9th Finchley

A 9th Finchley Scout Group at St Luke’s Church, Mountfield Road, Finchley has existed at least three times.

It is known that when the 10th Finchley were registered in 1914 they were told that the next available number was 10. Numbers 1-8 were already in use and number 9 was reserved for a Group that was to open at St. Luke’s Church.  Unfortunately there is no record as to who the leaders were or of any of their camps/activities. It is thought that the Group did not survive for long and closed before the end of the decade.

Note: 

It should be noted that another 9th Finchley did exist for a short period covering the period 1918 to c1924. When the Finchley Local Association was responsible for Groups within Finchley & Hendon they approved the formation of a Group sponsored by St Paul’s Church who were designated 11th Finchley & Hendon. There is no record though as to exactly where they met. Following the division of the Finchley & Hendon area in 1921 the Group was renamed as the 9th Finchley.

The Group appeared on the 1921 census with 22 Scouts and one leader, thought to be Mr Searle. A year later there were 26 Scouts and 2 leaders, now Mr L H Carpenter as the Scoutmaster (SM) and Mr H B Carpenter his assistant.

A note in the records states that at some stage St Paul’s were not providing the necessary support and had in fact started another Group that was registered within the London Diocese.

In 1923 the number of Scouts had increased to 30 but H B Carpenter was no longer assisting. By 1924 the number of boys was down to 16 and shortly after the Group closed.

The next reference to the 9th Finchley appears at the start of 1929. In January, the District Commissioner announced that a new Group was starting, sponsored by St Luke’s Church and in urgent need of leaders. A month later the application for registration was approved and during the same month warrants were approved for Mr H Pullen and Miss D Stevens as Scoutmaster and Assistant Cub Master respectively.

By September there were 26 Cubs with 2 leaders and 9 Scouts with 1 leader.

On the 5th July 1930 the District held a Rally which most Groups supported, with Displays, Demonstrations and Shows. The 9th joined forces with the 7th Finchley to put on an arena item called “Crampo’s Wonderful Circus”. This was well received by the spectators.

Numbers held steady for a while but there were a couple of changes to the leaders: Miss D M Dix had become the Cub Master (CM) in December 1930 and D M Sommerville her assistant the following March. There is also a note in a District report that says the Cubs held a summer camp during 1930 at Dunwich in Suffolk.

Over the next couple of years the number of Cubs dropped dramatically and in 1933 the Pack closed down. However, the Scout Troop continued and the annual District report said “they are making good general progress and despite not holding a summer camp they had held several weekend ones”.

Apart from census returns over the next three years, no other references have been found until they are mentioned in the programme for the official opening of the Camping Ground in 1936. Jointly with the 6th Finchley they perform an arena display called ‘Grand Opening of the Bath’. The Rev. G K Hackett, the vicar at St Luke’s is recorded as the Group Scoutmaster but it is not known when he took on that role.

The Troop had a very good spell over the next few years. During 1936 they gained 50 proficiency badges and held a summer camp in Lynton, Devon and during 1937 they held several weekend camps, a summer camp at Seaford and won the Cadogan Shield. By 1938 the number of Scouts had increased to more than 20 and the number of leaders to 3, including John Denyer as the Scoutmaster.

In April 1938 the Group changed the colour of their scarf from green to royal blue; the reason is unknown. In June they took part in the Good Turn Rally with an arena display called ‘Just Hopping About’, and according to the District’s annual report they held a very successful concert, played several football matches, made a visit to RRS Discovery, and in addition to Easter and Whitsun camps held a number of patrol camps.

After the start of the Second World War there is no further mention of the Group apart from a notice saying that John Denyer, who had moved on to be a leader with the 2nd Finchley, had been killed in 1943 while on active service with the RAF.

With no census returns being available again until 1943 it is not possible to say exactly when the Group closed.

It is not until December 1957 that the 9th Finchley is mentioned again. A note in the minutes book of the District Executive Committee states that there is the possibility of a new Pack starting at St Luke’s, with ‘Mac’ Caithness expected to be the Cub Master. ‘Mac’ had been involved with a number of Groups in Finchley since he moved from Doncaster where he had been a Scout, and had always wanted to have a Pack of his own. He was considered to be an experienced Scouter and had the promise of a lady helper.

In the January of 1958 the Rev N Tuddenham, vicar at St Luke’s, held a meeting for all interested parties and during February the District Executive agreed to the registration of the Group and confirmed that the colour of the scarf should be royal blue and green, with green being on the right.

The Pack met in the Church Halls and by the end of March there were 21 Cubs. In addition to ‘Mac’ there were 3 assistants: Beryl Neagle, Tony Shrimpton and Jean Caithness (‘Mac’s daughter).

The District AGM report stated “We welcome the renewal of Scouting activities at St Luke’s Church. A Cub Pack has been started with the very experienced ‘Mac’ Caithness as Cub Master, and the help and co-operation of the Vicar and Church Committee, we look forward to what we feel sure is going to be a very successful Group”.

Later in 1958 the Scouts started and they held an inaugural summer camp during August at Frith Grange. Stanley Brodie became the SM.

More to follow.

Gallery

To view photographs and associated press cuttings click here.

Memories

I was just a bit too young to join the Cubs when they started in February 1958 and had to wait until after the summer holiday, when they restarted in September. Several boys from the road where I lived were already members, including Michael Cooper, Roger Kennedy, Graham Wilson, Chris Pike and several others as they reached Cub age. Chris Pike later went on to be a Cub Scout Leader with the 12th Finchley.

I loved all aspects of Cubs: the test work, games and proficiency badges. I also enjoyed ‘Bob a Job’ week and spent ages trying to earn as much money as possible. The most common job I was given was shoe cleaning although on one occasion after cleaning a man’s car for a shilling he came looking for me as I had left it a bit smeary.

As ‘Mac’ Caithness was our GSM and also the Camp Warden we spent quite a bit of time at Frith Grange and I remember using the trek cart, on several occasions, to get our gear there for weekends away. I was lucky enough to attend 2 Sixers’ Camps which were great fun and I remember the great food we had that was prepared by ‘Auntie Glad’ and her merry band.

Despite suffering badly from hay fever I enjoyed camping but cannot remember attending many summer camps. At one though, held jointly with the 16th and 21st Finchley, I met Phil Knowles who was to become one of my best friends.

My mother was on the parents’ committee and spent quite a bit of time helping to raise funds, particularly through Jumble Sales. The Group also held regular Whist Drives and my grandparents would travel over from Watford to attend.

I also remember that my mother, who was very good at needlework, made the wedding dress for Jean (Mac’s daughter) when she married Barry Martin.

Peter Cox – 9th Finchley

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _