A Vessel for Boyhood

Department of History, College of Humanities
History (V100)
HIH3005 Dissertation
Student Number: 630005037
A Vessel for Boyhood
AN ANALYSIS INTO THE APPEAL, IDEOLOGY AND
RESPONSE TO THE BOY SCOUT MOVEMENT,
1899-1920

1
Statement of Aims
The remit of this dissertation is to analyse Robert Baden-Powell’s aim of instilling
middle-class notions of masculinity within Edwardian youth through the Boy Scout movement.
It will then combine this analysis by looking at the pedagogical methodology which made the
organisation so popular. In so doing, this study intends to move the historiography away from
its previous tendency to consider the movement’s plans for boys’ futures without considering
the immediate work it was doing. The intention is to utilise existing historiographical debates
and instead place them within a framework which highlights the ability for the movement to
create a vessel for boyhood. Considering the national anxieties and wider youth culture of the
period, this dissertation will highlight the features which allowed the Boy Scout movement to
succeed in a manner unparalleled by alternative schemes. Furthermore, by considering how
Baden-Powell’s ideas were shaped both before and after the movement’s inception, the
dissertation will aim to show how Baden-Powell’s notion of boyhood remained consistent
through periods of war and peace, as the movement shifted from an imperial to an international
brotherhood.
The opening chapter will explore the social context of the period surrounding the
movement, before the subsequent three chapters consider the organisation more specifically.
The movement’s handbook, Scouting for Boys, will be analysed alongside other literature to
reflect the importance of fiction within the movement, and the growing presence of Scouting
within society as the Boy Scouts were increasingly used explicitly in children’s literature. The
pedagogy of the movement will then be explored, as greater responsibility and practical
application helped create a strong structure which appealed to boyish inquisition. This feeds
into the last chapter which analyses the way the Boy Scouts were seen in public and the way
in which this was adapted to meet social concerns and needs. These analyses support the
main argument of the dissertation which contends that the consistent aim throughout the first
years of the movement was to capture the adventure of youth and use this to instil Baden-
Powell’s middle-class ideas of masculinity.

2
Contents
Acknowledgements 3
Abbreviations 4
Figures 4
Introduction 5
Chapter One: A Nation in Transition 14
Chapter Two: The Power of Fiction – Life Mimics Literature 21
Chapter Three: An Outdoor Escape – Camps and Rallies 27
Chapter Four: Public Perception and the Move to Internationalism 34
Conclusion 42
Bibliography 46

3
Acknowledgements
Firstly, I would like to show appreciation to The Scout Association at Gilwell Park, for allowing
me access to their rich archives. This dissertation would simply have been impossible without
these archive resources. Special thanks are extended to Claire Woodforde for her help in
highlighting key archival material.
Secondly, thanks to Dr Rebecca Williams for her advice and ideas throughout the dissertation
process. Her valuable input and academic insight certainly made my project stronger, helping
to refine my research and writing methods and highlight any flaws in my process or argument.
Thirdly, a special mention must be made to my friends and colleagues Julius Guthrie, Josh
Dack and, especially, Graeme Zaple for their valuable time spent reading over various drafts
of this work. Their outside perspectives were incredibly helpful at sharpening the argument
being presented.
Fourthly, thanks to Anna Collin for her unyielding support and encouragement throughout the
process, which undoubtedly helped maintain my motivation throughout the project.
Finally, the biggest thanks is expressed to my parents, for everything.

4
Abbreviations
SAA = The Scout Association Archive
TC = Transfer Case
Figures
Figure 3.1: ‘Scouts Capture Windsor Castle’, Punch (04/07/1911). 32
Figure 4.1: ‘Our Youngest Line of Defence’, Punch (01/09/1909). 36
Figure 4.2: Punch (21/10/1914). 37
Figure 4.3: William Titcomb, ‘Cheering the Chief Scout’ (1913). 38
Figure 4.4: Arthur Mee, Arthur Mee’s Hero Book (London, 1920), p. 278. 39

5
Introduction
Considering the military past of Robert Baden-Powell, the Boy Scouts’ founder, and
the number of themes which can be explored within it, such as gender, class, nationalism and
imperialism, it is no wonder the movement still sparks such interest. With a plentiful number
of sources available to the historian, at The Scout Association Archive and from the growing
multitude of online resources, this dissertation provides a different contribution to the already
sizeable literature available. Rather than reiterating previous arguments, it seeks to analyse
the organisation’s early growth from a novel perspective by looking at the relationship between
boyish adventure and adult values of masculinity. This dissertation will thus consider the
context, literature and activities of the movement to show how Baden-Powell was able to
successfully inculcate notions of middle-class masculinity within boys. Furthermore, it aims to
question historiographical tendencies from Michael Rosenthal and John Springhall who argue
Boy Scouts (hereafter referred to simply as the Scouts) were being turned into future soldiers,
and proposes that boys were actually being presented with an opportunity for manly adventure
within a vessel for boyhood.1
What Baden-Powell’s vessel entailed was an ability to feed on
boys’ adventurous zeal, creating a movement which provided shelter from the less desirable
traits of manhood whilst training boys to develop a preferred middle-class manliness through
the teaching of moralistic ideas and practical skills.
Considering the broad themes being dealt with in this study, there needs to be some
consideration of how this study defines ‘masculinity’ and ‘boyhood’. It must be immediately
noted that both definitions are based on mainly middle-class values, in correlation with Baden-
Powell’s ideas, with word limitations unable to cater for working-class variations in the terms.
In terms of ‘boyhood’, Edwardian constructions were naturally strongly separated from
‘girlhood’, and involved an increasing removal of boys from the feminine sphere of home, into
1 Michael Rosenthal, The Character Factory: Baden-Powell and the Origins of the Boy Scout
Movement (London, 1986); John Springhall, ‘Baden-Powell and the Scout Movement before 1920:
Citizen Training or Soldiers of the Future?’, The English Historical Review, 102(405) (1987), 934-942;
and John Springhall, ‘The Boy Scouts, Class and Militarism in Relation to British Youth Movements
1908–1930’, International Review of Social History, 16(2) (1971), 125-158.

6
places like public schools and indeed youth movements.2
This study also borrows John Tosh
and Anthony Fletcher’s ideas that ‘boyhood’ was geared increasingly towards adulthood, with
the need to prove oneself amongst peers, and demonstrate independence, self-reliance and
confidence all key traits within the ‘masculinity’ that boys were expected to nurture.3
With
regard to ‘masculinity’, the Edwardian era saw an increased commitment to family across all
classes, as previous upper-class masculine ideas of arrogance gave way to concepts of
selflessness.4
This meant that whilst men, and boys, were still expected to be patriotic and
strong, the Edwardian era placed greater onus on politeness and respect.5
However, whilst
boyhood took on elements of masculinity, it was still a part of a greater ‘childhood’, which took
on a hybridity of fictional and real worlds.6
It is this idea which helps forms the crux of this
study’s argument, as boyhood was not completely constrained by ideas of manhood, but
retained an innocence of youth. Baden-Powell’s methods exploited this hybridity as
masculinity was twinned with childish imagination expertly within the Scouts to construct his
ideal boyhood.
The historiography surrounding the Scouts has mainly been dominated by debate over
whether Baden-Powell was trying to create future soldiers or good citizens. Rosenthal and
Springhall have led one side of the debate, arguing the publication of Baden-Powell’s
handbook Scouting for Boys (hereafter referred to as Scouting) in 1908 was the culmination
of militaristic ideas.7
They argue such ideas can be traced back to Aids to Scouting (1899),
2 Anthony Fletcher, Growing Up in England: The Experience of Childhood, 1600-1914 (New Haven,
2008), p. 5; Allen Warren, ‘‘Mothers for the Empire’? The Girl Guides Association in Britain, 1909-
1939’; in J. A. Mangan (ed.), Making Imperial Mentalities: Socialisation and British Imperialism (New
York, 1990); and John Tosh and Michael Roper (eds.), Manful Assertions: Masculinities in Britain
since 1800 (London, 1991), p. 3.
3 John Tosh, A Man’s Place: Masculinity and the Middle-Class Home in Victorian England (New
Haven, 1999), pp. 4-7, 103-111, 196; and Fletcher, Growing Up in England, pp. 13-16.
4 Kelly Boyd, Manliness and the Boys’ Story Paper in Britain: A Cultural History, 1855-1940
(Basingstoke, 2003), pp. 70-71.
5 Fletcher, Growing Up in England, p. 18.
6 Adrienne E. Gavin and Andrew F. Humphries (eds.), Childhood in Edwardian Fiction (Basingstoke,
2009), p. 4.
7 Rosenthal, The Character Factory; Springhall, ‘Baden-Powell and the Scout Movement before
1920’; Springhall, ‘The Boy Scouts, Class and Militarism’; and Robert Baden-Powell, Scouting for
Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship (London, 1908); republished by Elleke Boehmer
(ed.), (New York, 2005).

7
the war-time guide which gained popularity after Baden-Powell’s heroic relief of Mafeking
during the Boer War, and whose publication represents the start of the period being analysed
here.8
By considering this military background, and his admiration for youth groups such as
Sir William Smith’s Boys’ Brigade, scholars such as Pamela Horn have therefore argued
Baden-Powell simply familiarised Scouts with the idea of fighting for the Empire.9
However, these arguments have multiple issues. Firstly, they imply a level of
ideological fixity within the Scout movement, assuming that Baden-Powell’s ideas remained
identical to those held during his military career.10
This therefore overlooks Baden-Powell’s
vehement defence against contemporary accusations of militarism within the Scouts, with this
fixity far more obvious in youth movements such as the Boys’ Brigade and Church Lads’
Brigade.11
Whilst early Scouts were often also attached to other movements, Baden-Powell’s
aims notably differed from these, consistently reiterating in Scouting and the press his desire
to create a more peaceful movement.12
Secondly, whilst the movement’s single-sex nature
facilitated a more powerful socialising agency, this was only used to create a new boyhood in
an epoch of gender politics, rather than indoctrinate ideas of militaristic patriotism.13
Contemporaries viewed the internal and external imperial threats to the British Empire as a
chance to apply tabula rasa to the nation’s youth and redefine both boyhood and girlhood.14
Yet whilst scholars such as Sally Mitchell and Michelle Smith have written well on the creation
of a ‘new girl’ and womanhood during the period, ideas on boyhood have been almost
8 Robert Baden-Powell, Aids to Scouting for N.C.Os and Men (London, 1899).
9 Pamela Horn, ‘English elementary education and the growth of the imperial idea, 1880-1914’, in J.
A. Mangan (ed.), Benefits Bestowed? Education and British Imperialism (New York, 1988), pp. 39-55.
10 Allen Warren, ‘Citizens of the Empire: Baden-Powell, Scouts and Guides and an Imperial Ideal,
1900-40’; in John M. MacKenzie (ed.), Imperialism and Popular Culture (Manchester, 1986), p. 236.
11 Robert Baden-Powell to General William Booth (25/02/1910), SAA, TC/129; and Robert Baden-
Powell to Sir William Smith (25/12/1909), SAA, TC/129.
12 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, pp. 13, 51-61, 135, 191, 277, 281; Windsor Rally [programme]
(04/07/1911), p. 5, SAA, TC/32; and Robert Baden-Powell, ‘The Boy Scout’, The Times (25/09/1909),
p. 3.
13 Kathleen E. Denny, ‘Gender in Context, Content, and Approach: Comparing Gender Messages in
Girl Scout and Boy Scout Handbooks’, Gender and Society, 25(1) (2011), 28.
14 Peter N. Stearns, Childhood in World History (New York, 2006), p. 57.

