Back during the first week of August 1907 Lord Baden-Powell was looking for a place to try out his experimental program for young boys. He settled on Brownsea Island, an island owned by a friend of his. There he brought 22 boys and did activities to train them in skills such as camping, woodcraft and lifesaving. The program was a massive success. A year later Scouting For Boys (a re-write of his military manual on outdoor skills) was published and the international Scouting movement took off. A few years later Lady Baden-Powell created the girl version of the organization, and it has been growing since - in 2007, the anniversary year, it was estimated that there are 38 million Scouts world wide.
The island has gone through several owners eventually owned by the British National Trust. In 1963 49 acres - including the original Scout area - were given to the Scouts and was dedicated by Lady Baden-Powell. In August 2007 (one month before we got to the UK - rats!) they celebrate the 100th anniversary of Scouting on the island.
A bust of, and poster about, Lord Baden-Powell on the walk to the Scout center.
John and I standing on the very site of the first Scout Camp.
The Scout Stone - monument commemorating the founding of Scouts
A life sized (?) statue of Lord Baden-Powell on the dock where you catch the ferry to the island. He is actually wearing a pocket knife and Wood Badge beads.
An interesting sight from the ferry. The Haven Hotel is where Marconi lived when he perfected the wireless telegraph and transmitted over water the first time - from this hotel to a receiving point across the harbor.
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