THE CHIEF SCOUT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23859, 9 January 1941, Page 6

THE CHIEF SCOUT

In the death of Lord Baden-Powell there will be mourned the passing of a man to whom the greater part of the civilised world owes a debt of untold gratitude. He was the founder of the Boy Scout movement;, and in that great organisation, a social instrument of unequalled power, there is erected .already in his honour a proud and permanent memorial. In India, toward the close of the last century, Lord Baden-Powell gained a reputation as a brilliant soldier, and on that reputation the seal of honour was set by his courageous defence of Mafeking in the South African War. For 217 days of siege he commanded his garrison of barely 800 men against a beleaguering force of as many thousands. But after the war the hero of Mafeking was somewhat unaccountably denied advancement in his chosen profession. Perhaps it was as well. In 1907 this famous soldier held his first camp for boys on Brownsea Island, in Dorsetshire. They were lads of every class, from .tho -.East .End, _of .London .and iroiji

the great public schools, and they were gathered to learn the lore of the backwoods and the discipline of scout life. Three years later Lord Baden-Powell .was released from the Army by Royal command to direct the organisation of the Boy Scouts. Before long the genius of his inspiration had placed him at the head of a movement which had spread to the farthest corners of the earth. Even in these dark days, when the international ties of the organisation are perforce weakened, Lord Baden-Powell's youthful army still serves. Its motto, as Air. Churchill once said, "speaks to every heart its message of duty and honour: 'Be Prepared' to stand up faithfully for Right and Truth, however the winds may blow."