8
completely ignored.15
This study therefore helps to rectify this and highlight how Baden-
Powell’s success was due to his uncanny ability to understand boys’ wishes and attitudes.
Finally, when Rosenthal and Springhall argue the movement exercised militarism,they
do so from a predominantly pre-1914 perspective. By indicating the international tension of
Edwardian Europe, they contend that Baden-Powell simply exploited imperialist, militant
rhetoric, significantly overlooking the growing internationalism of the movement after the First
World War. Indeed, the militarism which surrounded the war should be carefully approached,
and not automatically linked to pre-war intentions. Baden-Powell claimed in 1918 the
organisation was ‘not morethan six years old’, with the war creating a four-year hiatus in which
ideas of boyhood had been side-lined by more immediate concerns.16
Even if one accepts the
claims of militarism in the pre-war movement, the growth of the organisation during and after
the war suggests its appeal was not solely based on a militant ilk. Instead, it was Baden-
Powell’s application and consistent nurturing of contemporary boyhood values that ensured
the movement’s continued development.
The retort to accusations of militarism have been led by Allen Warren who has argued
Baden-Powell was more benign in his intentions and relentlessly devoted to instilling good
character within Scouts.17
After acknowledging schools’ use of Aids to Scouting, Warren
argues Baden-Powell altered the messageof the book, resulting in Scouting, in order to better
serve his intentions for the youth and separate them from more army-focussed messages.18
Interestingly, Springhall agrees with Warren that ideas such as chivalry were used for their
sense of heroism rather than connotations of masculine soldiery.19
The ‘Christian manliness’
15 Sally Mitchell, The New Girl: Girls' Culture in England, 1880-1915 (New York, 1995); and Michelle
J. Smith, Empire in British Girls' Literature and Culture: Imperial Girls, 1880-1915 (Basingstoke,
2011).
16 Robert Baden-Powell, ‘Reconstruction’ (1918), SAA, TC/32.
17 Warren, ‘Citizens of the Empire’, pp. 232-256; and Allen Warren, ‘Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the
Scout Movement and Citizen Training in Great Britain, 1900-1920’, The English Historical Review,
101(399) (1986), 376-398.
18 Warren, ‘Sir Robert Baden-Powell’, 385.
19 Ibid., 382; and John Springhall, ‘Building character in the British boy: the attempt to extend
Christian manliness to working class adolescents, 1880-1914’; in J. A. Mangan, and James Walvin
(eds.), Manliness and Morality: Middle-class masculinity in Britain and America, 1800-1940
(Manchester, 1987).

9
in other movements such as the Boys’ Brigade and Church Lads’ Brigade, which supported
boys joining the forces, was thus different to that in the Scouts, and historians should avoid
tarnishing the Scouts with the same brush.20
Sam Pryke and Tim Jeal have also moved arguments away from contentions of
militarism in order to focus on the Scouts’ development of citizenship.21
Pryke has highlighted
the emphasis on knighthood within Scouting, with Scouts able to link themselves to a
romanticised national heritage.22
Furthermore, Scouts were also able to explore an increased
freedom and autonomy in the Scouts that does not conform to notions of military rote training.23
Similarly, Jeal has criticised the Rosenthal for his overreliance on Baden-Powell’s pre-1908
speeches as well as underexploring the amount of philanthropy within the Scouts.24
Indeed
Baden-Powell continuously emphasised the peaceful and selfless nature of the movement,
undertaking his programmeof character training by giving boys responsibility whichdeveloped
masculinity, echoing the likes of Samuel Smiles’ Victorian idea of self-help.25
However, Pryke,
Jeal and Warren all fail to grasp the true importance of this. It was not only Baden-Powell’s
paternalistic pedagogy which was effective, but the ability for boys to independently practice
skills, and gain an unprecedented level of responsibility which was equally effective.
Therefore, whilst ideas of militarism and citizenship should not be discarded, they are
of secondary importance. The context at the time was more focussed towards preventing the
youth becoming a generation of ‘wasters’, and Baden-Powell used this to get boys to begin
‘playing the game’ rather than simply reading and observing their fictional and real-life
heroes.26
The firstchapter thus addresses the social context of the time and the growing desire
20 John M. MacKenzie, Propaganda and Empire: the Manipulation of British Public Opinion, 1880-
1960 (Manchester, 1984), p. 205.
21 Tim Jeal, Baden-Powell (London, 1989); and Sam Pryke, ‘The Popularity of Nationalism in the Early
British Boy Scout Movement’, Social History, 23(3) (1998), 309-324.
22 Pryke, ‘The Popularity of Nationalism’, 320-323.
23 Ibid.
24 Jeal, Baden-Powell, pp. 411-415.
25 Samuel Smiles, Self-Help (London, 1897), accessed at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/935/935-
h/935-h.htm (last accessed 16/12/2015).
26 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, p. 278; and Robert Baden-Powell, [draft letter to parents] (1918),
SAA, TC/32.

10
of boys to go and explore the world, with Baden-Powell shrewdly recognising this simpledesire
when creating the Scouts.
It must be remembered that the handbook preceded the movement, and Scouting’s
use of fictitious adventure will be examined alongside contemporary literature in the second
chapter. Jeal’s sizeable biography on Baden-Powell helps highlight the effective use of
literature in Scouting, especially the works of Rudyard Kipling.27
This reiterates the contextual
influences on early twentieth-century society, as Kipling’s Kim and Jungle Book depicted a
wild, exotic childhood with underlying notions of racial superiority which had been infamously
echoed in his ‘White Man’s Burden’.28
Martin Green, Jacky Bratton and M. Daphne Kutzer
have also authored effective works on the wider impact of fiction in this age of increased
education and literacy.29
Along with Hugh Cunningham’s important observations concerning
increased state intervention over Edwardian childhood, these arguments will reinforce the
view that the Scouts offered an element of escape for boys who could reclaim the adventure
present in their magazines but increasingly absent from the classroom.30
John MacKenzie’s
ideas of ‘popular imperialism’, widely supported by historians such as Jeffrey Richards, can
be applied both when exploring fiction within the handbook, and in wider literature, with Scouts
increasingly being depicted in stories.31
For instance, P. G. Wodehouse’s The Swoop!
perfectly encapsulated the ability for reality and fiction to becomeblurred within the movement,
a factor which was immensely powerful to boys who had long enjoyed playing at soldiers and
knights, by admiring figures like Baden-Powell and Teddy Roosevelt.32
Furthermore, Richards
27 Jeal, Baden-Powell, p. 391.
28 Rudyard Kipling, Kim (London, 1901), accessed at https://archive.org/details/kimkipling01kipluoft
(last accessed 16/12/2015); Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book (New York, 1899), accessed at
https://archive.org/details/junglebook00unkngoog (last accessed 16/12/2015); and Rudyard Kipling,
‘White Man’s Burden’, McClure’s Magazine, 7(4) (1899), 290.
29 Martin Green, Dreams of Adventure, Deeds of Empire (London, 1980); J. S. Bratton, ‘Of England,
Home and Duty: The Image of England in Victorian and Edwardian Juvenile Fiction’; in MacKenzie,
Imperialism and Popular Culture, pp. 76-81; and M. Daphne Kutzer, Empire’s Children: Empire and
Imperialism in Classic British Children’s Books (New York, 2000).
30 Hugh Cunningham, ‘Histories of Childhood’, The American Historical Review, 103(4) (1998), 1201.
31 MacKenzie, Imperialism and Popular Culture; MacKenzie, Propaganda and Empire; and Jeffrey
Richards (ed.), Imperialism and Juvenile Literature (New York, 1989).
32 P. G. Wodehouse, The Swoop! or How Clarence Saved England (London, 1909), accessed at
http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/7050/pg7050-images.html (last accessed 10/09/2015); Robert

11
makes the simple but crucial observation that ‘popular imperialism’ during the period was not
static.33
Whilstliterature was aggressively militaristic at the turn of the century, a move towards
peaceful stories became increasingly noticeable, a trend both utilised and influenced by the
Scouts.34
Robert MacDonald has analysed the impact of boys’ magazines during the period in
a manner focussed more directly on the Scouts, and his ideas will be considered when
addressing the handbook to show how Baden-Powell constructed his vessel of boyhood.35
The second chapter thus addresses the synchronicity of life and literature in capturing boys’
imagination. This feeds perfectly into the third chapter which looks at how the adventures of
fiction were applied within the Scouts through events such as camps. An ability to take part in
events which had previously been off-limits was an incredibly potent tool to help recruit boys,
who could absorb the ideas depicted before creating their own heroic stories. These two
chapters will therefore reiterate that it was Baden-Powell’s simple ability to utilise what was
already popular in boys’ culture which facilitated such an impressive early growth in numbers.
Baden-Powell’s ability to not only write in a style which conveyed moralistic rhetoric to boys’
perpetual love of adventurous exploration, but provide opportunities to develop this ideal
‘boyhood’ was fundamental to the early rise of the Scouts, as his ideology increasingly
pervaded societal thinking.
Alongside the third chapter, the fourth chapter will further analyse the Scouts’
methodologies and link this to the movement’s wider perception in society. Dane Kennedy and
Paul Wilkinson for example have looked at the role of public schools in the period, which did
exercise some level of militaristic ideology.36
However, Pryke and Warren have argued that
whilst the ethos of the public schools was shared by the Scouts, pedagogy was distinctly
H. MacDonald, Sons of the Empire: The Frontier and the Boy Scout Movement, 1890-1918 (Toronto,
1993), pp. 3, 134; John Mackenzie, ‘The imperial pioneer and hunter and the British masculine
stereotype in late Victorian and Edwardian times’, in Mangan and Walvin (eds.), Manliness and
Morality, p. 177; and ‘Ian Hislop’s Scouting for Boys’, BBC Four (first aired 14/05/2007), 22:30-22:45.
33 Richards, Imperialism and Juvenile Literature, pp. 5-6.
34 Ibid.
35 MacDonald, Sons of the Empire.
36 Dane Kennedy, Britain and Empire, 1880-1945 (Harlow, 2002); and Paul Wilkinson, ‘English Youth
Movements, 1908-30’, Journal of Contemporary History, 4(2) (1969), 3-23.

12
different.37
For instance, whereas patrol leaders mirrored the role of public-school prefects,
rote learning and drill were criticised.38
Furthermore, the Scouts offered boys a chance to play
the games which had been abandoned by the Education Board in favour of military-style drill.39
These differences also prove useful when considering the concept of masculinity, as the
physical strengths being taught do not instantly have to be equated with soldier training.
Chapter Four highlights how cartoons and artwork recognised this complexity, with Scouts
depicted in ‘manly’ situations, albeit in a fashion which still clearly depicted them simply as
eager, enthusiastic boys. Jobs such as defending Britannia and helping women and children
showed a level of masculinity, with contemporary public reactions quick to see these qualities
as beneficial to the development of character rather than fighting potential. This final chapter
will thus show that, on the whole, societyrecognised Baden-Powell’s aim to create a ‘boyology’
which took boys out of the feminine home and imbued them with desirable qualities needed
in future men.40
Jeal has even claimed Scouts were shielded from fully-fledged manhood, and
instead were trapped in a perpetual boyhood, with Baden-Powell the real-life, Peter Pan ‘boy-
man’ who boys could revere.41
This is perhaps a little exaggerated, however considering
general social views on gender, the basic suggestion holds merit. Rallies and public reception
showed Scouts were indeed being masculinised, however youth was always evident – Scouts
were not being trained to instantly become men. The use of rallies has also influenced the
scope of this study, with 1920 providing a clear checkpoint in the Scouts’ development, as the
movement became distinctly international and accusations of militarism become even less
viable. By looking at the actions of the Scouts in society, and the public’s perception of them,
debate over whether boys were being trained as soldiers or not can be pushed to one side.
37 Pryke, ‘The Popularity of Nationalism’, 314; and Warren, ‘Citizens of the Empire, p. 239.
38 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, p. 192; Warren, ‘Citizens of the Empire, p. 239; W. M. Eagar,
Making Men: The History of Boys’ Clubs and Related Movements in Great Britain (London, 1953), p.
328; and Warren, ‘Sir Robert Baden-Powell’, 393.
39 Boyd, Manliness and the Boys’ Story Paper, p. 76.
40 Graham Dawson, Solider Heroes: British Adventure, Empire and the Imagining of Masculinities
(London, 1994), p. 2; Tosh and Roper, Manful Assertions, p. 3; MacDonald, Sons of the Empire, p. 9;
and Elleke Boehmer, ‘Introduction’; in Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, p. xviii.

