The 8th World Scout Jamboree was held in August 1955, it was hosted by

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the Niagara Region of On ...

. The Jamboree saw the introduction of the World Membership Badge which is still worn on the uniforms of Scouts worldwide. This was the first World Jamboree to be held in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...

, and the first outside of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. The setting was a rolling parkland on the Commons of

Fort George National Historic Site Fort George was a military fortification in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. The fort was used by the British Army, the Canadian militia, and the United States Armed Forces for a brief period. The fort was mostly destroyed during the War of 1 ...

. More than 11,000 Scouts from 71 countries and colonies attended this gathering, which was notable for the number of Scout contingents that crossed the Atlantic by air to attend–1,000 from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

alone. There are some incredible tales of the efforts made by Scouts to attend the Jamboree, with the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

contingent leaving four months ahead of the event and traveling over 30,000 miles on the way. There were also three

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian Scouts who arrived after traveling by jeep from their hometown. Three days before the Jamboree was due to open, a vicious storm of hurricane strength (the tail end of

Hurricane Connie Hurricane Connie was a Category 4 hurricane that contributed to significant flooding across the eastern United States in August 1955, just days before Hurricane Diane affected the same general area. Connie formed on August 3 from a tropical ...

) blew over the camp for nearly 24 hours, flattening much of the work that the volunteers and professionals spent six weeks preparing. A call went out to all district council members, communities and companies for volunteers to put the camp back in shape.

The Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The Coca-Cola Company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrup ...

closed all its plants and sent its employees to assist in the reconstruction. The camp was almost back to its original state in three days, ready for the opening.

Jackson Dodds Jackson Dodds, CBE (February 16, 1881 – April 7, 1961) was an early Scouts Canada Scouting notable, rising to Deputy Chief Scout for Canada. Born in Hornsey, Middlesex, England, Dodds first went to Canada in 1901, and finally settled in Wi ...

, the Jamboree Camp Chief,

Vincent Massey Charles Vincent Massey (February 20, 1887December 30, 1967) was a Canadian lawyer and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 18th since Confederation. Massey was the first governor general of Canada who was born in Canada after ...

, Governor-General and Chief Scout for

, Lady Baden Powell and Lord Rowallan,

Chief Scout A Chief Scout is the principal or head scout for an organization such as the military, colonial administration or expedition or a talent scout in performing, entertainment or creative arts, particularly sport. In sport, a Chief Scout can be the prin ...

of the British Commonwealth and Empire attended the opening ceremonies. The 50th Anniversary of the Jamboree was celebrated in September 2005 at which time a plaque commemorating the event was unveiled. The

Niagara Parks Commission The Niagara Parks Commission, commonly shortened to Niagara Parks, is an agency of the Government of Ontario which maintains the Ontario shoreline of the Niagara River. History The Commission was founded in 1885 and charged with preserving and ...

also planted a memorial oak tree.

References

External links

8th World Scout Jamboree 1955 WebsiteJamboree Histories at Scout.org
{{WOSM, jamboree #1955 # August 1955 events in Canada 1955 in Canada

See also

References

External links