KZN Scout Groups – Pietermaritzburg District
Please see Scout Groups in South Africa for a list of all the current Groups in KwaZulu Natal
Scouting in Pietermaritzburg 1908 to 2007
By Graham Harrison (edited/shortened)
The first Scout Troop in South Africa was formed in Cape Town in March 1908; the 1st Pietermaritzburg Troop, which met in its own headquarters in Adrian Road in Prestbury, a suburb of Pietermaritzburg, followed later that year. This was followed, within the next few years, by the 4th Pietermaritzburg Troop, attached to St Peter’s Anglican Church, the 5th Pietermaritzburg Troop, attached to the Boshoff Street Methodist Church, and the 6th Pietermaritzburg Troop, attached to St Saviour’s Anglican Cathedral (deconsecrated in 1976 and demolished in 1981). The original 2nd and 3rd Troops did not last more than a few years, and no details are available. About this time, the Mayor of Pietermaritzburg, Daniel Sanders, was the District Commissioner of the local scout district.
In 1916, the Natal University College established a department of History, and the first lecturer (later Professor) was Alan F. Hattersley, a graduate of Cambridge University. He had become interested in the Scout movement while at Cambridge, and had been scoutmaster of two scout troops in the town. On leaving Cambridge, he became District Commissioner of Enfield, where he received the highest Scouting decoration, the Silver Wolf, from Baden-Powell himself. On his arrival in Pietermaritzburg, he took over leadership of the 6th Troop, and about a year later became District Commissioner, starting a Patrol Leaders’ Parliament, where on one Saturday a month patrol leaders of all troops met in the Presbyterian Church Hall to discuss subjects of interest to them.
H V Marsh and the Lexdon Campsite
Mr Hattersley kindled in the mind of a local businessman, Mr HV Marsh, such an interest in the movement, that he travelled to England to be a participant in one of the first Scoutmaster Training Courses run at Gilwell Park. Returning to South Africa full of enthusiasm, Mr Marsh was appointed Natal’s first Deputy Camp Chief (a scouter in charge of training scoutmasters), and immediately set aside four acres (1.6 hectares) of his extensive property on the Town Hill for use as a scout camping ground and training camp, named Lexden Camp Site, after his home village near Colchester in Essex. This land proved an immediate boost to local scout troops, who could now go camping without the need to find a friendly farmer willing to have scouts camping on his land.
The Rover Scouts took up the challenge of developing the campsite. At midday on Saturdays (this was before the five-day working week) the Rover Scouts would ride the tram to its terminus at the Showgrounds, hike up Howick Road with all their camping gear in their rucksacks, and work on levelling the grounds and building camp-kitchens during the week-end. On Sunday afternoons they would hike down the same road to catch the six o’clock tram back to town. Their devotion was a fine example of the Rover Scout motto in action - Service.
In addition to affording a place for boys to camp, Lexden provided a base for the training of scouters, for both the Cub and Scout sections. About 1934, Marsh negotiated with the municipality for the lease of a further eight acres (3,3 hectares) adjacent to Lexden’s northern boundary, which made for a more extensive camping ground. That same year the Pietermaritzburg Rotary Club paid for the erection of the brick hall which still stands by the gate into Hosking Road. It enables activities to continue in the evening, provides emergency accommodation for cubs and has proved an invaluable acquisition, as the Scout movement could not, at that time, have funded the structure.
In 1937 Marsh formally donated and transferred the original four acres to a body called The Lexden Trust, established to hold the property in perpetuity for use by the Scout Movement or other youth movements. In 1940 the Municipality scrapped the old lease agreement, and donated the additional eight acres to the Scout movement, subject to a condition that should the land not be used for scouting purposes it would revert to the municipality.
Patrol Leader Training Unit
The first in what was to become the Patrol Leader Training Unit Courses was run in July 1959 at Lexden Camp Site and was under the leadership of Dr Dudley Forde with 19 Scouts from the 2nd Durban YMCA Scout Group in attendance. Courses were offered to boys from the same group over the next five years until the 6th Course in October 1964 when it was opened to participants from the South Durban District. It was after the 9th course in October 1967 that the Patrol Leader Training Unit was formed to offer formal Leadership Training courses for Scout Patrol Leaders in the then Natal Division. Many boys from Pietermaritzburg have attended these courses, where they have been challenged by an enthusiastic training staff to attempt new projects and to hone their leadership skills.
