Low Down Articles
Echoes from the Past
Article 97 of 111
This article first appeared in the "Echoes from the Past" column of the The Low Down to Hull and Back News.
Reprinted with permission. Search complete list of Low Down Articles.
o o o
To the World Scout Jamboree 1955
To attend the World Jamboree, a boy had to be 14 and a 1st class scout, or better a Queen's Scout. Two Wakefield lads achieved this, David McGarry and John Harrison and thus became eligible to attend the 8th World Scout Jamboree held at Niagara-on-the-Lake in the summer of 1955.
One has to learn so many things to reach 1st Class - knots, first aid, signalling, tracking, cooking, camping, mapping, estimations being just a few. Having mastered these skills the boy had to put them into practice by undertaking a 24-hour camping hike with a companion where they were on their own, proving to themselves that they could stand on their own two feet, and could be trusted to carry out certain directives given to them whether the director was present or not.
What follows are the particular directives handed to David and John. While the sealed instructions may seem like nonsense to the average reader of this column they will be understood by military personnel and of course other Scouts. Woven throughout is a make-belief story upon which the instructions are based.
The two Scouts were blind-folded and taken by car from Wakefield to the Scott Road leading to Old Chelsea, where blindfolds were removed, sealed instructions, with a map of the area to be covered were handed to them, and they were off on their own for the next 24 hours.
The lads were given a large brown envelope upon which was inscribed:
| "You are two secret service agents just dropped by parachute somewhere in Russia. You are dressed as Boy Scouts in order to deceive the enemy. It is your duty to spy out the land, making a complete report for the use of NATO land and air forces following after you. The enclosed map was obtained through secret channels at great cost. You will note the North Direction has been torn off. This will not matter if you know how to use your compass. You are now at Map Reference 373 414. Open Sealed Instructions No. 1 |
(It should be noted this action took place during the "Cold War".)
| No. 1 At Map Reference 365 392 there is a wooden bridge. It is important that an accurate measurement, correct to the nearest half foot, be made on the south side in the bridge middle, from the surface of the water to the road surface. This is so that the right length of fuse may be calculated in order to blow up the bridge by bomb. Open No. 2 |
| No. 2 From the bridge you will see a large church with a steeple which it is thought to be a bomb factory. Estimate the height of the steeple by one method and check it by another. If you arrive at two different answers take the average. Now sketch the front of the church and steeple. Open 3. |
to be continued