13
Instead an insight into the immediate effects of the movement can be analysed, reflecting on
how Baden-Powell ingeniously created a vessel for boyhood. This study thus provides a
starting point from which further analysis into early-twentieth century notions of boyhood can
be explored.

14
Chapter One: A Nation in Transition
The start of the Twentieth Century was a tumultuous time for Britain, as nationalists
within the British Empire became increasingly vocal and a diminishing amount of unclaimed
territory in the world increased tension amongst European imperial powers. Questions
surrounding the Empire’s viability had been raised by the unconvincing victory in the Boer War
of 1899-1902 and, as this chapter will show, solutions regularly saw child reform as the
solution to avoiding similar issues in future generations. However, whilst eminent historians
exploring wider aspects of British youth such as Mackenzie and Green have highlighted
changes like the rise of literacy and leisure time amongst boys, these have been overlooked
by key figures within historiography of the Scouts, like Rosenthal and Springhall.42
By
continuously debating the type of men Scouts would become, an academic void has prevailed
which fails to spot how Baden-Powell’s use of societal concerns moulded an effective vessel
for boyhood in the contemporary present. Furthermore, Baden-Powell’s ideological flexibility
during the period is underappreciated, a trait which allowed the movement to maintain the
essence of adventurous youth despite changing in agenda towards an increasingly peaceful
and international movement.
The Boer Warhad shown Britain that her power was not an inevitable continuum based
on divine right. Contemporary thinkers increasingly looked to history to indicate Britain’s
imperial issues,with Elliott Mills’ The Decline and Fall of the British Empire (1905) an incredibly
influential publication which ominously echoed the collapse of the Roman Empire when
describing Edwardian Britain.43
Satirically dated as a 2005 work in order to give the impression
of hindsight, this parody of Edward Gibbon’s infamous 1776 account of ancient Rome,
indicated how the British Empire had collapsed as a result of political inertia during the
42 MacKenzie, Imperialism and Popular Culture; Green, Dreams of Adventure; Michael Childs,
Labour’s Apprenticeships: Working-Class Lads in Late Victorian and Edwardian England (London,
1992); Kennedy, Britain and Empire; Rosenthal, The Character Factory; Springhall, ‘Building
character in the British boy’; and Horn, ‘English elementary education’.
43 Elliott Mills, The Decline and Fall of the British Empire (Oxford, 1905), accessed at
https://archive.org/details/declinefallofbri00millrich (last accessed 04/01/2016).

15
Edwardian period.44
Elsewhere, Kipling raised concerns of racial and physical deterioration
within Britain whilst Wodehouse indicated Britain’s vulnerability to foreign invasion.45
Consequently, one national response was to reform education and youth culture. Education
became increasingly accessible, as medical inspections, the National League for Physical
Education and Improvement (1905), and the Children’s Act (1908) all endeavoured to prevent
further physical deterioration in future generations.46
The rise of boys’ clubs and movements
also echoed calls for change, as boys were increasingly placed in the active outdoor world in
order to prevent a weakening of masculinity.47
In short, imperial concerns had led the country
to aim to place a tabula rasa on children.48
During this call for revised thinking, Baden-Powell’s 1899 military handbook Aids to
Scouting became increasingly used in schools to inspire children.49
Revered by boys as an
army hero who had saved Mafeking during the Boer War, Baden-Powell was persuaded by
Sir William Smith, founder of the Boys Brigade, to ‘rewrite the army scouting book to suit
boys’.50
The result was Scouting and the inception of the Scoutmovement.Baden-Powell gave
boys a chance to be a ‘brick in the wall’ and ‘be prepared’ to defend the Empire in order to
avoid a Romanesque fate.51
Scouting immersed them in adventurous, Kiplingesque stories,
whilst the movement gave them a chance to practice the skills being promoted within it, and
44 Eric Adler, ‘Late Victorian and Edwardian Views of Rome and the Nature of "Defensive
Imperialism"’, International Journal of the Classical Tradition, 15(2) (2008), 187-216; and Warren,
‘Citizens of the Empire’, p. 238.
45 Rudyard Kipling, ‘The Feet of the Young Men’, in The Five Nations (London, 1903), pp. 38-43;
Kipling, ‘White Man’s Burden’, 290; Rudyard Kipling, ‘The Lesson’, The Times (29/07/1901); and
Wodehouse, The Swoop!.
46 Cunningham, ‘Histories of Childhood’, 1201; Anna Davin, ‘Imperialism and Motherhood’, History
Workshop, 5 (1978), 9-11; and J. G. Greenlee, ‘Imperial Studies and the Unity of the Empire’, The
Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 7(3) (1979), 321.
47 Jeffrey P. Hantover, ‘The Boy Scouts and the Validation of Masculinity’, Journal of Social Issues,
34(1) (1978), 184-185.
48 Stearns, Childhood in World History, p. 57.
49 Baden-Powell, Aids to Scouting; Warren, ‘Sir Robert Baden-Powell’, 385-386; Wilkinson, ‘English
Youth Movements’, p. 8; and Austin E. Birch, The Story of the Boys’ Brigade (London, 1965),
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/530cad6ee4b01f735fa6d591/t/5370de54e4b05dd1381f79b1/13
99905876121/The+Story+of+The+Boys%27+Brigade+-+Austin+E+Birch.pdf (last accessed
06/01/2016), p. 18.
50 Tosh, Manliness and Masculinities, p. 192; and MacDonald, Sons of the Empire, p. 134; and
Michael Rosenthal, ‘Knights and Retainers: The Earliest Version of Baden-Powell's Boy Scout
Scheme’, Journal of Contemporary History, 15(4) (1980), 603.
51 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, pp. 277-283.

16
escape the confines of home. Tosh and Michael Roper have even suggested this need to get
boys outdoors was Baden-Powell’s main aim after insisting ‘that boys attending day schools
be removed from the feminine atmosphere of home’.52
Through an outdoor life, Baden-Powell
emphasised the building of ‘character’ in order to promote citizenship. However, whilst public
schools, and even militaristic movements like the Boys’ Brigade, also promoted ‘character’,
the Scouts gave a greater element of responsibility to boys.53
This allowed Scouts to truly take
ownership of their imagination and apply the traits Baden-Powell was inculcating in their own
unique, individual manner.
At this juncture, it must be accepted that some sections throughout Scouting do show
Baden-Powell’s pro-army bias, with an early statement claiming ‘every boy ought to learn how
to shoot and to obey orders, else he is no more good when war breaks out than an old
woman’.54
Other examples saw politicians criticised for reducing the size of the military, and a
job in the armed forces depicted as one of many honourable careers.55
Nevertheless, the
handbook’s initial claim was to be an ‘instruction in good citizenship’ which advocated honesty,
honour and ‘good turns’.56
Manliness would be improved if ‘wasters’ could be turned into boys
of action who played ‘the game’, and the virus of domesticated urbanisation was quashed by
outdoor adventures.57
Baden-Powell thus, instead of attempting to impose a tabula rasa on
childhood, implemented simple sociological evolution, applying Edwardian ideas of morality to
adventurous games and exploration (analysed further in the Chapters Two and Three). This
ability to create an ideal ‘boyhood’ can also be seen by the way Baden-Powell borrowed
successful elements from older youth movements to help create a successful transition phase
between juvenile childhood and full-blown adulthood.
52 Tosh and Roper, Manful Assertions, p. 3.
53 Robert H. MacDonald, ‘Reproducing the Middle-Class Boy: From Purity to Patriotism in the Boys'
Magazines, 1892-1914’, Journal of Contemporary History, 24(3) (1989), 524; and Springhall, ‘Building
character in the British boy’, pp. 52-56.
54 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, p. 11.
55 Ibid., pp. 236-237, 288-289.
56 Ibid., pp. 44-46, 213.
57 Ibid., pp. 277-278; Robert Baden-Powell, ‘What A Boy Scout Is’ (1913), SAA, TC/32; Baden-Powell,
[draft letter to parents]; Rosenthal, The Character Factory, pp. 96-98.

17
Sir William Smith’s Boys’ Brigade, set up in 1883, was based on more explicit military
lines.58
Its influence on Baden-Powell’s early thoughts is undeniable, however the extent of
this influence has been overused by Rosenthal and Springhall. Baden-Powell’s presence at
various Boys’ Brigade presentations during the period proved his admiration, and his military
background also makes suggestions of militarism credible. Rosenthal notably highlights
Baden-Powell’s 1904 published speech to Eton students which calls for the nation to help
create a strong batch of future soldiers.59
However, his argument is problematic. The speech
clearly shows a militant tone, but considering the upper-class audience this is perhaps to be
expected, as working classes were more opposed to war or military training than higher
echelons of society, viewing such training as ‘tiresome concessions to authority’.60
Furthermore, as Jeal points out, Rosenthal’s claim assumes a level of ideological fixity, with
no consideration of an evolution of ideas between 1904 and 1907, let alone beyond this.61
Jeal
also points out ‘scouting’ is only mentioned once and fails to correlate with the values
mentioned in Scouting, further weakening Rosenthal’s argument.62
Whilst Baden-Powell
admired Smith’s work, the monumental success of Scouting influenced Baden-Powell to
create a separate movement, which needed to have a distinct purpose.63
This simple fact
means the inception of the movement was based on flexibility in ideas and personal objectives.
Baden-Powell’s flexibility is again showcased during the First World War, when Baden-Powell
altered the ethos of the movement towards an international brotherhood.64
Increasing anti-war
sentiment could not be ignored, especially considering Baden-Powell’s main retort to criticisms
58 Birch, The Story of the Boys’ Brigade; and Joanna Bourke, Working Class Cultures in Britain 1890-
1960: Gender, Class, and Ethnicity (London, 1993), pp. 120-121.
59 Rosenthal, ‘Knights and Retainers’, 603-617; and Robert Baden-Powell, ‘Soldiering’, Eton College
Chronicle (22/12/1904), 600.
60 Rosenthal, ‘Knights and Retainers’, 607-8; Springhall, ‘Building character in the British boy’, p. 61;
and Tammy M. Proctor, ‘(Uni)Forming Youth: Girl Guides and Boy Scouts in Britain, 1908-39’, History
Workshop Journal, 45 (1998), 117.
61 Jeal, Baden-Powell.
62 Ibid., pp. 368-371.
63 Baden-Powell to Booth (25/02/1910); and Baden-Powell to Smith (25/12/1909).
64 MacDonald, Sons of the Empire, p. 209; ‘Brotherhood of Boy Scouts’, The Times (19/06/1919), p.
10; Baden-Powell, ‘Reconstruction’; and Robert Baden-Powell, ‘The Younger Generation’, Sunday
Express (approx. 27/09/1919), SAA, TC/21.

