1st Friern Barnet

George Simpson is credited with founding the 94th North London Scout Troop in 1915, making it the oldest of the 5 North London Groups that joined Finchley in 1964 to create Finchley and Friern Barnet District. As the oldest they were renamed the 1st Friern Barnet.

George had been an early gas victim of the war and despite being unable to follow his normal occupation he wanted to do some good work. He therefore started the Troop and acted as their first Scoutmaster (SM).

Right from the beginning, the Congregational Church that sponsored them allowed meetings to be held in the Lecture Hall, Bellevue Road, off Friern Barnet Road

Wolf Cubs started in 1922 and the Pack was initially led by Miss B Harland.

Sadly, in May 1925, George Simpson died. While performing one of his many good deeds (taking a “crippled” Scout on an outing), he collapsed and passed away shortly after. The following year, on 26th May, a stained-glass window was unveiled in his memory at the east end of the church.

In 1927 the Rev Cecil Pugh, a South African minister who had been educated at Oxford, became the new minister at the church. In 1930 he started the Rover section and Mr Walter Brennan became the first Group Scout Master (GSM).

When the war started in 1939 Rev Pugh enlisted and became an RAF Chaplain, with the rank of Squadron Leader. In 1941 he was travelling on a Troop ship when it was sunk. Although he had the opportunity of saving himself he courageously stayed with his trapped men, offering prayer at their end. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross.  His medal is currently (2024) on display at the Fusilier Museum in the Tower Of London.

Rev. Pugh was not the only member of the Group recognised for displaying an act of courage during the war. In August 1944 Patrol Leader R. W. Hutchins was awarded the Silver Cross by the Scout Association ‘in recognition of heroic courage and endurance displayed whilst assisting the rescue of trapped persons on 23rd August 1944’.

Although meetings started at the Lecture Hall, in time the Rovers acquired their own headquarters at the top of Ramsden Road and the Troop took over the hut behind Holly Park School that had once belonged to the 92nd North London. However, that hut burnt down during the war with the loss of all their equipment.

After the war some of the leaders returned to the Group, including Ken Wynne who had been a signaller in the Royal Navy. He was the Senior Scout Leader and called ‘Bunts’, derived from ‘bunting’, the alternative name for the flags used to communicate at sea. He also encouraged his girlfriend Iris Walker to help with the Cubs. Ken later took over as the GSM and Iris (by his then wife) became the Akela.

There is then a gap in the Group’s history until c1950 except that Iris Wynne recalls that regular shows were performed in the Lecture Hall and that Ralph Reader would attend, looking for talent to appear in the London Gang Show. Although it is believed that some boys were chosen, the Group shows stopped when it was realised that not enough time was being spent on Scouting activities.

In addition to the shows and of course the regular Troop meeting that usually ended with a boisterous game of Bulldog or Handball, the venue was used for fundraising events such as jumble sales. It is reported that on one occasion Winifred Atwell, the then popular Trinidadian ragtime pianist, opened a sale which helped to get numbers through the door.

Another big function held in the Lecture Hall was a celebratory meal with friends and supporters of the Group. The person who contributed the photo believes that this was c1950 but does not know what the occasion was.

The 1951 Summer Camp was held at Marazion, near Penzance, Cornwall. The Troop travelled overnight by train and it rained for the whole of the camp, only brightening on the final day. The highlight of the camp was considered to be a boat trip from Mousehole.

Also during the year a Scouting display was held at Scout Park, the District Camp Site in Bounds Green. The Senior Scouts and Rovers contribution was a version of ‘The Skylon’, an exhibit at the 1951 Festival of Britain. This was a vertical cigar shaped steel structure located by the Thames that gave the illusion of floating above the ground, except the Scouts’ version was built using pioneering poles instead of steel.

There is a photo of the Troop’s football team in 1952 but it is not known who they played or what the results were.  There is also another old photo of the Cubs on a trip to Hatfield Park during July.

Another photo from 1952 is of the whole Troop and includes a caption with most of the members’ names. Ted Sammons was the SM and known to the Troop as ‘Chela’ and George Smith was the ASM who was known as ‘Panther’

The Troop’s 1952 summer camp was held on the Isle of Wight. Woodings the greengrocers provided a lorry to transport everyone who perched themselves on top of all the camping equipment. Unfortunately it broke down before the ferry from Lymington to Yarmouth but luckily a British Road Services lorry came to their rescue. It is reported that high winds made the erection of the ex-army tents a bit of a challenge, and that campfires and sing-songs were very popular.

