Baden-Powell's Last Message

"Dear Scouts - if you have ever seen the play 'Peter Pan' you will remember how the pirate chief was always making his dying speech because he was afraid that possible, when the time came for him to die, he might not have time to get it off his chest. It is much the same with me, and so, although I am not at this moment dying, I shall be doing so one of these days and I want to send you a parting word of goodbye.

Remember, it is the last time you will ever hear from me, so think it over. I have had a most happy life and I want each one of you to have a happy life too.

I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be happy and enjoy life. Happiness does not come from being rich, nor merely being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. One step towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy, so that you can be useful and so you can enjoy life when you are a man.

Nature study will show you how full of beautiful and wonderful things God has made the world for you to enjoy. Be contented with what you have got and make the best of it. Look on the bright side of things instead of the gloomy one.

But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best. 'Be Prepared' i this way, to live happy and to die happy - stick to your Scout Promise always - even after you have ceased to be a boy - and God help you to do it.

Your friend,



Towards the end of his life, although still in comparatively good health, he prepared a farewell message to his Scouts for publication after his death.

World Scout History 1971 to 1999

1971 Cub Scout promise drops to be square and adds to help other people
1971 SOAR (Save Our American Resources) program began
1971 Maine National High Adventure Area opened
1971 Exploring magazine published
1971 Silver Buffalo awarded to President Richard Nixon
1971 Girls eligible to register as full fledged Explorer Scouts
1971 First Cub Scout Wood badge course
1971 13th World Jamboree, Asagiri Heights near Fujinomiya City, Japan attended by 7,947 American Scouts for a total of 24,000 Scouts from 87 countries
1971 First Silver World awards presented by BSA for international service
1972 New Scout Handbook removes outdoor skill requirements for 1st Class
1972 Improved Scouting program introduced
1972 Operation Reach against drug abuse introduced
1973 8th National Jamboree, Farragut State Park, ID and Moraine State Park, PA attendance 64,000
1973 Updated Cub Scout program introduced
1973 Washington, D.C. bureau established to represent National office
1973 National Eagle Scout Association formed
1974 BSA starts weekend Wood Badge courses
1974 First woman elected national Explorer president
1975 14th World Jamboree, Lillehammer, Norway attended by 2,500 American Scouts for a total of 17,000 Scouts from 91 countries
1976 First Cub Scout Trainer Wood Badge course held in Alabama
1976 BSA allows women to attend Wood Badge
1976 Women allowed to become Cub masters
1977 9th National Jamboree, Moraine State Park, PA attendance 28,600
1978 Local Council camps made available for family camping
1978 Revised God and Country program announced
1978 Age restrictions removed for severely handicapped Scouts
1978 Outdoor skill reinstated for 1st Class rank
1979 The Official Boy Scout Handbook reflects return of outdoor emphasis
1979 National Headquarters moved to Irving, Texas
1979 15th World Jamboree in Iran canceled
1979 Cub Scout Trainers Wood Badge approved
1980 New uniforms designed by Oscar de la Renta
1980 50th anniversary of Cub Scouting
1980 Fire destroys second floor of the National offices
1980 Eastern distribution center moves to North Carolina
1980 BSA distributes national census fliers
1981 10th National Jamboree, Fort A.P.Hill, VA attendance 29,765
1981 New Scoutmaster Handbook issued
1981 Murray, Kentucky picked as the site for Boy Scout Museum
1982 Career Awareness Exploring becomes official
1982 Prepare for Today program started for latchkey children
1982 Tiger Cubs introduced
1982 The Cub Scout Leader Book published to replace five different leader books
1982 The 1,000,000th Eagle Scout registered
1982 Shaping Tomorrow project introduced
1983 15th World Jamboree, Kananaskis Country, Canada attended by 3,936 American Scouts for a total of 15,600 Scouts from 102 countries
1984 The third edition of the Field book published
1984 Family Camping Association started
1984 Varsity Scouting launched
1985 11th National Jamboree, Fort A.P. Hill, VA attendance 32,615
1987 Anti-Drug Campaign
1987-88 16th World Jamboree, Cataract Park, Sydney, Australia attended by 3,063 American Scouts for a total of 14,634 Scouts from 98 countries
1988 First Scouting For Food
1989 Venture Program introduced
1989 12th National Jamboree, Fort A.P. Hill, VA attendance 32,717
1990 Pope John Paul presented with BSA's Distinguished Citizen of the World Commendation
1990 10th edition of Boy Scout handbook introduced
1990 Center for Professional Development opened in Westlake, TX
1991 Learning For Life Introduced
1991 17th World Jamboree, Soraksan National Park, South Korea attended by 1,010 American Scouts totaling 19,083 Scouts from 135 countries
1991 Ethics In Aciton Introduced
1991 BSA Family program introduced
1991 Conservation Handbook published
1991 Trail Boss program developed
1992 Six BSA regions reduced to four
1992 William Green Bar BillHillcourt passes away
1992 Cub Scout Academics program started
1993 13th National Jamboree, Fort A.P.Hill, VA attendance 32,000
1995 18th World Jamboree. Holland with total attendance of 29,066 Scouts from 166 countries
1997 14th National Jamboree, Fort A.P.Hill, VA
1999 19th World Jamboree, Picarquin, Chili