In 1921 the four troops, 1st ,4th ,5th and 6th, were joined by a new troop, and was given the name Scoutholm and the number 3, and meeting in the new suburb of Scottsville. Professor Hattersley was its first scoutmaster, having relinquished the leadership of the 6th Troop, owing to the refusal of the cathedral authorities to allow boys to join the troop who were not members of the St Saviour’s congregation.
In 1928 the movement adopted the group system as a policy, thus officially encouraging Wolf Cub packs to link up with Scout troops, to ensure that each boy was provided with continuous training from 8 to 18 years. Unlike most other centres, the majority of cubmasters in Pietermaritzburg were male, though there were a few exceptions, fortunately for the survival of the Wolf Cubs of Pietermaritzburg. In 1929 the 3rd World Jamboree was held in England and 405 were from South Africa. Of these 19 were from Maritzburg - 1st (6), 3rd (7), 4th (2), 5th (3) and 6th (1).
The War years 1939 - 1945
The departure of young scouters on active service during the Second World War caused the closure of several troops, and the war’s end saw only two of them still functioning - the 3rd Troop led by Alan Hattersley, and the 5th Troop led by Cyril Friggens, assisted by Arthur Pipes. The Wolf Cub packs might well have suffered the same fate had it not been for Miss Florence Parker, the cubmaster of the 6th Pack, who took under her wing the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Packs, the cubmasters of which were all serving in the armed forces. This indomitable little lady, who by day served in the millinery section of John Orr’s department store, made the survival of the Pietermaritzburg Wolf Cub packs her contribution to the war effort, and ran a pack meeting every night of the week from Monday to Friday.
in 1939, shortly before the outbreak of war Baden-Powell, and Lady Baden-Powell had made Kenya their home. He died there in 1941, and his funeral was attended by members of the South African armed forces then serving in East Africa. Among their number was Rover Scout Jack Withey, the eldest of three scouting brothers who were members of the 1st Pietermaritzburg Rover Scout crew. Jack later became district commissioner for Pietermaritzburg, and subsequently commissioner for the whole of Natal.
The return of the men from active service saw the 1st, 4th, and 6th Troops resuscitated, and two new Groups, the 9th and the 7th were started, both in the Scottsville area, followed a few years later by the 11th, using Lexden hall as its base. Some years later the 4th Group built its own hall in the Pelham area, leaving no groups meeting in the centre of town. In 1951 the 7th World Jamboree was held in Austria. Pietermaritzburg was represented by 2 Scouters and 6 Scouts from Pietermaritzburg. As the movement reaches its centenary year (2007) only four groups are still functioning: the 1st, the 3rd, the 4th, all with Scout troops and Cub packs, and the 11th, with a Cub pack only.
Prominent Pietermaritzburg Scouters
Colin Inglis - A former scout and Scoutmaster of the 3rd Pietermaritzburg Troop, and later the Chief Scout of South Africa, Colin Inglis, he was instrumental in project "Quo Vadis". Until 1977 there had existed, side by side, four parallel Scout associations for whites, coloureds, Indians and Africans. In that momentous year the leaders of the four parallel associations, led by Colin, at that time Chief Scout of South Africa, decided that such separation was contrary to the spirit of scouting, and formed a single Scout Association to which all scouts belonged.
André Bredenkamp – Another former Pietermaritzburg scout to make the headlines was André Bredenkamp, being the first South African to make an Everest ascent from both the North and the South routes.
Ack: Graham Harrison
1st Pietermaritzburg
The Troop's founding took place on the evening of Friday, 24th October, 1909, in the Metropolitan Methodist Church Hall. The first patrol, the Fox Patrol, whose colours were green and yellow, was formed by Mr. Job Harry Brookes, their first Scoutmaster Their meeting place was initially the YMCA hall, but their noisy meetings eventually upset the locals and were asked to leave. Their first Scout camp held during Easter, 1910, at Zwartkop, near Blackridge.
On the 20th July during a visit to South Africa in 1912 B-P visited Pietermaritzburg and the Troop paraded at the station and their Band played for his welcome. Shortly after B-P's visit, Mr. Brookes left town and H Williams took over the Troop. He was followed by F J (Buffalo Bill) Parsons who was their Scoutmaster from 1913 to 1926. During the First World War, Jack Withey, of the Third, who was struggling to run his Troop on his own, with the remnants of the Third decided to join the First.