18
of militarism had been that the Scouts was a peaceful organisation.65
Therefore, by 1920 the
first international jamboree reflected a further move away from the more imperial, militant
thoughts Baden-Powell supported shortly after the Boer War.66
This demonstrates Baden-
Powell’s ability to evolve and indirectly highlights a key reason for the movement’s success.
The only constant in the Scouts’ early years was the continuing onus on youthful inquisition
and development of masculine virtues, and it was this ability to provide and relate to children
through camps and games which ensured its success, an aspect explored further in Chapter
Three.
Whilst creating a distinct movement, Baden-Powell did try to cooperate with Smith in
order to strengthen the agency of his vessel for boyhood, asking him in 1909 to become a
member of the Scouts’ council.67
Smith’s rejection of this offer concerned Baden-Powell, who
feared that ‘until all these movements are working on some system of mutual co-operation we
are only dealing with the fringe of boyhood, whereas if leagued as a “combine”we might tackle
the whole mass effectively’.68
This clearly showed a concern for the health of the nation’s
boyhood considering the supposed deterioration of masculinity in adults, with Baden-Powell’s
urging a need to ‘give the boys, of whatever class, the education needed outside the school
walls in manliness and self-helpfulness’.69
Hopes of a combined effort were thus aimed at
reinforcing these masculine ideas within Scouts, but also other youth movements, with
consideration of military training absent from Baden-Powell’s thoughts.
Moreover, historians like Springhall who criticise the Scouts for making future soldiers
tend to do so by looking mainly at the years before and during the First World War, looking at
65 C. Heape, [Interview with Robert Baden-Powell] (12/09/1913), SAA, TC/37; ‘The Boy Scouts’, The
Spectator (11/09/1909), p. 9; ‘The Boy Scouts' Jamboree’, The Courier and Argus (24/07/1920), p. 4;
and Peter J. Cain and Anthony G. Hopkins, British Imperialism, 1688-2000, 2nd ed. (New York, 2013),
p. 48.
66 Warren, ‘Citizens of the Empire’, p. 250.
67 Robert Baden-Powell to Sir William Smith (09/12/1909), SAA, TC/129.
68 Sir William Smith to Robert Baden-Powell (12/12/1909), SAA, TC/129; and Baden-Powell to Smith
(25/12/1909).
69 ‘The Boy Scout Movement’, The Times (24/03/1910), p. 11; Smiles, Self-Help; and Boehmer,
‘Introduction’, p. xiv.

19
the pre-war imperialist rhetoric and number of ex-Scouts in the army as axiomatic proof of
Scout militarism.70
However, Scouts’ involvement in the war cannot be instantly equated to
their Scout membership. Moreover, it is worth remembering that Baden-Powell claimed the
war placed a four-year hiatus on the movement, with pre-war aims and ideas put on hold.71
This fact, along with Baden-Powell’s refusal to turn the movement into a cadet corps, means
accusations of militarism can be downplayed.72
Whilst Baden-Powell proudly replied to ex-
Scouts who had become soldiers, these feelings were well-detached from the aims of the
movement.73
When working and talking about the Scouts, Baden-Powell maintained a
consistent focus on instilling middle-class morals through the medium of boys’ adventure.
The influence of Ernest Seton’s Woodcraft Indians further shows how boys were
attracted to the Scouts, providing evidence of their enthusiasm for outdoor adventures and
craftsmanship. Seton’s American movement had aimed to appeal to children through natural
adventures, with boys transformed into ‘Braves’ who practiced the skills of Native Americans.74
This was clearly mirrored in the Scouts, with Baden-Powell’s decision to play on the chivalry
of knights proving incredibly effective, as boys felt connected to a sense of heroism.75
In an
epoch of imperial concern, Rosenthal correctly argues knightly adventure provided incredible
excitement for the boys, whilst adults considered Scouts to be a ‘new order of everyday
chivalry’ which would protect the future of the Empire.76
By tying adventure to ideas of heroic
masculinity, Baden-Powell was able to instil the moral lessons which leading figures were
calling for, but in a medium the boys would find appealing. Thus, Baden-Powell’s success was
helped by recognising the transitional nature of growing up, as whilst ‘boys liked boxers,
70 Springhall, ‘The Boy Scouts, Class and Militarism’.
71 Baden-Powell, ‘Reconstruction’.
72 Warren, ‘Sir Robert Baden-Powell’, 376-398; MacDonald, Sons of the Empire, p. 199; Childs,
Labour’s Apprenticeships, p. 148; and ‘Ian Hislop’s Scouting for Boys’, 53:10-53:24.
73 Robert Baden-Powell to Private L. J. Andrews (02/05/1916), SAA, TC/4; and Robert Baden-Powell
to C. D. Green (16/06/1916), SAA, TC/4.
74 Ernest Thompson Seton, The Birch-Bark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians (New York, 1907), pp. 4-5,
16.
75 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, pp. 212-222; Jeal, Baden-Powell, pp. 377-380; and Pryke, ‘The
Popularity of Nationalism’, 315, 320-321.
76 ‘The Boy Scout’, The Times (04/09/1909), p. 10; and Rosenthal, The Character Factory, p. 174.

20
soldiers, Teddy Roosevelt’, they were not ready to fully become them.77
Whereas movements
like the Boys’ Brigade tried to turn youth into adults through militaristic drill, Baden-Powell
created a hybridity which maintained a quintessential youth. This success has been pinned by
MacDonald down to Baden-Powell’s own boyish imagination, an ‘eternal boy-man’ who could
empathise with children.78
Jeal suggests this was sometimes restrictive, highlighting how
criticism of ex-Scouts was based on a belief they had been ‘trapped in a perpetual boyhood’.79
However, this should be seen to prove Baden-Powell’s rapport with the boys and grasp of the
notion of boyhood, rather than a serious criticism. Certainly, in a nadir of imperial confidence,
change was necessary. Baden-Powell though recognised this did not mean shortening
childhood to produce men quicker. Instead, he created a more effective evolutionary phase
between youth and adulthood, promoting masculinity through Scouting and the various
activities Scouts enjoyed, ideas which will be explored in the next two chapters.
To conclude this section, it is clear that whilst showing flexibility in an era of transition,
Baden-Powell also maintained a consistent purpose. The movement adjusted to outside
pressures and concerns, yet constantly focussed on developing masculinity within boys. By
providing boys with opportunities for adventure, Baden-Powell ensured significant intrigue
amongst boys, albeit mostly middle and upper-class, to which he could sow his ideas of
masculinity in order to build an ideal boyhood. Whilst MacDonald incorrectly labels the Scouts
as ‘both little soldiers and good citizens’, this quote does highlight the movement’s effective
hybridity as boys looked to become future men through youthful adventure, fun and games –
a training for adulthood within a vessel for boyhood.80
77 MacDonald, Sons of the Empire, p. 134.
78 Ibid., p. 209.
79 E. A. Brett-James to Robert Baden-Powell (09/05/1937), SAA, TC/41; quoted in Jeal, Baden-
Powell, p. 415.

21
Chapter Two: The Power of Fiction - Life Mimics Literature
The next area of Edwardian society to be explored is the growing literacy of British
children. Since the 1870s, growing literacy rates allowed children’s fiction to develop its own
market, led by the popular Boys’ Own Paper (BOP).81
This chapter looks at the role of this
increased literacy in helping to attract boys to the Scout movement, with Baden-Powell
regularly calling on the power of story-telling in order to convey his ideas of masculine
boyhood. In an era where fiction was the most influential transmitter of information, Baden-
Powell’s use of yarns was incredibly effective at piquing the interest of boys whilst promoting
his ‘boyology’.82
This is then explored further, as Kelly Boyd has highlighted the increasingly
interdependent nature and shared ethos of boys’ literature and the Scout movement.83
These
points will help demonstrate Baden-Powell’s increasing monopoly over boys’ culture, both
directly and indirectly, whereby he cocooned boys to an extent which other youth movements
could not replicate. This vessel for boyhood ensured they learnt about the idealised masculine
world whilst maintaining a natural spirit of fun, adventure and inquisitiveness which defined
their childhood.
When considering the influential literary figures within the Scout handbook, Rudyard
Kipling is certainly unrivalled. Kipling was another national icon, depicted as a pillar of the
Empire, and whose poetry, notably ‘The White Man’s Burden’, called for proactivity to ensure
the Empire, which whites were entitled to and responsible for, remained strong.84
Thus,
considering their shared pro-imperial stance, it is no surprise that Baden-Powell adored
Kipling’s juvenile fiction, especially Kim, which held strong potency within Scouting.85
Kim was
used to show boys how, in an exotic world, they could employ nous and mental cunning to
81 Dawson, Solider Heroes, p. 235.
82 Bratton, ‘Of England, Home and Duty’, p. 76; and Boehmer, ‘Introduction’, p. xviii.
83 Boyd, Manliness and the Boys’ Story Paper, pp. 1-8.
84 F. Carruthers Gould, ‘K’, in Harold Begbie (ed.), The Struwwelpeter Alphabet (London, 1908), p. 11;
and Kipling, ‘White Man’s Burden’, 290.
85 Kipling, Kim; Joseph Bristow, Empire Boys (London, 1991); Ben Knights, Writing Masculinities:
Male Narratives in Twentieth-Century Fiction (Basingstoke, 1999), pp. 110-111; and Baden-Powell,
Scouting for Boys, pp. 14-18, 45, 67, 164, 217-218.

22
conquer any situation, whilst displaying the honour and befriending attitudes expected of
Scouts.86
By using Kipling’s endorsement for adventure as a template, Baden-Powell created
multiple yarns within the handbook describing other escapades and range of challenges which
scouts could overcome.87
Furthermore, to ensure Scouts were aware of the messages within
the yarns, the handbook provided a list of books they could buy to reinforce the ideas.88
For
instance, the likes of Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert Conan Doyle were all advocated to
fuel boys’ sense of imperial inquisitiveness, which Catherine Hall and Green claimed was key
to Edwardian national identity.89
Green, alongside Richards, has hence argued that Victorian
and Edwardian literature was not solely effeminate and delicate, with Kipling leading the
masculine alternative to the likes of Jane Austen and T. S. Eliot.90
Indeed Kipling’s influence
on the Scouts survived the movement’s switch towards internationalism, despite its imperial
message, with the younger Wolf Cubs’ hierarchy based on Jungle Book figures such as
Bagheera and Baloo.91
Kipling’s importance in the early years of Scouting was therefore
crucial in forming Baden-Powell’s ideas of boyhood, as Scouts could affiliate with Kim and
endeavour to copy his exploits as his heroics transcended beyond the paper into the minds of
Scout patrols.92
This blurring of fiction and heroism was also aided by the rise of boys’ magazines. As
Richards has highlighted, publications such as BOP, Chums, The Gem and The Magnet all
‘shared a commitment to gentlemanly ideals and imperial values.’93
Indeed, due to its
incredible popularity, one of the first deliveries to the relieved Mafeking was each issueof BOP
87 Ibid., pp. 10-13, 20, 65-67, 77-79, 89-94, 97, 152-154, 162-164, 174, 186-187, 203-204, 212-221,
229-230, 248-252, 274-277; and Robert Baden-Powell, Yarns for Boy Scouts (London, 1909).
88 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, pp. 19, 96, 119, 151, 162, 173, 195, 202-203, 211, 222, 228,
238-239, 262-263, 294.
89 MacDonald, Sons of the Empire, p. 121; Catherine Hall, ‘Going a-Trolloping: imperial man travels
the Empire’; in Clare Midgley, Gender and Imperialism (New York, 1988), p. 180; and Green, Dreams
of Adventure.
90 Richards, Imperialism and Juvenile Literature, p. 2.
91 Gillian Avery, ‘The Children’s Writer’; in John Gross (ed.), Rudyard Kipling: The Man, His Work and
His World (London, 1972), p. 115; and Kipling, The Jungle Book.
92 Troy Boone, Youth of Darkest England: Working Class Children at the Heart of the Victorian Empire
(New York, 2005).
93 Richards, Imperialism and Juvenile Literature, p. 5.