There is another Troop photo from 1953 and again it has a caption with most members’ names. Another ‘Display’ event was also held at Scout Park during 1953 and there is a photo of some of the Scouts who attended.

In June 1953 another stained glass window in the church was unveiled. This was in memory of those members of the 94th who had lost their lives during the war.

 The window had been designed and installed by Luxford Studios, a family run firm founded by three brothers (Thomas, Frank and Harold) who had all earlier been members of the Group.

The 1953 Summer Camp was held at Minehead in Somerset. There were four Patrols and with Scouters, their wives and other helpers there were more than 30 campers. Once again they travelled by lorry and although they were close to the sea swimming had to be closely supervised due to strong tidal currents. Hikes into town for ‘Knickerbocker Glories’ were well attended.

Not long after Princess Elizabeth’s accession Freddie Berg became the Group’s first Queen’s Scout, and shortly after that (1954) Stan Vanner also gained the badge.

Both later went on to become leaders with the Group.

In addition to the regular summer camps others were held over Easter and Whitsun. During 1954 the Easter one was held at Tolmers, Cuffley and the Whitsun one at Phasels Wood, Kings Langley

During 1954 there was also a separate camp solely for Patrol Leaders. This was held at the Headquarters site at Downe in Kent.

The 1954 summer camp was a joint affair with the 7th Muswell Hill Troop. The majority of attendees travelled by a large lorry to the site at Northwick Park, Blockley, a small village in Gloucestershire, while two Patrol Leaders from the 94th hitch hiked part of the way there and then completed the last section between Chipping Norton and Blockley as their First Class Hike.

That year the Senior Scouts made a separate trip to Schruns and Berchtesgaden in Austria but we have no further information about this.

1954 saw the departure of Ted Sammons as the SM, having decided to join another Group at the church where his wife was the Guide Captain. He was replaced by Les Harmer, who had been in the Boys Brigade but was new to Scouting.

There is then a photo from a dance in 1955 that had been held at the Lecture Hall. It shows several of the Senior Scouts and Rovers with Auntie Doris, who for many years provided refreshments during Troop meetings. Although she made a small charge all of the money later found its way back to the Troop and was used for days out at camp or special events.

During the summer of 1955 ten of the Senior Scouts cycled to France for their annual camp. The oldest of the group, Brian (Charlie) Challoner and Brian (Pringle) George, acted as the leaders with the others being Bob Cornelius, Malcolm Carter, Brian King, Stan Vanner, Alan Harper, Dave Dunne, Peter Heslop and Mike Moroney. They cycled to Lydd airport in Kent and spent the night in the village hall before catching a flight to Le Touquet. From there they headed to Paris and set about finding somewhere to pitch their tents. While in the process of pitching their tents in a wood they were surrounded by police with spotlights and told that we could not stay there.  Apparently they were in the Paris equivalent of Hyde Park!!  Thankfully the police were very helpful and guided them to the nearest campsite. The next day it was onward to the campsite at Melun, about 25 miles southeast of the capital, where they camped in the grounds of an old chalet. The return journey through Paris proved just as eventful as the outward journey when one of the party became very ill with severe stomach pains. As a result he ended up in a local hospital where he had his appendix removed while the remainder of the party made their way home.

With the Group thriving during the early 1950s it became more difficult for the church hall to accommodate all activities and resulted in the Group asking the local council if there was a piece of land that they could rent. After being told that there was nowhere suitable they went looking themselves and found a number of possible locations. When presented with this and after much persistence they were, in 1955/56, eventually offered a spot on the edge of the sewage farm in Alexandra Road, close to the North Circular Road. They accepted the offer and then acquired an old army hut which was dismantled and transported to Alexandra Road where it was re-erected.  It measured about 60ft by 40ft and consisted of two rooms at each end with a recreation hall in between. A Senior Scout den and kitchen occupied one end with a Rover den and small meeting room at the other. Once the electricity supply and heating were installed it was used for the Senior Scout and Rover Scout weekly meetings as well as other activities. 

By 1956 Ken Wynne had also taken on the position of ADC (Senior Scouts) and in August of that year he was selected to lead a District contingent of Senior Scouts to Finland. He was supported by Cyril Samuels, the Senior Scoutmaster of the 199th North London (later 3rd Friern Barnet), and Keith Dunstan & Mike Dilley of the 94th NL and 199th NL respectively were chosen as two of the 13 Senior Scouts that were members of the party. A report of the trip appeared in the local paper.

