Scouts

Our Scout Group was started during 1970 and was registered at Scout H.Q. on 24th April 1970 as the 10th Solihull Scout Group sponsored by St. Ninian’s Presbyterian Church.

Mrs. Jean Campbell started the Cub Pack during the year with 12 willing and adventurous boys and, by 31st March 1971, had 19 invested Cub Scouts, 2 leaders and 3 instructors. In 1973 Bill Lloyd joined the Cub Pack as Assistant Cub Scout Leader.

Since 1973, the Cub Pack has progressed steadily with fairly constant numbers, only falling to an all time low of 16 Cubs in 1983 but rising to 27 Cubs the following year.

During 1972, David Ainsworth started the Scout Troop with three Scouts (Jeremy Eade, Robert Campbell and Martin Karsey). At that time, 1st Solihull Foredrove were very short of leaders, so David Ainsworth and his three Scouts went ‘down the road’ to assist Foredrove with their leadership problem, keeping their own identity and wearing their 10th saxe blue and maroon group scarves.

Several months later, Alan Lawton joined David Ainsworth as l0th’s Assistant Scout Leader and John Eade joined the Group as its first Group Scout Leader.

In the summer of 1973, 12 St. Ninian’s Scouts, in two patrols, camped at Bats Hall in Kriowle and this was the real beginning of the 10th Scout Troop as a separate entity.

Later in 1973, David Ainsworth resigned as Scout Leader for personal reasons and Alan Lawton ran the Troop as Acting Scout Leader for a year. John Eade took over the running of the Troop and remained as Scout Leader and Group Scout

Leader until his retirement at the end of 1981 when Peter Clarke, the present leader, took over the running of the Troop.

Falling numbers of Scouts could well have resulted in the closing of the Troop towards the end of 1984. 1st Solihull Foredrove were again without a Scout Leader and so the Troop went back ‘down the road’ in May 1984. By 1985, the Troop consisted of only 8 Scouts with 4 leaders and this has steadily risen since then to our current strength of 16 Scouts with two leaders. At the time of St. Ninian’s 40th Anniversary both the 1st Solihull Foredrove and 10th Solihull (St. Ninian’s) Troops had attained such strength that plans were well advanced for the return of the St. Ninian’s Troop to meet at the Church at the end of May 1986.

In October 1984, we started off our Beaver Colony under the leadership of Mrs. Lynne Brabbin with 17 young ‘kits’ aged between 6 and 8 years, and with a large waiting list!  The numbers rose to 24 as two more leaders joined to help us with the Colony. At the present time, the Beaver membership is 18, with 16 on the waiting list, but we desperately need more help to keep this section running.

During the last seven years, the Cubs have gained 57 Bronze Arrows, 48 Silver Arrows and 37 Gold Arrows. During the same period the Scouts have gained 28 Scout Standards, 18 Advanced Scout Standards and 8 Chief Scout’s Awards. A Gold Arrow and a Chief Scout’s Award are the highest training awards a Cub or Scout can achieve in their respective sections.

Over the last five years the successful co—ordination of the group has been in the care of Mrs. Muriel Clarke.