1st Croydon Scout Group
~ History of Croydon Scouting ~
When
Scouting started in this part of Surrey (or so we gather from the historians
that) the then Local Association took in the areas of Croydon, Wallington,
Sutton and Burgh Heath, down to Coulsdon and Caterham and up to Crystal Palace.
Sutton and Burgh Heath left us in 1910 and Wallington in 1911.
From 1922 until 1933 the Croydon Association, under the guidance of
Colonel Worlledge as DC, was divided into three local Associations, Northern,
Central and Southern.
At this time there were two ADCs for Scouts, Captain J Stephenson and Captain HC Mansfield MC, with CWS Kingshot as ADC Cubs and Captain Bracher as ADC Rovers. Some time later Captain J Stephenson was to become DC for Croydon District until his death in 1939.
In
1933 is was decided, after much discussion to make further alterations to the
local Association boundaries and Purley and Coulsdon became a separate
Association, shortly followed by Caterham.
The remainder of the Association was re-formed into five divisions
forming the Croydon Association. Our
District was then made up of 13 Troops.
During
the Second World War the Scouts of the Croydon Association were called upon to
do duty as messengers at the East Report Centre.
This was a house at the bottom of Ashburton Road, and at the Town Hall as
well as doing many other jobs such as collecting waste paper, farm work and more
importantly air raid shelter erection.
During
the War many Scouters were called up for National Service and in many cases the
Scout Troops were run by the boys themselves, and it speaks very highly for
their efforts that the Troops did carry on during this most difficult time. Mr F R Eveleigh was appointed as Assistant District
Commissioner in 1937 and he continued right through the War until 1948 when he
was made District Commissioner. Scouting
in Croydon flourished with new Scouters getting involved after the War, and the
Senior Scouts starting in 1946/1947 the Croydon Division grew from strength o
strength.
With most of the early milestones recorded, we can confirm that some 50 years on and one ‘Millennium’ later, Scouting in Croydon is still going strong with over 2500 uniformed members. More recently, on 1st July 2003 the remaining 4 Divisions (Districts) in Croydon merged to form 1 larger (Super District) called Croydon Scouting. This action was carried out to further enhance the infrastructure of Scouting in Croydon and to ensure that the youth of Croydon are offered the very best of Scouting, wherever they may live in the Borough.
From 1st September 2004, the 1st Croydon Scout Group were asked to take over the administrative control of the 35th Croydon Scout Group who meet at St Matthews Church on the Parkhill Estate. This action was done as a control measure to ensure the long term provision of Scouting in the area. The Beaver and Cub Scout Sections now operate as a satellite to the 1st Croydon Scout Group.