Around this time (c1957) Dave Campkin, a meat porter at Smithfield, took over from Ken as the Senior Scout Leader. However, within a year while riding his motorbike to work one day he was involved in an accident at the junction of Woodhouse Road and Friern Barnet Lane. After being in a coma for several days he ‘came round’ only to discover that he had lost all memory of the previous two years, during which time he had got married.

The Scouts held their summer camp at Swanage in 1957 and 1958. There are two photos from these camps: the first (1957) is of the Otter Patrol and the second (1958) is a general view of the site with Roger Clifford waving to the camera.

Until Fred Berg took on the role of leader, about a year later, the Senior Scouts met jointly with the 186th NL at the Congregational Church Hall. Some even joined them on their summer trip to Wilderswil, Switzerland.

In 1958 Keith Dunstan became the newest Queen’s Scout of the Group by completing all the necessary requirements in March.

The Senior Scouts’ 1959 summer expedition was held at the end of July/start of August. Austria was again the location with the trip this time being under the leadership of Fred Berg, who was also accompanied by his wife Runa, who later became the Akela, covering the period between Iris Wynne and Kath Terry.

They camped at Tschagguns, a village in the Montafon valley, close to Schruns where the Seniors had visited in 1954. The journey out was by train to Dover, boat to Calais and another train through Germany.

We understand that the Expedition, which included climbing and an outing that featured a visit to Liechtenstein via the High Alpine Road, was considered a great success.

Two further photos are in our possession from c1959/60 showing firstly a group of Senior Scouts and secondly some Senior Scouts with some of the Rover Crew.

Around this time Peter Law became the latest member of the Group to gain the Queen’s Scout Badge.

The Senior Scouts expedition in 1960 was to Denmark, where they stayed close to Copenhagen. During the trip they were hosted by the Rolf Krakes Division of the Danish Scouts.

There is no information about the actual camp but trips were made to Copenhagen, castles, a brewery and Sweden.

Plenty of time spent was also spent with the Danish Scouts.

Also during 1960 Ken and Iris moved to Kent, leaving the Group. They vowed to not get involved again, having ‘done their bit’, but 4 years later were recruited to help with the 8th Gillingham (Wigmore) Group. Before they left Ken was awarded the Medal of Merit for his service to the Group and his District (Wood Green, Southgate & Friern Barnet).

When Ken moved away Les Harmer became the GSM. During this time Fred Berg resigned as Senior Scoutmaster on leaving the area, and the Senior Scouts were left in the care of Ray Horne and Keith Dunstan. Meanwhile Stan Vanner became SM and Keith then moved from the Senior Scouts to be his ASM.

Also around this time, and although only aged 13, Keith’s sister Marilyn started to help with the Cubs. She took the jungle name Bagheera.

A short while later, during a parents’ evening, Arthur Berry complained about the lack of a leader for the Senior Scouts and thought that more should be done to find one. He ended up taking on the role himself, a position he undertook with great enthusiasm and performed very well.

The Cubs held an annual weekend camp, and to ensure that the leaders could spend as much time as possible dealing with their charges Patrol Leaders, Senior Scouts, Rovers and Scouters were all invited to help out. A couple of photos from the 1963 event showing some of them at work in the camp kitchen have been provided.

The District Bulletin for May 1964 lists the Group (now the 1st Friern Barnet) as meeting in the Lecture Hall with a black and green scarf. The GSM was named as Len Murrell who had taken over from Les Harmer, the Cub Leader was Kath Terry, the SM was Stan Vanner and Arthur Berry was the man in charge of the Senior Scouts. Three new flags were later dedicated during a special Sunday morning service.

Towards the end of 1964 Mick Evans gained his Queen’s Scout Badge and at the start of 1965 Chis Terry gained his. Both were later presented with their certificates by the District Commissioner Tom Marshall.

The Census return in March the following year, the first as part of Finchley and Friern Barnet District, says that there were 21 Cubs, 15 Scouts/Senior Scouts and 5 Scouters as well as an additional 6 who were also Rovers.

A month later the Group celebrated its 50th birthday. Some brief notes about the Group were produced that included the names of past leaders, although it is thought that some names may have been omitted. The Senior Scouts arranged a special church service during which a new Queen’s Colour was dedicated. Various group photos were taken and other celebrations are also thought to have taken place including a dance when another photo of ‘Auntie Doris’ was taken with a group of the older lads and leaders.

At the end of July, along with some Senior Scouts from the 199th NL, they went to Austria and camped in the grounds of Salzburg Castle, overlooking the city. During the trip they visited a salt mine that involved a ride on a ‘mine trolley’ that ran on rails.