World Scout History 1951 to 1970

1951 7th World Jamboree in Bad Ischel, Austria attended by 700 American Scouts for a total of 13,000 Scouts from 41 countries
1952 BSA conducts national get-out-the-vote campaign
1953 3rd National Jamboree, Irving Ranch, CA attendance 45,401
1954 National office moves to New Jersey
1954 National Conservation Good Turn
1954 Webelos Dens introduced to provide a bridge to Boy Scouts 1955 100,000 chartered units reached
1955 First Pinewood Derby
1955 8th World Jamboree in Niagra-on-the-Lake, Canada attended by 1,500 American Scouts for a total of 11,000 Scouts from 71 countries
1956 BSA conducts national get-out-the-vote campaign
1957 4th National Jamboree, Valley Forge, PA attendance 50,100
1957 9th World Jamboree in Sutton Cold field, Warwickshire, England attended by 1,700 American Scouts for a total of 32,000 Scouts from 82 countries
1957 50th anniversary of the world Boy Scout movement celebrated
1958 BSA distributes Civil Defense emergency handbooks
1959 Bobcat pin introduced
1959 Scouting magazine begins using full color
1959 Modern Exploring program introduced
1959 10th World Jamboree in Laguna, Philippine Islands attended by 309 American Scouts for a total of 12,000 Scouts from 44 countries
1960 BSA's Golden Jubilee, commemorative stamp issued by Post Office
1960 The Johnston Historical Museum in New Brunswick, N.J. dedicated
1960 5th National Jamboree, Colorado Springs, CO attendance 53,378
1960 BSA conducts national get-out-the-vote campaign
1961 BSA Inter-Racial Service begins projects in public housing
1962 First National Explorer Delegate Conference held in Ann Arbor, MI
1963 11th World Jamboree in Marathon, Greece attended by 621 American Scouts for a total of 14,000 Scouts from 88 countries
1964 6th National Jamboree, Valley Forge, PA attendance 52,000
1965 Inner-City Rural Program launched
1967 BSA Wood Badge change emphasis from Scout skills to leadership
1967 Commemorative tribute statue in front of White House dedicated November 7th
1965 500,000th Eagle badge presented
1966 Revised charter and by-laws adopted
1967 Ernest Thompson Seton Library and museum at Philmont dedicated
1967 Updated Cub Scout program introduced. Lion rank discontinued, Webelos Scout program begun
1967 12th World Jamboree, Farragut State Park, Idaho attended by 4,435 American Scouts for a total of 12,000 Scouts from 105 countries
1969 Girls eligible to participate as non-registered Explorer Scouts
1969 7th National Jamboree, Farragut State Park, ID attendance 35,000
1970 First National Explorer Olympics held at Colorado State Univ.

