SCOUTS IN DENMARK.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 1 November 1924, Page 7

SCOUTS IN DENMARK.

INTERNATIONAL JAMBOREE EVENTFUL THREE WEEKS. 1 —— LONDON, Sent, 5. Never will the members of the Arawa Boy Scouts’ Patrol lorget their 'three weeks in Denmark. They have all had a splendid time and have arrived hacß in England in good health. To-morrow at the invitation of the Earl of Liverpool, they are going to spend two or three days at Hartsholme Hall, Lincolnshire. From there they will go on to York and back through half a dozen of the Midland towns and Stratford-on--Avon, arriving in London, again on 19th September. Through the courtesy of the New Zealand Shipping Company, they have been able to exchange berths with ten Australian Scouts, who will return to their homes by way of Panama, and the New Zealanders will sail by the Moreton Bay by way of the Suez Canal on 23rd September. The troop returned from Copenhagen two days ago. “The trip across the North Sea,’-- said Scoutmaster F.. W. Stanford, in recounting their experiences, “made us think of Zeebrugge and Jutland, while the run through Kiel Canal brought back memories and made real to us what- before had only been a hazy notion of an event far removed from our life. We saw in imagination the German Fleet come out, heard Beatty’s guns when he commenced ‘hitting’ at 10,000 yards, the closing up of our Fleet under Jellicoe, the fog and the gradually fading into it of the fleet that had waited and prayed for ‘Der Tag,’and had got it! “The officers of our good ship, Baltava, never slept, but watched and waited on us like a fond mother. Then the landing at Copenhagen among a people who thronged to see us; the march through the streets, clean and beautiful with their avenues of trees and paved surfaces; our first Continental train vide —no waiting, all going like clockwork; then the march to camp, the roads lined by stalwart men and boys, and beautiful and splendid specimens of womanhood and girlhood —all these are very pleasant memories.”

There were some 5000 Boy Scouts in the camp, which was laid out in. an ideal situation. A journey by train from Copenhagen took twenty minutes, and then a march of four miles brought them to an upland clearing, of a. vast deer forest. From the camp they could look all round over miles of forest coun. try. With so many nations represented it was difficult, of course, to converse together intelligibly, but it was surprising to find how many of the representatives of foreign countries spoke English. The arrangements were perfect. The camp was well laid out, there were food and firing in plenty, and for a week the lot of the visitors was truly cast in pleasant places f For the first five days of the‘camp the weather was fine, but on the last two days the rain fell heavily so. that there -was some relief for the boy s to get into billets in Copenhagen. During the first week, competitions were held at the stadium at Copenhagen in the day-time, aiid in the .evening singing and other camp-fire contests were held in a natural arena in the forest. To this resort the people of the city came in their thousands every night. In the competitions the American team was victorious, Great Britain coming second. As the New Zealand patrol was so small they were naturally not in the big. competitions, but they toc».c part in a. number of the lesser events, and gaVe a great deal of pleasure to their fellow-Scouts with their hakas.

After the camp came the \veek in Copenhagen. Three thousand Scouts who availed themselves of the opportunity were received into the homes of the people, and three hundred applicants for guests had to- go unsatisfied. A ballot took place to allot the guests, and it so happened .that Scoutmaster Stanford had four of his own boys billeted with him in th© same house. The week Avas spent in a. series of excursions some lasting up till as late as 10 o’clock at night. On th© first day the boys were taken m parties of 1000 each to the agricultural' districts; on the second day to old ruins along th© coast near Copenhagen ; on the third day to interesting places in the immediate Vicinity of the town; on th© fourth day the programme Avas left to the individual hosts; and on the fifth day ther© was an official reception by the Mayor of the toAvn at the ToAvn Hall. During the third week the New Zealanders were with a party of Scouts who were guests of the Scouts of a grammar school in the suburbs. The headmaster of this school Avas the first to introduce the Scout moA'ement into Denmark, and wag largely responsible for the organisation of the Jamboree. The boys camped in the school and the gymnasium, and cooked their oavu food, and spent another Aveek seeing Copenhagen and its treasures. In th© evenings they found plenty of amusement, too. “The AA’ork of the Jamboree in the first Aveek,” said Scoutmaster Stanford, “showed us that Ave have much to learn from the Danes, and spectacular effort Avas, not Avanting. The Avork in Stadium, at the “camp fire the King’s revieAv in the forest, and the grouping of the camp, all call for praise, and avg feel that Ave In-we learned much take hack Avith us to our far-distant island home. To me personally the Brout Congress Avas the means of knowing something of the hopes and aspirations of the various countries as pvnressed through official papers. One bv Boland especially appealed to me The oaper by Lord Hamoton on Scout,Trailing lvac to mv niind the c ] lief one or British Scouters.”