23
published during the siege.94
The magazines,rich in sports news and fiction, echoed the public
school aims for gentlemanly behaviour, therefore correlating well with Baden-Powell’s ideas
of ‘playing the game’.95
This was crucial to Baden-Powell’s ideology as it helped prevent
physical deterioration and promote the ‘manly boy’ – a perfect hybrid between childhood and
manhood.96
Furthermore, magazines clearly depicted the ideal masculinity, with the turn of
the century witnessing a shift ‘from an earlier idealization of passive traits such as piety, thrift,
and industry to an emphasis on vigour, forcefulness, and mastery’.97
As a result, active men
were worshipped by boys, with Baden-Powell and Roosevelt archetypal heroes.98
By providing
an outlet for activities within the Scouts movement, boys could actively copy their heroes, and
engage in sports rather than simply watch or read about them. Moreover, boys’ magazines
allowed the dissemination of Scout ideology beyond patrol meetings, with the introduction of
a Scouting magazine, The Scout, working well with Scouting to sustain the movement’s
growth.99
Initially, the publication had been aimed at staff, but soon switched to take advantage
of the burgeoning boys’ magazine sector, a decision heavily influenced by Arthur Pearson, the
youth-loving newspaper mogul who had strongly supported Baden-Powell in the Scouts’ early
years.100
This further strengthened Scout culture, with boys’ lives increasingly monopolised by
the movement through fiction. Even when they were away from the patrol hut, Scouts were
able to read a blossoming number of Scout publications.
However, by successfully mimicking the best features of boys’ magazines and fiction,
Scouting was the essential ingredient to developing Baden-Powell’s ‘boyology’.101
By
reiterating the idea of a code and displaying idealistic behaviour and values through the power
of fiction, magazines regularly expressed consistent messages within different stories.102
94 Peter Parker, The Old Lie: The Great War and the Public School Ethos (London, 1987), p. 146.
95 MacDonald, ‘Reproducing the Middle-Class Boy’, 522; and Kutzer, Empire’s Children, p. xv.
96 MacDonald, ‘Reproducing the Middle-Class Boy’, 522.
97 Hantover, ‘The Boy Scouts’, 186.
98 Ibid.; and MacDonald, Sons of the Empire, p. 134.
99 Parker, The Old Lie, p. 147.
100 Pryke, ‘The Popularity of Nationalism’, 311; and Sidney Dark, The Life Of Sir Arthur Pearson Bt
GBE (London, 1923), pp. 19-21.
101 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys; and Boehmer, ‘Introduction’, p. xviii.
102 MacDonald, ‘Reproducing the Middle-Class Boy’, 520.

24
Baden-Powell used this in Scouting, with yarns on different topics ensuring interest remained,
despite advocating a common set of core values in each one. The most obvious example is
the consistent play on chivalry, with Scouts likened to modern-day knights. The Scout Law
inherently relates to the knights’ code, and in a manner which focusses on what Scouts should,
rather than should not, do.103
Elsewhere, a Scout’s uniform was equated to armour, their
badge equated to the knights’ crest, and the ‘Be Prepared’ motto clearly harking back to the
‘Be Ready’ dictum of their supposed predecessors.104
Indeed, in 1917 Baden-Powell wrote a
book dedicated to bringing the knights’ code up to date for modern boys.105
The result ensured
that Scouts equated themselves to earlier idols of masculinity, within the sanctuary of
adventurous boyhood.
What made the link to chivalric knights especially potent was Baden-Powell’s
description of similar values in stories of boys’ achievements. In one instance, a scout helps
catches a murderer, using pluck and observation skills, fuelled by a strong sense of duty.106
Similarly, Baden-Powell often claims he witnessed boys ‘the other day’ demonstrating
commendable acts, indicating to Scouts the level of heroism they can possess.107
One
example cites ‘a lad named Currie’, whoseattempts to rescuea girl from a railway are equated
to King Richard I’s self-sacrifice.108
The message here is obvious – acts of heroism were not
restricted solely to noblemen or monarchs but could be performed by any boy so long as they
subscribed to the Scout methodology and ideology. Baden-Powell therefore created a sense
of self-belief which could be used to develop independence and other masculine traits.
It is important to note that instructors’ sections within Scouting do indicate a more
militant element to Baden-Powell’s thinking than chapters aimed at boys. This was influenced
103 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, pp. 44-46; and Jeal, Baden-Powell, p. 394.
104 Rosenthal, The Character Factory, p. 122; Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, p. 23; and Baden-
Powell, Yarns for Boy Scouts, pp. 119-121.
105 Robert Baden-Powell, Young Knights of the Empire: Their Code and Further Scout Yarns (London,
1917), accessed at http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/6673/pg6673-images.html (last accessed
21/01/2016); and Robert Baden-Powell to J. L. Rayner (04/02/1916), SAA, TC/4.
107 Ibid., pp. 215, 219.
108 Ibid., p. 215.

25
by Baden-Powell’s fears of national deterioration and his dedication to preventing ‘physical
decay’ within Britain’s youth.109
However, this has been overplayed by historians such as
Rosenthal, who argues Baden-Powell’s claimed purpose of citizenship training was simply a
façade and in fact the Scouts were a militaristic ‘character factory’.110
Not only did Baden-
Powell vehemently defend against accusations of militarism, even in the handbook, there is
no evidence that instructors religiously followed these sections, let alone any evidence that
boys read them.111
What is known is that Scouting was incredibly well-received by boys who
embraced the adventurous tales being described and skills being taught. With this in mind,
explicit indoctrination of pro-military ideology is simply not a consistent theme, especially as it
is questionable whether boys were open to indoctrination. Certainly, considering Baden-
Powell’s military background, it was arguably unavoidable to omit some sections on the army
and the navy, especially due to the ease with which heroics can be applied to military
actions.112
However, these sections still served a higher purpose of developing character, and
becoming the ideal boy. Consistently throughout Scouting, focus is only ever aimed at utilising
adventurous intrigue within boys to imbue masculinity and create an ideal boyhood.
Finally, the impact of the Scouts on wider literature needs to be mentioned, as this
clearly reflects the success with which Baden-Powell gained an increasing influence on boys’
lives. Explicit examples, such as a BOP story entitled ‘A South African Adventure’ indicate the
power of an imperial, exotic setting for boys, with the link to Scouts shown by the title and the
silhouette of a Scout uniform.113
Another explicit example is Wodehouse’s The Swoop!, which
places a Scout as the hero of the story. Addressing concerns of foreign invasion, Wodehouse
depicts a group of Scouts, led by Clarence Chugwater, who help to defend England from
109 Ibid., pp. 185, 276.
110 Springhall, ‘Baden-Powell and the Scout Movement before 1920’, 934-942; Springhall, ‘The Boy
Scouts, Class and Militarism’, 125-158; and Rosenthal, The Character Factory.
113 John Comfort, ‘Tricked by a Baboon: A South African Adventure’; in Boys’ Own Paper (19th
October 1912), accessed at
https://archive.org/stream/BoysOwnPaper19101912/BOP_19121019#page/n0/mode/2up (last
accessed 24/09/2015), pp. 40-42.

26
several armies.114
The implications of this are obvious, with Scouts reading the story relating
personally to Chugwater and developing their own self-belief in their chivalry and
selflessness.115
By utilising and mimicking the boys’ magazines so effectively, Baden-Powell
created a warped view of the nation’s history. Scouts viewed themselves as continuing the
work of famous Britons to become modern day heroes. The resulting response from boys’
magazines only strengthened this, as in a need to sell their own publications, they promoted
the life of Scouts as the ideal boyhood.
To summarise this chapter, a key reason for the Scouts’ successful moulding of
boyhood was due to the increasing amount its ideology pervaded boys’ lives. By utilising the
power of literature, and the growing trend of Edwardian youth, Baden-Powell was able to
influence members of the Scouts more often than other youth movements could. Fiction
enabled boys to innocently link themselves to the heroes of the past, and entice them to join
the movement where they could demonstrate the skills and values emphasised in Scouting.
Furthermore, as the movement blossomed, the reflective effect back into literature only
cemented the power of the Scouts, as they became the portrayed heroes of stories in
magazines and novels. The result was that fiction and reality became increasingly blurred, as
boys threw themselves into their real adventures which they could copy from their literary
choices. Put simply, the increasing pervasion of the Scout ‘boyology’ captured boys within
their own creative imagination, filtering moralistic, manly lessons into their adventures in order
to sculpt the ideal boyhood.
114 Wodehouse, The Swoop!.

27
Chapter Three: An Outdoor Escape – Camps and Rallies
Considering the exploration of literature in the previous chapter, it is only fitting to
explore how the childhood zeitgeist of adventure was actually implemented within the
movement. This chapter analyses the importance of camps and rallies to the Scouts, with
these events helping to impose the traits of independence and self-reliance which Tosh has
argued was expected of growing boys developing masculinity of the middle-class.116
Through
these analyses, it will be shown how Baden-Powell’s activities were intimately tuned to a very
specific notion of boyhood, which adopted the ethos, but importantly not the methodology, of
the public school.117
This notion was framed primarily around interaction with other peers and
‘playing the game’, in order to instil the self-reliance needed of the future frontiersmen.118
Furthermore, this chapter shows camps and rallies also provided boys with a youthful escape,
as increased time away from the feminine domain of the home helped maintain an onus on
developing masculinity.119
The Brownsea Island camp in 1907 was designed primarily for Baden-Powell to gauge
the potential of his ‘boyology’ ideas.120
Twenty boys from public schools and local Boys’
Brigade battalions were chosen by Baden-Powell to take part, with Jeal highlighting the
setting’s obvious parallels to the island adventure stories of Robinson Crusoe and Treasure
Island.121
Whilst taking place before Scouting was released, historians like MacDonald
consider the camp to be the inception point of the movement, as it was the ‘most typical
instance of Baden-Powell’s ability to catch the spirit of adventure that was to characterise the
contemporary impression of Scouting’.122
During the camp, boys learned a range of skills
116 Tosh, A Man’s Place, pp. 4, 110-111.
117 Pryke, ‘The Popularity of Nationalism’, 314; Parker, The Old Lie; and Rosenthal, The Character
Factory, pp. 90-91.
118 Tosh, A Man’s Place, p. 196; and Pryke, ‘The Popularity of Nationalism,’ 309.
119 Tosh, A Man’s Place, pp. 1-5.
120 Boehmer, ‘Introduction’, p. xviii.
121 ‘List of Attendees for Brownsea Island Camp’ (1907), SAA, TC/80a; and Jeal, Baden-Powell, p.
384.

28
including marksmanship, craftsmanship and tracking, all aimed at developing strength,
intellect and individual confidence, with Arthur Primmer later reflecting on the ‘thrilling time’
the boys had.123
Noticeably, Baden-Powell also played on his past to appeal to the boys, with
the Kudu horn from the Matabele campaign, the Union Jack from Mafeking and teaching of
Zulu chants all used at the camp to bring a sense of adventure.124
The appeal of camps was
therefore perfectly demonstrated with the Brownsea Island experiment, and would be
replicated once the movement had been started. As the Daily Mail reflected in 1908, ‘every
boy at the age of fourteen is a ranger at heart’ and camps gave boys a chance to ‘live the life
of the Wild West’ rather than simply read about it from a second hand perspective.125
Indeed,
camps were well-followed by the press, especially the Daily Mail, with boys sheer enjoyment
of the idea a regular finding.126
It is fair to note that this was influenced by Harmsworth, the
paper’s editor, due to his friendship with Baden-Powell and own interest in boys’ welfare.127
Nevertheless, the excitement of the outdoor lifestyle the Scouts created was well-known, with
regular mentions in newspapers across the country, especially if a camp was nearby. As Tosh
states, in an epoch of ‘ennui, routine and feminine constraint…the camp fire was all that the
domestic hearth was not.’128
Baden-Powell’s pleasure in the success of the Brownsea Island camp was shown by
Scouting’s release just a few months later.129
It is worth explaining how the emphasis on self-
reliance and self-discipline developed in Scouting was influenced by the camp’s success,
which proved, once boys acquired Baden-Powell’s knowledge, ‘you will have confidence in
123 ‘General Baden-Powell and His Boy Scouts: An Experiment in Teaching Alertness’, The Sphere
(01/02/1908), p. 103; Robert Baden-Powell to Arthur Primmer (29/08/1907), SAA, TC/80; and Graham
Thorn and Adrian Smith, [Interview with Arthur Primmer] (10/07/1982), SAA, TC/80a.
125 ‘Boy Scouts’, Daily Mail (19/08/1908), p. 6.
126 Poole Herald (25/07/1907), n.p., SAA, TC/80a; ‘Boy Scouts’, Daily Mail (24/08/1908), p. 6; ‘Boy
Scouts’, Daily Mail (25/08/1908), p. 3; ‘Boy Scouts at Work’, Daily Mail (29/08/1908), p. 6; and ‘Boy
Scouts’ War Dance’, Daily Mail (31/08/1908), p. 8.
127 John Springhall, ‘‘Healthy papers for manly boys’: imperialism and race in the Harmsworth’s
halfpenny boys’ papers of the 1890s and 1900s’; in Richards, Imperialism and Juvenile Literature.
128 Tosh, Manliness and Masculinities, p. 40.
129 Robert Baden-Powell, ‘Boy Scouts’ (1907), SAA, TC/80.

