, photographs, and an identification card, and, though the letters showed that the dead man came from a village near Stuttgart, he had never previously made any attempt to have the belongings returned to the relatives. Hearing that German Scouts were' coming to Arrowo Park, however, lie determined to get j.t off his chest," and gave the Scoutmaster the wallet to deliver to the sold- . lers family. , The other visitor gave up a wallet, which he said he had found, on the battlefield, to Jamboree Scoutmaster Matthias Eichards, also a. Mormon missionary. This second wallet belonged to a German soldier from Konigsberg, and, like the other,; contained letters and photographs clearly establishing its owner's identity. Thia morning the Chief Scout received oh the lawn the large staff of medical Scouters who have had charge of the hygiene and medica! arrangements of the camp, and warmly thanked them for their fine work. It was a feather in their cap, he said, that the health of the camp had been so good. "The/record," added Sir Robert, "beats anything you get in a camp of this size in the Army." The following is :a . letter to the same

' "SU;,—The .World Jamboree, is over.. The curtain been rung down and the actors have made their bow to the audience. fSecurus judicat orbis teiTarum': the verdict is probably favourable, but before the last, echoes of applause die quite away, may it bo permitted to point out that we have so far failed in two particulars? We have failed to attract sufficiently the attention, of the intellectual and of ■ the leisured classes.

"To the intellectuals we would Bay: 'Gomo and'study^us a little, more closely; we are not _ "merely a boys' game" or iT>urely«a middle-class movement^" .You are students of sociology and economics and history in the.making. Come and help us with your brains and your wide experience," and improve our tentative efforts with your advice; and, as we are dealing

with 2,000,000 boys the world over, perhaps we are as worthy of your attention as the Sumerian civilisation or the Freudian complexes.'

To the leisured claEses we would say: Do you understand how a very little encouragement would help us a great deal? liven it you are not prepared to join our association and wear our uniform (which to the weak-kneed may appear a sartorial trial), yet by joining the committee or attending a rally, or giving'a talk, on outside subjects, or even subscribing a guiuea to the local troop, you could do a vast deal to help us. And that more particularly in the hunting counties, where the population is largely agricultural, the villages small, and the difficulty of keeping a troop is immense. A word of encouragement from the M.F.H., for instance, as a sportsman to sportsmen,'might turn the thoughts of the hunt towards us. It might sometimes. mean the postponement of the dinner hour of the missing of a bridge party; but it would have its effect on the. future-of the world's boyhood '-Yours faithfully, g. il. Burrows. Headquarters Commissioner for- Special