Guiding Memories

A few weeks ago, I received one of my monthly subscription envelopes of stamps and covers from around the world. I’m always excited to see what treasures lay in wait for me when these envelopes come but my April package contained a serious blast from the past for me. It was a Girl Guide cover!

In 1985, the Isle Of Man released a set of stamps to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Girl Guides. The first day cover has a picture of the Baden-Powells in the bottom left corner (more on them in a moment) and has 5 definitive stamps including the 14p stamp with Princess Margaret in uniform and the 29p stamp with Olave Baden Powell opening the Guide headquarters in 1955.

Looking at this small piece of paper, a flood of childhood memories washed over me like a tidal wave. I spent 3 years as a Brownie, 3 years as a Guide, and 2 years as a Pathfinder. I remember camping all over the province, making adorable crafts to pin to my camp hat, learning to canoe in a storm, singing songs around the campfire, and most of all, all the friends I met along the way. I actually still have so much of my Guiding stuff because I just couldn’t part with the memories they bring.

Let’s quickly explain where this crazy organization came from. To do that though, we need to first look at the Boy Scouts. Lieutenant-General Robert Baden-Powell was a soldier in the Second Boer War which took place from 1899 to 1902 in South Africa. During this time, Baden-Powell noted how well young boys did carrying messages during battles. He began writing up his own training manuals for young boys which were very well received with schools and communities around the world setting up their own training clubs. Based on what I’ve read, the Scouting movement was a bit of an accident. But Baden-Powell leaned into it writing more books and consolidating the movement into what we think of the Boy Scouts today.

In 1909, one of the first major Scout rallies was held at Crystal Place, Hyde Park, London. At this rally though were also many young girls who demanded to become a part of this ever-growing movement which Baden-Powell did not think was appropriate. In an excerpt from The Boy Scouts Headquarters Gazette of 1909: “If a girl is not allowed to run, or even hurry, to swim, ride a bike, or raise her arms above her head, how can she become a Scout?” A year later though, in 1910, he asked his sister, Agnes Badell-Powell to form the Girl Guides. She took the name ‘Guides’ from a regiment in the British Indian Army noted for its tracking and survival skills. The first group of Girl Guides was the 1st Pinkneys Green Guides in Pinkneys Green, Maidenhead, Berkshire, and still exists to this day. Lady Olave Baden-Powell, Robert’s wife, became the first Chief Guide for Britain.

The Guiding movement in Canada started almost right away with the first groups starting in 1910. By 1912, there were units in every Canadian province. According to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGS) which was set up in 1928, the movement can be found in 145 countries around the world and boasts of over 10 million members worldwide.

I would say that it’s unsurprising to find a plethora of scouting and guiding stamps from Canada and around the world. Here are the few that I’ve begun collecting. Some celebrate anniversaries or events, others simply pay homage to an organization that has been instrumental in shaping millions of lives. My family certainly benefited from the Guiding and Scouting movements and I will always be grateful for those wonderful days of fun and friendship.