AIR RAID PRECAUTIONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23884, 11 August 1939, Page 10

AIR RAID PRECAUTIONS

PART PLAYED BY BOY SCOUTS THE MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND WIDE FIELD OF OPERATION (Special to Daily Times) WELLINGTON, Aug. 10. The (.art played by the Boy Scouts in the British air raid precautions scheme was described by Mr E. A. Searle, a keen member of the Scout movement in England and a member of the crew of the Rangitata. He said that much valuable work was being done by the Rover Scouts and the senior members of the movement. The routine testing of gasmasks issued to the public devolved largely on the Rover Scout volunteers who undertook the gaschamber tests of the masks. The Scouts, besides acting as messengers and participating in other branches of the Air Raid Precautions volunteer work, took an important part in the organisation for the evacuation of London’s civilian population and, in particular, in the evacuation of children. They also sounded the “ take cover ” and “ all clear ” and helped people to respond to these signals. Another sphere in which the Boy Scouts took the lead was in the work for the young people of the distressed areas of England and Wales. He himself, he said, had been teaching domestic science at Llanfrechfa Grange, North Wales. The establishment was financed by the Ministry of Labour and run by the Boy Scout Association there. Boys from distressed areas were taught trades and launched in life as useful citizens. Although the place was run by the Scouts, the membership of the movement was not compulsory for boys attending the place. The Scout movement was valuable to boys in these areas who were enabled to use their leisure in a more profitable way than would otherwise be the case. This need was, however, filled to a large extent by a very strong Y.M.C.A. youth movement in that district, which really left very little scopj for the Scouts. The Scout movement was also vigorously supporting the campawn for national physical fitness. Special physical training commissioners were visiting Scout headquarters all over the country, instructing scoutmasters and scout leaders in modern methods of teaching physical framing. This was no longer based on physical jerks but on games and pastimes in which young people could easily be persuaded to take an interest. Mr Searle said he had studied domestic science at Battersee Polytechnic. He was at present seeing the world as one of the cooks on board the Rangitata.