A Life in Scouting: The Memoirs

Fifty years of adventures, friendships and occasional mischief.

In 1975, my mother sent me off to join the Scouts in Stroud. I doubt that either of us imagined that this perfectly ordinary decision would shape so much of the rest of my life. More than fifty years later, I am still involved in a Movement that has taken me to places I would never otherwise have visited, introduced me to extraordinary people and given me rather more opportunities to learn from my mistakes than I might have wished.

This is not another account of appointments, committees and awards, although some of those will inevitably make an appearance. It is a collection of personal memories: wet camps, unlikely adventures, friendships, acts of kindness and the people who have influenced my thinking along the way. I am writing it a chapter at a time, drawing on old recollections and occasionally discovering that the stories I thought I knew still have something new to tell me.

The chapters

Chapter One: It Was All Mum’s Fault — Stroud, Cranham, Wycliffe College and the return to Scouting as a young volunteer. Read the chapter.

Chapter Two: Learning to Lead — Bristol, Oxford and the first years as a Cub Scout leader. Read the chapter.

Chapter Three: Finding My Voice — Cardiff, the British Youth Council and looking beyond the Scout hut. Planned.

Chapter Four: An Unexpected Invitation — Becoming International Commissioner. Planned.

Chapter Five: Uganda, UNITE and a Wider World — Partnerships, friendships and learning across borders. Planned.

Further chapters will follow the World Scout Jamborees, the Golden Arrow, Scouting’s work on equality and inclusion, the World Scout Committee and the friendships that have endured across the decades.

For the fuller record of my appointments and Scouting service, see my Scouting biography.