World Scout History 1931 to 1950

1931 First Silver Beaver awards presented by local councils
1931 First religious award established by the Roman Catholic Church
1932 Mortimer L. Schiff Memorial Scout Reservation presented to BSA
1933 4th World Jamboree in Godollo, Hungary attended by 406 American Scouts for a total of 26,000 Scouts from 46 countries
1933 Schiff Scout Reservation established
1933 Exploring and Rovering programs authorized
1934 Order of the Arrow program approved
1934 Scouts answer FDR's request to collect food & clothing for needy
1935 Silver Jubilee of Scouting
1935 National Jamboree cancelled due to epidemic of infantile paralysis
1935 Membership passes 1,000,000
1935 Senior Scouting introduced for older boys
1936 First Wood Badge courses held in USA following English syllabus
1936 New Handbook For Scoutmasters published
1937 1st National Jamboree, Washington, DC attendance 27,232
1937 5th World Jamboree in Vogelenzang, Holland attended by 814 American Scouts for a total of 29,000 Scouts from 54 countries
1938 Waite Phillips gives BSA 36,000 acres in NM for Philturn Rocky mountain Scout camp
1939 Philturn Rockey mountain Scout camp opens
1939 Air Scouting added
1940 Royalties from Berlin's "God Bless America" finance urban Scouting
1941 Scouts begin campaign selling Defense Bonds and Stamps
1941 Webelos rank created in Cubbing
1941 Philturn renamed Philmont Scout Ranch
1941 Baden-Powell passes away
1941 "Uncle Dan" Beard passes away
1942 Scouts start recycling campaign for war effort
1943 James West retires
1943 First Silver Antelope awards presented by a region
1943 First Blue and Gold banquet
1943 Long trousers and Scout cap introduced for Boy Scouts
1944 Word Fellowship Fund started to help Scouting in wartorn nations
1945 Cubbing changed to Cub Scouting
1947 Long trousers introduced for Cubs
1947 6th World Jamboree in Molsson, France attended by 1,151 American Scouts for a total of 24,000 Scouts from 38 countries
1948 1st BSA Wood Badge course held at Schiff, 2nd course held at Philmont
1948 James West passes away
1949 Explorer Scouting established from Senior Scouting program
1949 Scouts age limits lowered to 8 for Cub Scouts, 11 for Boy Scouts, and 14 for Explorers
1950 2nd National Jamboree, Valley Forge, PA attendance 47,163
1950 First Boy Scout stamp issued by the Post Office

World Scout History 1907 to 1930

1907 Brownsea Island experimentation

1908 Scouting For Boys published

1910 First BSA camp held at Silver Bay, Lake George, N.Y.

1910 BSA Incorporated on February 8

1910 Campfire Girls founded

1911 BSA National Scout Office opens in New York with 7 employees

1911 Handbook For Boys published

1911 First Heroism awards presented

1912 Scouts enrolled from every State

1912 First National Good Turn: A Sane and Safe Fourth of July

1912 Baden-Powell marries Olave Soames

1912 Boy's Life purchased

1912 Sea Scouting becomes part of BSA

1912 First Eagle Scout

1912 Girl Scouts of America founded

1913 First local councils chartered

1913 Scouting Magazine created

1913 Handbook For Scoutmasters published

1914 The troop committee plan developed

1914 The first William T. Hornaday medal awarded

1915 The Lone Scouts of America organized by William Boyce

1915 Order of the Arrow founded in Philadelphia

1915 57 merit badge books issued

1916 Federal Charter granted by Congress on June 15

1916 BSA constitution and by-laws adopted

1917 Veteran Scout established

1917 BSA begins home-front service, "Help win the war"

1918 BSA rendered Nation-wide first-aid service in influenza epidemic

1918 Standards established for Boy Scout camps

1919 First Wood Badge course held at Gilwell Park near London, England

1919 First annual National Boy Scout Week conducted

1920 First World Jamboree in Olympia, London, England attended by 301 American Scouts for a total of 8,000 Scouts from 34 countries.

1920 Baden-Powell made Chief Scout of the World

1920 Scout International Bureau established in London

1921 "New York Times" inaugurated Sunday Boy Scouts section

1923 International left handclasp adopted

1924 Lone Scouts of America merged with BSA

1924 International Scout constitution and by-laws adopted

1924 2nd World Jamboree in Copenhagen, Denmark attended by 56 American Scouts for a total of 4,500 Scouts from 22 countries

1924 "Every Scout a Swimmer" campaign started

1925 Boy Scouts of America membership exceeds 1 million

1925 Junior Assistant Scoutmaster position created

1926 Silver Buffalo first presented, the first to Baden-Powell and the second to the unknown Scout

1926 YMCA Indian Guides program started.

1927 First major revision of Handbook for Boys

1927 Eagle Palms introduced

1927 National office moved to 2 Park Avenue in New York

1928 Sea Scout, Paul Siple, accompanies Admiral Byrd to the Antarctic

1929 Registration of all Scouters authorized

1929 3rd World Jamboree in Arrowe Park, Birkenhead, England attended by 1,300 American Scouts for a total of 50,000 Scouts from 73 countries

1930 Cubbing started

Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell

Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell was born in London on February 22, 1857. He was the sixth son and the eighth of ten children of the Reverend Baden-Powell, a Professor at Oxford University. The names Robert Stephenson were those of his Godfather, the son of George Stephenson, the railway pioneer.

His father died when B.-P. was only three years old and the family were left none too well off. B.-P. was given his first lessons by his mother and later attended Rose Hill School, Tunbridge Wells, where he gained a scholarship for admittance to Charterhouse School. Charterhouse School was in London when B.-P. first attended but whilst he was there it moved to Godalming, Surrey, a factor which had great influence in his later life. He was always eager to learn new skills. He played the piano and fiddle. He acted - and acted the clown too at times. He practised bricklaying, and it was whilst a scholar at Charter house that he began to exploit his interest in the arts of Scouting and woodcraft.

Unofficially, in the woods around the school, B.-P. would stalk his Masters as well as catch and cook rabbits, being careful not to let the tell-tale smoke give his position away. His holidays were not wasted either. With his brothers he was always in search of adventure. One holiday they made a yachting expedition around the south coast of England. On another, they traced the Thames to its source by canoe. In all this, Baden-Powell was learning the arts and crafts which were to prove so useful to him professionally. B.-P. was certainly not a 'swot' at school, as his end of term reports revealed. One records: 'Mathematics - has to all intents given up the study', and another:

'French - could do well but has become very lazy, often sleeps in school'. Nevertheless, he gained second place for cavalry in open examination for the Army and was commissioned straight into the 13th Hussars, bypassing the officer training establishments, and subsequently became their Honorary Colonel for 30 years. His Army career was outstanding from the start. With the 13th Hussars he served in India, Afghanistan and South Africa and was mentioned in dispatches for his work in Zululand. There followed three years service in Malta as Assistant Military Secretary and then he went to Ashanti, Africa, to lead the campaign against Prempeh. Success led to his being promoted to command the 5th Dragoon Guards in 1897, at the age of 40. It was to the 5th Dragoon Guards that B.-P. gave his first training in Scouting and awarded soldiers reaching certain standards a badge based on the north point of the compass. Today's Scout Membership badge is very similar.

In 1899 came Mafeking, the most notable episode in his outstanding military career, by which he became a Major-General at the age of only 43. B.-P. became famous and the hero of every boy, although he always minimised his own part and the value of his inspiring leadership. By using boys for responsible jobs during the siege, he learned the good response youth give to a challenge. During the 217 day siege, B.-P.'s book Aids to Scouting was published and reached a far wider readership than the military one for which it was intended. Following Mafeking, B.-P. was given the task of organising the South African Constabulary and it was not until 1903 that he returned to England as Inspector General of Cavalry and found that his book, Aids to Scouting'was being used by youth leaders and teachers all over the country. He spoke at meetings and rallies and whilst at a Boys' Brigade gathering he was asked by its Founder, Sir William Smith, to work out a scheme for giving greater variety in the training of boys in good citizenship.

The Beginnings of the Movement

B.-P. set to work rewriting Aids to Scouting, this time for a younger readership. In 1907 he held an experimental camp on Brownsea Island, Poole, Dorset, to try out his ideas. He brought together 22 boys, some from public schools and some from working class homes, and put them into camp under his leadership. The whole world now knows the results of that camp.