In 1923 the Rover Crew was started and in 1925 Skipper G. E. Johnson took over their Rover Scout Leader. The Cub Pack was founded by Miss Emmeline Spindler in November 1923.
In 1926 BP together with Lady BP spent seven months touring SA. They travelled 9,498 miles (13,598Km) inspecting Scouts and Guides and promoting the movement which included a visit to Pietermaritzburg, where he acquired a taste for trout fishing in the highland streams. He also visited Lexden, and planted the great Indian Mahogany tree. On the 22nd February BP celebrated his 70th birthday at the St George's Hotel with Cape Scouters and sailed for England on the 1st April 1927 onboard the Union Castle liner Carnarvon Castle.
During the 1920's there were many camps, some of them being at the Baynsfield estate, Nel's Rust, where they often for their Easter camp. Farm produce was supplied to us free. The camps included tours of the farm and beautiful hikes over the wooded hills. In 1926 they held a camp at Stockden's farm, Mooi Riverbut one of the best camps was held at Lexden in 1928, with 35 Scouts attending. Initially the processing and recording of King Scouts was done in London and Ronald Anderson gained this honour in 1926. Jack Withey became Group Scoutmaster in September, 1933 and Leslie Hemingway ran the Troop until 1936 when A. S. "Tubby" Miller took over as Scoutmaster.
At the end of the Second World War only the Cub Pack was still active thanks to Miss Florence Parker, Akela of the 6th Pack, who kept all five Maritzburg packs alive. By August, 1947 the Troop had been revived by Tubby Miller and they were offered accommodation at the Methodist Church with Jack Withey as Group Scoutmaster. Sadly, the Rovers did not continue. Tubby was the Scoutmaster for 10 years leaving in 1956 and was replaced by Albert Wildeman and later Eric Leslie. Towards the end of 1959 the group was in a sad state, the Pack was almost non existent and with no Scoutmaster the 8 boys were in need of help. Fortunately, a new group, the 11th had started at Lexdon and they joined this troop.
The troop was revitalised in 1961 when John Tooke moved to Pietermaritzburg from Pretoria where he had been running a troop. They housed themselves at St David's Anglican Church hall. Next was John "Chippy" Griffiths took over in June, 1963 and it was during his reign that May 1965 a start was made in building a Den in Adrian Road and was completed within the year. In the early 1970's Michael Mullany joined as Assistant Scoutmaster and became Scoutmaster in June 1971. At the AGM later in the year Kit Ducasse became their first Springbok Scout.
Top Scout Awards
| Date | Surname | Name | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | Anderson | Ronald | King |
| 1955 | Harris | Richard Anthony | Queen |
| 1958 | Haines | Raymond John | Queen |
| 1958 | Hanington | Roger Keith | Queen |
| 1971 | Ducasse | Kit Eyan | Springbok |
| 1973 | Rutherford-Smith | R | Springbok |
| 1992 | Brooking | Vaughan | Springbok |
| 1992 | Drummond | John Leander | Springbok |
| 2000 | Mc Coy | John | Springbok |
| 2002 | Mc Coy | Colin | Springbok |
Scout Group Leaders
J. Withey (1929 – 1956), H. Wenke (1970)
Troop Scouters
J.H. Brookes (1909 – 1912), F.H. Williams (1912 – 1913), F.H. Parsons (1913 -1926), G.P. Johnson (1926 -1929), J. Withey (1929 -1933), L. Hemingway (1933 – 1936), A.S. "Tubby" Miller (1936 1956), P. Pratt (Acting) (1956 -1957), A. Wildeman (1957 -1958), E. Leslie (1958 -1960), J. L Falling (Sm.11th Troop) (1960), J. Tooke (1960 -1963), J. Griffiths (1963 -1971), M. J. Mullany (1971)
Pack Scouters
Miss E. Spindler (1923 -1934), Miss E Spindler (1936 -1939), P. Pratt (1940 -1960), Mrs. S.B. Candy (1960 -1962), Mrs. J. Tooke (1962 -1963 ), Mrs. B. Prinsloo (1966 -1967 ), Mrs. A Hayter (1967 -1971), M. Du Preez (Acting) (1970 -1971), Miss W. Harris (1971)
Rover Scout Leader
G.E. Johnson (1924 – 1929), J. Withey (1929 – 1939)