History

In the early 1900s in England, Robert Baden-Powell (known as B-P), a famous army general, developed a scheme for training boys. He tried out his ideas at a camp on Brownsea Island in 1907 and the following year, published them in a book, Scouting for Boys.

The book was an instant success and boys throughout the country enthusiastically took up ‘scouting’. As a result, B-P soon found himself organising the Boy Scout Movement.

At the Scouts’ first rally, at Crystal Palace in 1909, B-P was faced with a small group of girls, representing hundreds of others, who insisted they wanted to be Scouts too. In an age when skirts were ankle length and young ladies never ran, the idea of girls being involved in camping, hiking and similar activities received a mixed response. Angry critics denounced ‘girl scouting’ as a ‘mischievous new development’, a ‘foolish and pernicious movement’, and an ‘idiotic sport’. However, despite the criticism, the girls soon won. In 1910, B-P formed the Girl Guides and asked his sister Agnes to oversee the new organisation.

Established in 1910, Girl Guiding is now one of the largest all-female organisations in the world.