Scouting for Boys 'was published in 1908 in six fortnightly parts at 4d a copy. Sales of the book were tremendous. Boys formed themselves into Scout Patrols to try out ideas. What had been intended as a training aid for existing organisations became the handbook of a new and, ultimately worldwide Movement. B.-P.'s great understanding of boys obviously touched something fundamental in the youth of this and other countries.

'Scouting for Boys' has since been translated into many different languages and dialects.

Without fuss, without ceremony and completely spontaneously, boys began to form Scout Troops all over the country. In September 1908, B.-P. had set up an office to deal with the large number of enquiries which were pouring in concerning the Movement.

There is no need to describe the way in which Scouting spread throughout the British Commonwealth and to other countries until it was established in practically all parts of the free world. Even those countries where Scouting as we know it is not allowed to exist readily, admit that they used its methods for their own youth training.

As Inspector-General of Cavalry, B.-P. considered that he had reached the pinnacle of his career. The baton of Field Marshal was within his grasp but he retired from the Army in 1910 at the age of 53, on the advice of His Majesty King Edward VII, who suggested that he would do more valuable service for his country within the Boy Scout Movement (now Scout Movement) than anyone could hope to do as a soldier!

So all his enthusiasm and energy was now directed to the development of Scouting and its sister Movement, Guiding. He travelled to all parts of the world, wherever he was most needed, to encourage their growth and give them the inspiration that he alone could give.

In 1912, he married Olave Soames who was his constant help and companion in all this work and by whom he had three children (Peter, Heather and Betty). Olave, Lady Baden-Powell, until she died in 1977, was known throughout the world as World Chief Guide.

Chief Scout of the World

The first international Scout Jamboree took place at Olympia, London in 1920. At its closing scene, B.-P. was unanimously acclaimed as Chief Scout of the World. Successive international gatherings, whether of Scouts or Rovers (now called Venture Scouts) or of Scouters, proved that this was not an honorary title, but that he was truly regarded by them all as their Chief. The shouts that heralded his arrival, and the silence that fell when he raised his hand, proved beyond any doubt that he had captured the hearts and imaginations of his followers in whatever country they owed allegiance.

At the 3rd World Jamboree, held in Arrowe Park, Birkenhead, to celebrate the 21st Anniversary of the publication of Scouting for Boys, the Prince of Wales announced that B.-P. had been created a Peer. He took the title of Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell - Gilwell Park being the International Training Centre for Scout Leaders.

Scouting was not B.-P.'s only interest, for excelled at pig-sticking and fishing, and favoured polo and big game hunting. He was also a very good black & white and watercolour artist and took an interest in cinephotography and sculpture. In 1907, he exhibited a bust of John Smith, the colonial pioneer, at the Royal Academy.

B.-P. wrote no less than 32 books, the earning from which helped to pay for his Scouting travels. As with all his successors, he received no salary as Chief Scout. He received honorary degrees from Edinburgh, Toronto, Montreal, Oxford, Liverpool and Cambridge Universities. He also received Freedoms of the cities of London, Guildford,

Newcastle-on-Tyne , Bangor, Cardiff, Hawick, Kingston-on- Thames, Poole, Blandford, Canterbury and Pontefract, and of other cities in various parts of the world. In addition, 28 Foreign Orders and decorations and 19 Foreign Scout Awards were bestowed upon him. Every minute of B.-P.'s life was 'sixty seconds worth of distance run'. Each new adventure was the subject for a book. Every happy incident or thought, every fine landscape might be the subject for a sketch.

In 1938, suffering from ill-health, B.-P. returned to Africa, which had meant so much in his life, to live in semi-retirement in Nyeri, Kenya. Even here he found it difficult to curb his energies - he still produced many books and sketches.

On January 8, 1941, Baden-Powell died. He was 83 years of age. He is buried in a simple grave at Nyeri within sight of Mount Kenya. On his headstone are the words, 'Robert Baden-Powell, Chief Scout of the World' surmounted by the Boy Scout and Girl Guide Badges. His memory remains for all time in the hearts of millions of men and women, boys and girls.

It is up to those who are, or have been, Scouts or Guides to see that the two Movements he so firmly established continue for all time as living memorials to their Founder.

Knots