29
yourself’.130
Indeed, prior to 1907, camping had been primarily seen as an adult-only pursuit,
and thus the opportunity for boys to camp gave them a chance to explore, and learn, in a new
fashion.131
The responsibility often given to the Scouts themselves was evident outside of
camps as well, with boys proactively starting their own patrols and keen to jump at the
opportunities given to them.132
Baden-Powell regularly emphasised this methodology, with the
movement designed for the ‘self-education of the individual boy, rather than instruction of the
mass’, drawing upon the middle-class ethos of boyhood utilised in public schools.133
Primmer
for instance stated that the patrol system, based on the public-school prefect system, ‘was a
marvellous idea’, as boys appreciated being treated as grown-ups.134
As Bruce Haley and
James Mangan have explored, the production of ‘character’ was a key purpose of the public
schools, whilst Tosh argues that moving boys from the feminine home into boarding schools
helped instil manly qualities quicker.135
The Scouts therefore provided a further escape from
home, allowing boys access to greater outdoor freedom and an opportunity to engage in the
rough-and-tumble which would help develop self-reliance, intellect and physical strength.136
Notably, whilst Baden-Powell echoed the public school ideology, rote learning and drill
was downplayed.137
Similarly, Warren has pointed out that, whilst sport was essential,
emphasis was often concentrated on individual ability.138
A notable trend of Scout competitions
saw those with the weakest ability able to practice more in order to improve and boost
confidence, another crucial masculine trait developed within the boyish sphere of fun.139
As
130 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, pp. 24, 28-32, 114, 212.
131 ‘Brownsea Island’, Scouting (July 1977), n.p.
132 Thorn and Smith, [Interview with Arthur Primmer]; and Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, p. 36.
133 Robert Baden-Powell, ‘Notes on the Boy Scout Movement’ (1918), SAA, TC/21.
134 Thorn and Smith, [Interview with Arthur Primmer]; and MacDonald, Sons of the Empire, p. 127.
135 Bruce Haley, The Healthy Body and Victorian Culture (Cambridge, 1978), pp. 260-1; J. A. Mangan,
Athleticism in the Victorian and Edwardian Public School (Cambridge 1981), pp. 179-206; and
MacDonald, ‘Reproducing the Middle-Class Boy’, 520.
136 Tosh, A Man’s Place, pp. 105-111.
137 Kutzer, Empire’s Children, p. 41; Warren, ‘Citizens of the Empire’, p. 239; Rosenthal, ‘Knights and
Retainers’, 611; and ‘Ian Hislop’s Scouting for Boys’, 7:56-10:45.
138 Allen Warren, ‘Popular manliness: Baden-Powell, scouting, and the development of manly
character’; in Mangan and Walvin (eds.), Manliness and Morality, p. 202.
139 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, pp. 135, 179-180; and Gavin and Humphries, Childhood in
Edwardian Fiction, p. 7.

30
Graham Dawson neatly summarises, ‘boys’ play, in the era of popular imperialism, was…set
out to inculcate in boys the desirable subjectivities of imperialist patriotism and moral
manhood.’140
The Scouts thus effectively balanced the pull of playful adventure with the push
to boost boys’ masculinity.
Individual responsibility was also shown in discipline, with the Scout Law giving general
ideas of what the Scout should do, from which the boys could learn from personal experience.
Boys would learn from seeing as well as reading, with trust placed on the Scout to adhere to
the spirit of the guidelines, rather than the letter of a specific law.141
However, Tammy Proctor
and MacDonald have argued that discipline was still too structured for some, pointing at the
numbers who chose to enrol in boys clubs instead.142
Other factors contributed to these
numbers though, and should be recognised. For instance, the cost of the Scouts was often
too dear for working class boys.143
Similarly, recruitment was often undertaken in schools,
unable to attract working-class boys, and contributing to many historians including Springhall,
Troy Boone and Joanna Bourke labelling the Scouts a predominantly middle class
movement.144
Nevertheless, this dissertation is not analysing the Scouts’ demographic, and
regarding those that joined, one can fairly conclude that the refreshing mix of adventure and
responsibility within fair rules was effective. As Wilkinson states, ‘boys enjoyed playing at
soldiers’, and Baden-Powell’s pedagogical style allowed them to develop their manly qualities
of independence, self-reliance and confidence of thought in an enjoyable fashion.145
Whilst
this was most obviously achieved at camps and weekly patrol gatherings, special events such
as rallies were also invaluable in providing boys their adventurous escape.
140 Dawson, Soldier Heroes, p. 230.
141 Edmund Yerbury Priestman, ‘Foreword’; in With A B-P Scout in Gallipoli (1916), SAA, TC/4.
142 Proctor, ‘(Uni)Forming Youth’, 105-107; and MacDonald, Sons of the Empire, pp. 11, 155-156.
143 Proctor, ‘(Uni)Forming Youth’, 121; MacDonald, Sons of the Empire, pp. 11, 155-156; and Birch,
The Story of the Boys’ Brigade, p. 10.
144 Springhall, ‘The Boy Scouts, Class and Militarism’, 136; Boone, Youth of Darkest England; Bourke,
Working Class Cultures; Tosh, Manliness and Masculinities, p. 196; Rosenthal, ‘Knights and
Retainers’, 607-608; MacDonald, Sons of the Empire, pp. 153-154; MacDonald, ‘Reproducing the
Middle-Class Boy’; Pryke, ‘The Popularity of Nationalism,’ 321; and Childs, Labour’s Apprenticeships,
pp. 142-156.
145 Wilkinson, ‘English Youth Movements, 5.

31
The most obvious examples of Scout participation at rallies in the Edwardian era are
at Crystal Palace in 1909 and Windsor Castle in 1911. Whilst Scout involvement at rallies
initially indicated a level of militaristic intent through connotations of soldiery, subtleties in the
rallies reveal the youthful element within them. At Crystal Palace, Scouts took part in games,
challenges, drama, and a dusk ‘camp-fire concert’ with The Times reflecting kindly on ‘the new
sport’, and the Daily Mail commenting on the auxiliary roles demonstrated at the rally – roles
which Scouts would play in the ‘case of invasion’.146
Crucially, The Times report dismisses
ideas of militarism by arguing that ‘as a sport scouting is a most useful addition to the outdoor
pursuits of English boyhood’, with the movement imparting important moralistic lessons and
removing undesirable traits through activities which are still ‘good fun’.147
This is echoed in a
report by The Spectator which stated ‘General Baden-Powell has invented for English boys a
spare-time occupation which is something between an adventure and a military discipline’.148
It is important to note ‘military discipline’ does not automatically equal militarism, and these
publications crucially show the contemporary recognition of the boyish fun inherent within the
Scouts, demonstrated again at the Windsor Rally. Jeal highlights the innocent chanting and
waving of hats, whilst Baden-Powell reminisced in 1914 that the site of so many Scouts
‘rushing as only boys can rush’ towards the King was ‘the most impressive sight I have ever
seen’.149
A cartoon by Punch captured the youthful exuberance, with the sketch entitled
‘Scouts Capture Windsor Castle’ (fig. 3.1) reflecting the adventure boys found in events such
as the rally.150
The programmefor the event reiterated to the public the aims to instil ‘manliness
in the future men of the nation’ with the movement aimed at ‘character education’ and making
Scouts ‘good citizens and not soldiers’.151
146 ‘10,000 Boy Scouts’, Daily Mail (28/08/1909), p. 3; and ‘The Boy Scout’, The Times, p. 10.
147 ‘The Boy Scout’, The Times.
148 ‘The Boy Scouts’, The Spectator, pp. 9-10.
149 Jeal, Baden-Powell, pp. 422-423; and Robert Baden-Powell, ‘The Most Impressive Sight I Have
Ever Seen’, The Strand Magazine, 46 (1913), 755-757.
150 ‘Scouts Capture Windsor Castle’, Punch (04/07/1911), SAA, TC/32.
151 Windsor Rally [programme] (04/07/1911).

32
FIGURE 3.1: ‘SCOUTS CAPTURE WINDSOR CASTLE’, PUNCH (04/07/1911).
Therefore, to conclude this chapter, the ability for camps and rallies to provide a literal
escape from the feminised home, and practice some of the skills echoed in Scouting, was
essential for developing elements of masculinity within boys which were deemed invaluable
in later life as men, not simply soldiers. Brownsea Island camp’s setting was well-used by
Baden-Powell to appeal to boys’ imagination, with the Scouts offering boys the novel chance

33
to camp and replicate their fictitious adventures. Furthermore, both camps and rallies,
previously conducted solely by adults, were held in a manner which retained a quintessential
boyish charm, promoting the ideas of play and competition but in a manner which imposed
the middle-class traits of manliness which Baden-Powell felt were necessary for the future
men of the nation to develop in their boyhood.

34
Chapter Four: Public Perception and the Move to
Internationalism
Whilstthe previous chapters consider the aims and methods of the Scouts by primarily
looking at the movement itself, this final chapter gives a brief consideration of how society
viewed the Scouts and how its success led to a more international focus. Considering this, the
chapter will show that despite somecontemporary arguments that the Scouts were militaristic,
there was plenty of recognition of the character training which Baden-Powell was imbuing.
Furthermore, by looking at the similarities within media reflections across the period, it will
again be shown how Baden-Powell’s ideas were consistently based on creating a firm
foundation of boyhood for Britain’s youth based on middle-class values. This can be seen
within cartoons, newspaper reflection and artwork, with this chapter looking at the essential
traits of boyish adventure and relative innocence within these depictions. The aim, therefore,
is to show that whilst views and goals changed surrounding the Scouts in the period, the
essential appeal for boys remained the same; that of adventure and a desire to develop
masculinity.152
Whilst Baden-Powell correctly dominates analysis of the movement, it is worth briefly
mentioning some of the effects of scoutmasters and committee members in shaping the
movement. For instance, in 1909 there was a serious internal dispute as Sir Francis Vane, the
London commissionerfor the movement, suddenly left amidst fears Baden-Powell was turning
boys towards militarism.153
However, as even Springhall has argued, Vane’s contentions were
not a criticism of Baden-Powell directly, but an accusation that he had become increasingly
influenced by military advisers.154
Indeed, earlier in 1909 Vane had written to The Times,
arguing against previous editorials from the public, which he viewed as misinformed about the
Scouts’ aims. Here he clarified the movement’s peaceful intentions, suggesting that ‘those
152 Tosh, A Man’s Place.
153 Jeal, Baden-Powell, pp. 403-409; and Proctor, ‘(Uni)Forming Youth’, 115.
154 Springhall, ‘Baden-Powell and the Scout Movement before 1920’, 934.

35
who have any doubts as to the truth of this should study “Scouting for Boys”’.155
Baden-
Powell’s subsequent response reiterated this idea, trying to educate ‘false impressions’ by
insisting the movement was aimed at educating the ‘boys by means which really appeal to
them – namely, scoutcraftor backwoodsmanship,and their manly attributes.’156
Baden-Powell
contended that whilst scoutmasters could specialise in a certain area of the handbook –
indicating the impossibility to achieve consistent training across all patrols – the main aim was
to develop ‘character’, and any ‘faults’ within the movement should be put into perspective of
its infancy.157
Indeed, after Vane’s sudden resignation Baden-Powell reverted back to an even
stauncher anti-militaristic viewpoint, declaring in an interview in 1913 that the Scouts’ ‘aim was
simply good citizenship and friendship to all’, with the Scouts previously suffering from
significant misrepresentation.158
The development of manly ‘character’ therefore remained the movement’s primary
focus, with various pieces of artwork showing this was recognised by other contemporaries
who saw past the criticisms of militarism, and supported the inculcation of moral, ‘manly’
qualities.159
The most famous examples appeared in Punch, which epitomised the Scouts’
desire to do their duty.160
‘Our Youngest Line of Defence’ (fig. 4.1) may initially indicate a
mocking tone, especially considering the publisher’s satirical tendencies, with the idea of a
boy defending Britannia ridiculous.161
However, the cartoon actually indicates the increased
level of responsibility given to Scouts, who proactively demonstrated confidence and a strong
desire to perform ‘good turns’.162
Similarly, a 1914 cartoon depicts two Scouts trying to defend
the British coastline (fig. 4.2).163
Their youthful adventure is portrayed as innocent play, with
155 Francis Vane, ‘The Boy Scout’, The Times (15/09/1909), p. 7; and J. Taylor Smith, A. H. Hogarth,
and A. Worker, ‘The Boy Scout’, The Times (13/09/1909), p. 4.
156 Baden-Powell, ‘The Boy Scout’, p. 3.
157 Ibid.
158 C. Heape, [Interview with Robert Baden-Powell].
159 Tosh, A Man’s Place, pp. 110-111, 196.
160 MacDonald, ‘Reproducing the Middle-Class Boy’, 530; and Rosie Kennedy, The Children’s War,
1914-1918 (Basingstoke, 2014), p. 83.
161 ‘Our Youngest Line Of Defence’, Punch (01/09/1909).
162 ‘Ian Hislop’s Scouting for Boys’, 51:00-51:19; and Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, pp. 23, 216.
163 ‘"X’cuse me, Mum, 'av yer seen any Germans about 'ere?"’, Punch (21/10/1914), p. 345.

36
the Scouts asking ‘Mum’ if she’s ‘seen any Germans’. The message is clear – the boys are
not being trained as full soldiers but simply proactively fulfilling their duties in an effort to
improve their moral masculinity. A final example from Punch illustrates a Scout insisting to a
doctor that he cares for a patient because ‘I’m a Boy Scout’.164
Again the inference is obvious,
with the Scout taking great pride in his duty, and trying to show his reliability, dependability
and skilfulness in an array of situations. What is clear from these Punch cartoons is that
whereas militarism is not depicted, the ‘character’ of the Scout is immediately apparent,
showing a stronger contemporary recognition of Baden-Powell’s moralistic pedagogy than
historians like Rosenthal and Springhall have considered.165
Indeed, this is highlighted well by
FIGURE 4.1: ‘OUR YOUNGEST LINE OF DEFENCE’, PUNCH (01/09/1909). CAPTION: BOY SCOUT
(TO MRS. BRITANNIA): “FEAR NOT, GRAN’MA NO DANGER CAN BEFALL YOU NOW. REMEMBER, I AM
WITH YOU!"
164 ‘Small boy (to doctor about to assist elderly party in fainting fit). "Stand aside, please, and don't be
alarmed. I'll attend to this - I'm a boy scout."’, Punch (11/12/1912).
165 Rosenthal, The Character Factory; Springhall, ‘Baden-Powell and the Scout Movement before
1920’, 934-942; and Springhall, ‘The Boy Scouts, Class and Militarism’, 125-158.

37
MacDonald, who points to a 1914 cover of Mother and Home, with the caption ‘Let Him Be a
Boy Scout!’ contending that ‘the success of the nation depends not so much on its armaments
as upon the character of its citizens.’166
It was this simple character which Baden-Powell was
endeavouring to nurture, and those who looked closely at the movement swiftly recognised
this.
FIGURE 4.2: PUNCH (21/10/1914). CAPTION: ‘"X’CUSE ME, MUM, 'AV YER SEEN ANY GERMANS
ABOUT 'ERE?"’.
Further examples of the presence of ‘character’ are evident in artwork. As Horn
contends, the Earl of Meath’s Empire Day movement reflected a key desire within middle and
upper classes to maintain an imperial ideal.167
Therefore, the youth in Britain was regularly
exposed to such patriotism, with the Scouts a good example of this ‘love of country and
Empire, and…willingness to sacrifice self for the common good’.168
A couple of examples are
William Titcomb’s ‘Cheering the Chief Scout’ (fig. 4.3) and an illustration within Arthur Mee’s
Hero Book (fig. 4.4).169
In Titcomb’s painting, patriotic waving of the Union Flag and banging
167 Horn, ‘English elementary education’, pp. 47-52.
168 Ibid., p. 52.
169 William Titcomb, ‘Cheering the Chief Scout’, (1913), accessed at
http://www.mystudios.com/artgallery/W/William-Holt-Yates-Titcomb/Cheering-the-Chief-Scout%2C-

38
on drums indicates a level of national pride, whilst Mee’s illustration draws on the ideas of
boyhood which Baden-Powell was so keen to instil. The illustration sees Scouts asking to be
considered as men in order to help the women and children off a sinking ship. This therefore
does not give any strong connotations of soldiery but simply the masculinetraits being imbued
within the Scouts, specifically selflessness, independence, and a sense of brotherhood.
FIGURE 4.3: WILLIAM TITCOMB, ‘CHEERING THE CHIEF SCOUT’ (1913).
Dowry-Square%2C-Hotwells%2C-1913.html (last accessed 04/03/2016); and Arthur Mee, Arthur
Mee’s Hero Book (London, 1920), p. 278.

39
FIGURE 4.4: ARTHUR MEE’S HERO BOOK (LONDON, 1920), P. 278. CAPTION: ‘AS THE CRY RINGS
OUT “WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST,” THE SCOUTS ON A DOOMED SHIP DEMAND TO BE TREATED AS
MEN’.

40
The final section of this chapter explores the importance of this brotherhood of boys,
coupled with its international response and shift toward worldwide cooperation. It was this
brotherhood which moved the Scouts away from a solely imperial focus whilst maintaining the
same boyhood ideology. Jeffrey Hantover and David Macleod have for instance analysed the
creation of ‘character’ and manliness in the Scouts of America, which also grew considerably
during the 1910s, largely by using the same motifs and themes as Baden-Powell had
implemented in the British original.170
Furthermore, in 1919 The Times reflected on the growing
bond between Scouts across the world, with great enthusiasm being shown in pen-pal
schemes.171
This idea of brotherhood was based on common values of masculinity, but also
played on boys’ sense of adventure, such as the brotherhood of the knights.172
MacDonald
has also looked at the role of brotherhood during the post-war move to internationalism, with
the Scouts being seen as a ‘League of Nations for the young’.173
In 1920, The Courier and
Argus reflected on the Scout jamboree as evidence of boys’ good morals in an adventurous
movement, with ‘old prejudices wearing down’, and Scouts from twenty-six nationalities
helping to form a ‘Junior League of Nations, wielding a moral and intellectual influence on the
side of peace.’174
Baden-Powell even went as far as saying the real League of Nations needed
to adapt some of the Scouts’ values of honour and comradeship in order to truly succeed.175
This emphasis on morality remained the same as the one echoed in Scouting in 1908 and so
shows how, as the movement moved towards a more global focus, its appeal was recognised
as one which trained boys in ideals of citizenry. Albeit certainly different in 1920 compared to
1908, the Scouts remained a peace-loving rather than a militant organisation.
To conclude this chapter, whilst public perception was not unanimously convinced that
the Scouts were not militaristic, there is significant evidence to show that many people
170 Hantover, ‘The Boy Scouts’, 184-195; and David Macleod, Building Character in the American Boy:
The Boy Scouts, YMCA and their Forerunners, 1870-1920 (Madison, 1983).
171 ‘Brotherhood of Boy Scouts’, The Times, p. 10.
172 Rosenthal, The Character Factory, p. 122.
173 MacDonald, Sons of the Empire, pp. 8, 209.
174 ‘The Boy Scouts' Jamboree’, The Courier and Argus, p. 4.
175 Baden-Powell, ‘The Younger Generation’.

41
approved of the character training Baden-Powell was focusing on. As the movement grew,
newspapers and magazines often reflected the Scouts’ enthusiasm to become men, and
whether based on an imperial ideal or an international brotherhood, the ideas imbued within
the vessel for boyhood remained consistent. Scouts were seen as willing to do their duty, help
others and themselves, and essentially set an example in what was deemed, by middle-class
attitudes, to be the epitome of morality, the movement being the vehicle for ‘instruction in good
citizenship’.176
176 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, title.

42
Conclusion
What the previous four chapters have shown is that throughout the initial years of the
Scout movement, an omnipresent and omnipotent focus on the character of youth helped to
mould boys using an idealised middle-class notion of boyhood. Whilst historians such as
Rosenthal, Springhall and Horn have contended the Scouts were consistently militaristic, they
fail to understand the dynamic nature of the movement.177
Rather than one of militarism, the
prevailing purpose aimed to develop independence, confidence and self-reliance within boys
whether on a national level or international level – a vessel for contemporary boyhood rather
than a vessel for future soldiers. The unerring emphasis on inquisitive exploration, ability to
take part in camps and rallies, alongside a level of self-autonomy allowed boys to play at
heroes and develop their masculinity but, crucially, retain their youth. For the Scouts
themselves, the movement was one of adventure, which facilitated learning within a domain
of semi-fictitious innocence, and maintained a youthful ‘boyology’ that filtered in moralistic
traits of masculinity.178
The potency of adventure within Scouting automatically raises questions over
accusations of militarism. Whilst Scouts were likened to medieval knights, it was the heroic
chivalry and brotherhood which was concentrated on rather than any militaristic acts.179
Similarly, the valour of defending the Empire and performing noble deeds was highlighted in
public publications such as Wodehouse’s The Swoop! and Punch’s cartoons.180
The regular
comparisons made by Baden-Powell between the boys and Kipling’s Kim further highlights
the essential semi-fictitious hybridity which the movement maintained.181
Kim’s self-reliance,
intelligence and wit was key to providing a template of boyish masculinity, providing Scouts
with a literary hero who they could copy in their real-life adventures. Furthermore, the main
177 Rosenthal, The Character Factory; Springhall, ‘The Boy Scouts, Class and Militarism’; and Horn,
‘English elementary education’.
178 Boehmer, ‘Introduction’, p. xviii.
179 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, pp. 13, 22-23, 212-214, 248.
180 Wodehouse, The Swoop!; and ‘Our Youngest Line Of Defence’, Punch.
181 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, pp. 14-18, 44, 67, 217-218.

