United Reformed Church Guide and Scout Fellowship - History

History

At the International Scout Conference in August 1947, a resolution was passed which recommended that national Scout Associations should form extended association of Old Scouts. This was to coincide with the 40th Anniversary of Scouting in 1948.

The precursor to the Scout Fellowship came into being in June 1948, and was set up to be a distinct organisation which was separated from the training sections in The Scout Association (then known as the Boy Scouts Association). This new organisation was named The B-P Guild of Old Scouts. It was a further five years before the new organisation gained its own constitution, and held its own elected council and committee.

A review was also made at this time, due to the new Guild not being as involved with The Scout Association as had been hoped, and a five point agreement was made to remedy this:

• Membership of the B-P Guild of Old Scouts should be encouraged by and from the ranks of the Scouts and Scouters themselves. Responsibility for recruitment should be a joint one shared between the Boy Scouts Association and the Guild.
• There must be direct liaison between the Boy Scouts Association and the B-P Guild of Old Scouts at all levels.
• The B-P Guild of Old Scouts and the Boy Scouts Association should share each other’s publications.
• Each branch should perform services to local Scouts with individual members of each branch doing as much or as little as they were able. There was still a real place for those who could contribute only fellowship and moral support.
• The B-P Guild of Old Scouts desired to include in its membership all associations of old Scouts whatever their titles. The Boy Scouts Association supported the Guild in this and urged all former Scouts to become members.

Shortly after this new agreement, the Guild became a founding member of the International Scout and Guide Fellowship, and subsequently adopted the official badge of the international organisation.

The Scout Fellowship was formed in 1976 as part of a plan to restructure the support given by the old members of Scouting. Each District now has its own Fellowship, which replaced The B-P Scout Guild and also merged other District level support groups into their folds. The Fellowship was made a full part of The Scout Association in 1999, and was integrated under the auspices of Adult Support. This move meant that the Fellowship, now a part of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, is no longer a member of the International Scout and Guide Fellowship.

From September 2009 the Scout Fellowship has been renamed 'Scout Active Support', following a review which saw the need to broaden and strengthen the activities of Scout Fellowships, to make them more proactive and flexible support units for Scouting.