In October 1965 Stan Vanner found it necessary to resign as the Scoutmaster. In view of his long time service he was later made an Honorary SM. His position was filled in January 1966 by K. J. Proctor who had previously been an ASM.

By the end of March 1966 Group numbers had taken a bit of a dip. There were 14 Cubs, 20 Scouts and only 3 Senior Scouts. There were no Rovers. 

The hut in Alexandra Road was no longer being used for meetings although some equipment was still being stored there. At some time during the following year it was the subject of an arson attack and the insurance payment was sufficient enough to pay for an equipment store to be erected in the car park at the church.

As a postscript to the 94th North London and the halcyon days of the 50s and 60s it is worth mentioning that several of the old Senior Scouts and Rovers have retained their friendship, and as ‘The 94th Remnants’ they hold regular lunches. A photo of one such get together in about 2015 has been shared with us.

During the following year Chris Terry was granted a warrant as an ASM and Marilyn Dunstan, who had been helping for several years, was granted one as an ACSL.

During February 1967 both Kath Terry and Marilyn Dunstan attended a Cub Scout Wood Badge course at Gilwell Park and both then went on to gain their Wood Badge during 1969.

During March it was announced that Jim Daniels, one of the Scouts, had been selected, along with Roland Jackson of the 6th Finchley, to be the two District representatives at the World Jamboree in Idaho, USA later that year.

The census figures at the end of March 1967 revealed a slight increase in numbers – 17 Cubs and 26 Scouts/Senior Scouts.

A month later on the 29th April the District held a sponsored walk, with a competitive element, to raise funds for the planned new Training Hut at Frith Grange. 

It is not known exactly how many entrants there were but there is evidence that Marilyn Dunstan the ACSL completed 22 miles of the ladies 40 mile circuit. And, Alan Slack completed the full 50 miles of the men’s one before he went home for a relaxing bath, where he stiffened up and needed help from his parents to get out of the tub.

During July K. J. Proctor resigned as the Scout Leader and at the end of the year Arthur Berry resigned as the Senior Scout Leader and took up the role of District Leader for the newly created Venture Scouts.

At the end of March 1968 there were 18 Cubs, 14 Scouts and 4 Venture Scouts. The only other bit of information we have for 1968 is that, according to the District Bulletin, Chris Terry and Jim Daniels gained the Explorer Belt Award. Although we can currently find no details about this Award prior to 1970, it is reported that their Expedition took place in Turkey during the summer. Additionally we are able to report that Jim Daniels also gained his Queen’s Scout badge that year.

By March 1969 the number of Cubs (28) and Scouts (16) had risen slightly from the previous year. No Venture Scouts were recorded as it is thought they had joined forces with other Units in order to meet the minimum standards that had been set. Indeed, in the July edition of the District Bulletin it was announced that the Whetstone Venture Scout Unit had been formed. Although the majority of its members were from the 11th Finchley they also included some from the 1st and 4th Friern Barnet.

Towards the end of the year it was announced that Kath Terry had been awarded the Chief Scout’s Commendation for 33 years of service which was presented to her the following January at the monthly church parade. At the same time the Group presented Chris Terry with a metal figure of a Scout and a briefcase, as a thank you for his work in keeping the Troop going while there was no official leader.

Fortunately, around this time, a new leader was found. Ray Hillier-Daines had volunteered to run the Troop and soon set about attending the necessary training courses.

At the April church parade new Group flags were dedicated along with one for Venture Scouts that they gifted the Whetstone Venture Scout Unit.

Also during April Ray was given Leader Permit as the Scout Leader and not long after that Eric Holmes, another new helper, received one as an assistant Scout Leader.

Ray’s wife Valerie also got involved with the Group by helping with the Cubs. She took the Jungle Book name Shere Khan and in November was granted a Leader Permit.

These additional leaders (2 Scouts & 3 Cubs) were of great benefit to the Group and by the end of March 1971 numbers had again increased, with there being 18 Scouts and 20 Cubs.

There are only two other events that we have any information about for 1971, the first being quite explosive. When collecting jumble for a sale in April an old bomb, dated 1940 and thought to be a dud, was donated to the Group. This attracted the attention of the local press and after photos were taken the item was inspected by the bomb disposal squad. After deeming it to still be dangerous they took it away but were kind enough to provide a replica that went on display.

The second is that following the revival of the District Scout Handball competition, which involved 17 teams, the 1st FB emerged as the winners, beating the 22nd Finchley in the final.

The following March (1972) Len Murrell retired as the Group Scout Leader and was awarded the Medal of Merit for his long service. At the time of his departure there were 22 Cubs 14 Scouts.

During August Marilyn Dunstan, who had also been helping out at the 3rd Friern Barnet, got married. Her husband Nick Storer had also become an ACSL with the 3rd but unfortunately their service to Scouting was lost when they made their home in Guildford.

The last noted event of the year was a bazaar that took place at the end of November. The event held in the Congregational Church Hall and opened by the Mayor and Mayoress of Barnet, raised £150 for new camping equipment.

 

More to follow.

 

Gallery

To view associated photographs and press cuttings click here.

 

Memories

At the age of 93 my memory is not great but there are a couple of things I remember about the shows we used to put on. One is a visit by Ralph Reader who decided that he wanted one of the boys (Roger Bandy) for his London Show. After being told that he was not a good singer Ralph replied saying that it did not matter as the boy had good looks and he wanted him in the front row. Another time we were rehearsing a night club scene that had fake bottles of wine on the tables. When the church official noticed they were forced to cancel the scene as they said it ‘promoted drinking’.

Lastly, Ken had a rule that if you could not get it into the rucksack, it was left behind. There was one boy (Les Twiss) however who would amaze us time and again by his careful packing and the amount he could get into his bag.

Iris Wynne (nee Walker) – 94th North London.

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As I was the scout that had to have his appendix removed in Paris in 1956 it is my main memory of many happier memories I have of my time scouting with the 94th N.L.  Being inevitably left behind by my fellow Scouts in a foreign country at 16 with very little French was, to say the least, character building.  Fortunately, I made a good recovery, with the encouragement of the gorgeous French nurses, and after 10 days was flown back home by British European Airways via the British Consulate in the company of a senior RAF Officer on diplomatic courier duties?  My parent’s relief at my homecoming was then somewhat dampened by receiving a bill for my hospitalisation and transport home.  However, I believe the Scouting Association helped with this. 

Mike Moroney – 94th North London.   

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I started helping with the cubs when I was 13 or so.  I had given up Guides because it wasn’t “cool” and my mother volunteered me!  I said that I would go for one week (to honour her commitment) and would never have to go again. Well I stayed until I got married in 1972. 

I have many memories of my time with the Group, for example when we were the 94th North London there were annual Scout Displays at Scout Park, Bounds Green and one year my brother John and I went to watch our big brother Keith take part in one called ‘Scouts around the World’, dressed as a Zulu warrior.  He had made what I remember as an enormous shield and had somehow dyed himself brown.  John and I went home on the bus but Keith felt that he couldn’t get on the bus as he was so he walked.  

Another memory is of course the ‘Jumble Sale Bomb’. I really enjoyed going out collecting Jumble – probably because I was usually the only female amongst a lot of men!  I well remember that when the bomb was given to me the man who handed it over assured me that it was a dud. Wisely though, the Scout Leaders decided that we ought to check with the police, so I was bundled into the back seat of a car with the bomb on my lap.  When we walked into the Police Station with me carrying the bomb all those in the room promptly moved as far away from us as they could.  They then told us to come back in the morning as there were no bomb disposal experts available at that time of night.  I, thus, relinquished care of the bomb to the men and had nothing more to do with it.  From what I later gathered the Scout Master took it home and his wife, who was a fairly new assistant Cub Scout Leader, had to put up with it in her kitchen until the experts could verify whether or not it was safe. 

However, it is the time I spent with the Cubs that I remember best. We went swimming at the Finchley Open Air Pool, usually walking there across the ‘Rough Lots’ (I think the proper name is the Glebe Lands or something similar), a distance that would seem a long walk for many of today’s youngsters. There were no changing rooms and the pool was not heated. I remember it as freezing cold but invigorating and the hot drink afterwards was so warming. Another memory is from one such walk, when one of the boys said that his sister and her friends were not allowed to go there because ‘Tramps would get them‘.  Well, Kath Terry could not resist asking what the Tramps would want with his sister.  The scorn on the boy’s face was marvellous to see.  He looked at her and said “Well if YOU don’t know then I’M not going to tell you“, and marched off. 

The boys were rough and tough but I loved them – they will stay with me always.

Marilyn Storer (nee Dunstan) – 94th North London / 1st Friern Barnet

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HM King Charles III has been confirmed as our new Patron, a great honour for UK Scouts.

The King continues a long tradition of the monarch giving their Patronage, dating back to 1912. This was when Scouts was granted its Royal Charter and HM George V became our first Patron.

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King Charles III

Our Patron, HM King Charles III