43
attraction of events such as the Brownsea Island camp was the ability to duplicate fictitious
exploits and develop new skills, mainly through the medium of games.182
These novel
opportunities thus piqued boys’ interest and, importantly for Baden-Powell’s aims, temporarily
removed boys from the feminised sphere of domestic homes, placing them within a carefully
controlled male environment. This control crucially ensured strength and morals, not physical
deterioration and bad habits, were encouraged, with boys practicing their skills so they could
selflessly help others whenever needed.183
Anti-militaristic sentiment only served to prove Baden-Powell’s intention to construct
the Scouts as a worldwide peace organisation, with the first international jamboree maintaining
the same element of brotherhood and moralistic masculinity seen in early British camps. Too
much attention has been focussed by the likes of Rosenthal on what ex-Scouts did as adults,
especially in the military, pointing at outdated sources like Baden-Powell’s 1904 Eton speech
to indicate the link boys’ training to common career paths.184
However, Scouting’s emphasis
on self-development and moral improvement counters these claims, whilst endeavours to
make the post-war movement a youthful League of Nations show a more concerted effort to
improve the thinking and cooperation of boys rather than simply train a future army.185
Mentions of armed forces within Scouting are comparatively few and far between than one
would suppose had Baden-Powell’s main aim been to create an army of young fighters. Whilst
the armed forces were spoken of highly when they were mentioned, the skills Scouts learnt
were portrayed as applicable to a range of professions, and thus the emphasis on character
should be spoken of before any connotations of soldiery are discussed.
182 ‘General Baden-Powell and His Boy Scouts’, The Sphere, p. 103; and Jeal, Baden-Powell, p. 384.
183 Tosh, A Man’s Place, pp. 1-5; Tosh and Roper, Manful Assertions, p. 3; and MacDonald, Sons of
the Empire, p. 9.
184 Baden-Powell, ‘Soldiering’, 600; Rosenthal, The Character Factory, p. 195; and Springhall, ‘Baden-
Powell and the Scout Movement before 1920’, 938.
185 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, pp. 10-13, 14-18, 28-32, 70-1, 94, 114, 128-131, 219, 226, 249-
251, 281-284; MacDonald, Sons of the Empire, pp. 8, 209; and ‘The Boy Scouts' Jamboree’, The
Courier and Argus, p. 4.

44
The ability to demonstrate and cultivate a sense of independence was also reflected
in the ethos and methodology of the movement. The patrol system was key in giving boys a
level of autonomous leadership rather than simply being controlled in a manner practiced by
movements such as the Boys Brigade.186
Since boys were enthusiastic at being given a level
of control they willingly conformed to the middle-class ethos, as patrol leaders reflected the
mind-set of public-school prefects.187
Again, Rosenthal and Springhall have too often failed to
spot the pedagogical differences between the Scouts and the public schools. Whereas the
public-school ethos was encouraged, the methods of rote learning and drill were actively
discouraged. Instead, whilst Scouting gave boys the tools to develop as Baden-Powell hoped,
it was essentially up to the Scouts themselves to cultivate their skills. This was vital in
developing their levels of self-reliance deemed necessary for future men, and allowed boys to
twin their youthful imagination and adventure in a way Baden-Powell advocated, as Scouts
learned to ‘play the game’ rather than simply observe.188
Considering what has been explored within this dissertation, it seems apt to close by
looking at what fellow historians should prioritise in future studies of Baden-Powell or the Scout
movement. Firstly, there is a clear need to further move away from seeing the movement as
a militaristic organisation led by a decorated war hero fresh from battle. The simple fact is that
Baden-Powell’s views in 1907 cannot be considered the same as those in the Boer War, best
shown by the adaptation of Aids to Scouting to the more child-appropriate Scouting for Boys
and continued move to emphasise the Scouts’ peaceful, character-building nature.189
Therefore, considering the continuous evolution within the early-Twentieth Century, it is naive
to see the movement of 1920, or even 1908, as reflective of ideas developed before the turn
of the century. Secondly, the space and time deadlines of this study have not permitted an in-
186 Pryke, ‘The Popularity of Nationalism’, 320-323.
187 ‘Ian Hislop’s Scouting for Boys’, 7:56-10:45.
188 Tosh, Manliness and Masculinities, pp. 1-5, 42; Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys, p. 278; and
Boehmer, ‘Introduction’, p. xxi.
189 Baden-Powell, Aids to Scouting; Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys; and Baden-Powell, ‘The Boy
Scout’, p. 3.

45
depth look at geographical differences both within Britain, and across the world. Whilst Baden-
Powell was the undisputed leader of the movement, the organisation relied on thousands of
scoutmasters from various backgrounds working in different spaces.190
Thus, there is a need
to consider whether Baden-Powell’s vessel for boyhood was accurately reconstructed by
scoutmasters across thecountry and, if there were differences, how these affected the agency
of the Scouts’ message and purpose. However, what is clear from this dissertation is that in
an era of change, the Scouts gave boys the ability to shift into a more masculine boyhood.
The name of the movement and handbook alone captured this simple purpose, with training
and teaching all framed within activities and ideas which boys would understand and
respect.191
The Boy Scouts thus created a vessel for boyhood which allowed boys to play at
being men while maintaining juvenile adventure and intrigue – the ideal hybrid ‘boyology’
proposed by the eternal ‘boy-man’, Robert-Baden-Powell.192
191 Baden-Powell, Scouting for Boys.
192 Rosenthal, The Character Factory, p. 12; MacDonald, Sons of the Empire, p. 209; and Jeal,
Baden-Powell, pp. 415-421.

46
Bibliography
Primary Sources:
Books
Baden-Powell, Robert. Aids to Scouting for N.C.Os and Men (London, 1899).
Baden-Powell, Robert. Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship
(London, 1908); republished by Boehmer, Elleke (ed.). (New York, 2005).
Baden-Powell, Robert. Yarns for Boy Scouts (London, 1909).
Baden-Powell, Robert. Young Knights of the Empire: Their Code and Further Scout Yarns
(London, 1917), accessed at http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/6673/pg6673-
images.html (last accessed 21/01/2016).
Kipling, Rudyard. Kim (London, 1901), accessed at
https://archive.org/details/kimkipling01kipluoft (last accessed 16/12/2015).
Kipling, Rudyard. The Jungle Book (New York, 1899), accessed at
https://archive.org/details/junglebook00unkngoog (last accessed 16/12/2015).
Mee, Arthur. Arthur Mee’s Hero Book (London, 1920).
Mills, Elliott. The Decline and Fall of the British Empire (Oxford, 1905), accessed at
https://archive.org/details/declinefallofbri00millrich (last accessed 04/01/2016).
Seton, Ernest Thompson. The Birch-Bark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians (New York, 1907).
Smiles, Samuel. Self-Help (London, 1897), accessed at
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/935/935-h/935-h.htm (last accessed 16/12/2015).
Wodehouse, P. G. The Swoop! or How Clarence Saved England (1909), accessed at
http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/7050/pg7050-images.html (last accessed 10/09/2015).
Newspaper Articles
‘10,000 Boy Scouts’, Daily Mail (28/08/1909), p. 3.
‘Boy Scouts at Work’, Daily Mail (29/08/1908), p. 6.
‘Boy Scouts’ War Dance’, Daily Mail (31/08/1908), p. 8.
‘Boy Scouts’, Daily Mail (19/08/1908), p. 6.
‘Brotherhood of Boy Scouts’, The Times (19/06/1919), p. 10.
‘General Baden-Powell and His Boy Scouts: An Experiment in Teaching Alertness’, The
Sphere (01/02/1908), p. 103.
‘The Boy Scout Movement’, The Times (24/03/1910), p. 11.
‘The Boy Scout’, The Times (04/09/1909), p. 10.

47
‘The Boy Scouts' Jamboree’, The Courier and Argus (24/07/1920), p. 4.
‘The Boy Scouts’, The Spectator (11/09/1909), p. 9.
Poole Herald (25/07/1907), n.p., SAA, TC/80a.
Magazine Articles
Baden-Powell, Robert, ‘Soldiering’, Eton College Chronicle (22/12/1904), 600.
Baden-Powell, Robert, ‘The Most Impressive Sight I Have Ever Seen’, The Strand
Magazine, 46 (1913), 755-757.
Comfort, John, ‘Tricked by a Baboon: A South African Adventure’; in Boys’ Own Paper
(19/10/1912), accessed at
https://archive.org/stream/BoysOwnPaper19101912/BOP_19121019#page/n0/mode/2up
(last accessed 24/09/2015), pp. 40-42.
Kipling, Rudyard, ‘White Man’s Burden’, McClure’s Magazine, 7(4) (1899), 290.
Other Articles
Baden-Powell, Robert, ‘Boy Scouts’ (1907), SAA, TC/80.
Baden-Powell, Robert, ‘Notes on the Boy Scout Movement’ (1918), SAA, TC/21.
Baden-Powell, Robert, ‘What A Boy Scout Is’ (1913), SAA, TC/32.
Chapters
Gould, F. Carruthers, ‘K’, in Begbie, Harold (ed.). The Struwwelpeter Alphabet (London,
1908), p. 11.
Priestman, Edmund Yerbury, ‘Foreword’, in With a B-P Scout in Gallipoli (1916), SAA, TC/4.
Editorials
Baden-Powell, Robert, ‘The Boy Scout’, The Times (25/09/1909), p. 3.
Baden-Powell, Robert, ‘The Younger Generation’, Sunday Express (approx. 27/06/1919),
SAA, TC/21.
Smith, J. Taylor, Hogarth, A. H., and Worker, A., ‘The Boy Scout’, The Times (13/09/1909),
p. 4.
Vane, Francis, ‘The Boy Scout’, The Times (15/09/1909), p. 7.
Cartoons/Artwork
‘"X’cuse me, Mum, 'av yer seen any Germans about 'ere?"’, Punch (21/10/1914).
‘Our Youngest Line Of Defence’, Punch (01/09/1909).
‘Scouts Capture Windsor Castle’, Punch (04/07/1911), SAA, TC/32.
‘Small boy (to doctor about to assist elderly party in fainting fit). "Stand aside, please, and
don't be alarmed. I'll attend to this - I'm a boy scout."’, Punch (11/12/1912).

48
Titcomb, William, ‘Cheering the Chief Scout’, (1913), accessed at
http://www.mystudios.com/artgallery/W/William-Holt-Yates-Titcomb/Cheering-the-Chief-
Scout%2C-Dowry-Square%2C-Hotwells%2C-1913.html (last accessed 04/03/2016).
Letters
Baden-Powell, Robert to Andrews, Private L. J. (02/05/1916), SAA, TC/4.
Baden-Powell, Robert to Booth, General William (25/02/1910), SAA, TC/129.
Baden-Powell, Robert to Green, C. D. (16/06/1916), SAA, TC/4.
Baden-Powell, Robert to Primmer, Arthur (29/08/1907), SAA, TC/80.
Baden-Powell, Robert to Rayner, J. L. (04/02/1916), SAA, TC/4.
Baden-Powell, Robert to Smith, Sir William (09/12/1909), SAA, TC/129.
Baden-Powell, Robert to Smith, Sir William (25/12/1909), SAA, TC/129.
Baden-Powell, Robert, [draft letter to parents] (1918), SAA, TC/32.
Brett-James, E. A. to Baden-Powell, Robert (09/05/1937), SAA, TC/41.
Smith, Sir William to Baden-Powell, Robert (12/12/1909), SAA, TC/129.
Interviews
Heape, C., [Interview with Robert Baden-Powell] (12/09/1913), SAA, TC/37.
Thorn, Graham and Smith, Adrian. [Interview with Arthur Primmer] (10/07/1982), SAA,
TC/80a.
Poems
Kipling, Rudyard, ‘The Feet of the Young Men’; in The Five Nations (London, 1903), pp. 38-
43.
Kipling, Rudyard, ‘The Lesson’, The Times (29/07/1901).
Programmes
Windsor Rally [programme] (04/07/1911) SAA, TC/32.
Plans and Statistics
‘List of Attendees for Brownsea Island Camp’ (1907), SAA, TC/80a.
Baden-Powell, Robert, ‘Reconstruction’ (1918), SAA, TC/32.
Secondary Sources:
Monographs
Boone, Troy. Youth of Darkest England: Working Class Children at the Heart of the Victorian
Empire (New York, 2005).

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