B-P's footprint is a
casting
Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a ''casting'', which is ejected ...
, usually in bronze or brass, of the right foot of
Lord Baden-Powell
Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the wor ...
, the founder of the
Scout and
Guide
A guide is a person who leads travelers, sportspeople, or tourists through unknown or unfamiliar locations. The term can also be applied to a person who leads others to more abstract goals such as knowledge or wisdom.
Travel and recreation
Ex ...
Movements, who is known as "B-P." The idea is that people may put their foot into this casting, so that they can say that they have "walked in the footsteps of B-P."
History
The
1928 Scouting World Conference was officially opened on May 4 in
Parád
Parád is a village in the region of Northern Hungary, Heves County, Pétervására District, in the valley of the Parádi-Tarna. Thanks to its medicinal water, unique natural attractions and Spring (hydrology), springs of Mátra Mountains, Par ...
. The next day, the delegates went on an excursion to
Lake Balaton
Lake Balaton () is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of the region's foremost tourist destinations. The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and ...
and other places returning to Budapest in the afternoon. That evening, Baden-Powell, his wife
Olave and
Lord Hampton arrived.
On May 6, there was a rally at the playing field of
Ferencvárosi TC
Ferencvárosi Torna Club, known as Ferencváros (), Fradi, or simply FTC, is a professional football club based in Ferencváros, Budapest, Hungary, that competes in the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, the top flight of Hungarian football. Ferencváros ...
attended by 9,647 out of the 25,000 Scouts then in Hungary and up to 20,000 of the public. On May 7 B-P came to the
Hárshegy Training Park. B-P wrote, about the rally at Hárshegy:
From this cast two bronze copies were made, one was for the Hárshegy Training Park and the other was a gift to Baden-Powell, which he passed to the British Scout Headquarters.
During the
4th World Scout Jamboree
The 4th World Scout Jamboree ( Hungarian: ''4. Cserkész Világdzsembori''), a gathering of Boy Scouts from all over the world, was hosted by Hungary and held from 2 to 13 August 1933. It was attended by 25,792 Scouts, representing 46 different ...
in
Gödöllő, Hungary the British Contingent get a copy from the Hungarian Honorary Chief Scout,
count Pál Teleki. One of them passed to the
B-P House, London, and the other passed to the
Gilwell Park
Gilwell Park is a camp site and activity centre in East London located in the Sewardstonebury area of Waltham Abbey, within Epping Forest, near the border with Chingford. The site is owned by The Scout Association, is used by Scouting and Gu ...
. When the communists took over and banned Scouting in 1948, the training ground was confiscated and houses were built on the land; neither the original concrete footprint, nor the "Hungarian original bronze" has been seen since.
The text is the next on the bronze statue: at right side: 'The Footprint in the Sands of Time', at the left side: 'To Gilwell Park the home of Scoutcraft from Hárshegy Training Park /Hungary/ in memory of the visit of the Chief Scout'.
Norway
The
Norwegian Boy Scout Organization received a copy of the B-P Footprint as a gift from
Gilwell Park
Gilwell Park is a camp site and activity centre in East London located in the Sewardstonebury area of Waltham Abbey, within Epping Forest, near the border with Chingford. The site is owned by The Scout Association, is used by Scouting and Gu ...
by Camp Chief
John Thurman in the summer of 1959. A Kudu horn was presented at the same time. The footprint then was mounted in front of the house at the Norwegian Gilwell Training Ground on the farm "Sverveli" in Telemark, Norway..
There it stayed for 41 years, until June 2010, when Sverveli was sold. The Norwegian B-P Footprint then was removed and is at present a part of the equipment used at the annual Norwegian Trefoil-Gilwell (
Wood Badge
Wood Badge is a Scouting leadership programme and the related award for adult leaders in the programmes of Scout associations throughout the world. Wood Badge courses aim to make Scouters better leaders by teaching advanced leadership skills ...
) training courses.. In June 2012, a casting in brass was made from the Norwegian footprint at the Østlandske Lettmetall foundry in
Elverum, Norway. It is used during the Trefoil-Gilwell courses as a symbol of the Baden-Powell spirit, along with a
6-bead woodbadge suspended from a tripod..
United Kingdom
Gilwell Park
Before World War II a copy of the "British original bronze" was cast and placed at
Gilwell Park
Gilwell Park is a camp site and activity centre in East London located in the Sewardstonebury area of Waltham Abbey, within Epping Forest, near the border with Chingford. The site is owned by The Scout Association, is used by Scouting and Gu ...
, the original remained at Scout Headquarters in London. Gilwell was requisitioned by the
War Ministry from 1940 to 1945 as a local command, training, and ordnance centre. During this time the footprint was left undisturbed.
In 1991 four Members of the Hungarian Scout Headquarters team visited England, and saw the Baden-Powell footprint at Gilwell. At their request, a plastic mould was taken of the first "British original bronze", by this time at
Baden-Powell House
Queen's Gate House, still commonly known by its previous name of Baden-Powell House, is a conference centre in South Kensington, London. It was built as a tribute to Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, and has served as the headquarters ...
, and from this the Hungarians cast a new footprint, which was installed in their new Scout Training Park, given them in 1991 by the Hungarian Government.
Brownsea Island
On Friday August 3, 2012, there was a dinner to close the 67th Norwegian Trefoil-Gilwell Training course held on the island. A copy of the B-P footprint was presented by staff member Øystein Gonsholt to Brownsea Island, represented by the warden for that weekend, Claire, as a symbol of the deep-felt gratitude felt by the course attenders and staff, but also on behalf of former, present and future Scouts and Guides of Norway as a tribute to B-P, his Scouting idea and Brownsea Island - the cradle of Scouting.
In 1963 the
National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
(the owner of
Brownsea Island
Brownsea Island is the largest of the islands in Poole Harbour in the county of Dorset, England. The island is owned by the National Trust with the northern half managed by the Dorset Wildlife Trust. Much of the island is open to the public and ...
) opened the Island to the public, in a ceremony conducted by Olave Lady Baden-Powell, the World Chief Guide.
On May 13, 2013, as part of the celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the opening, the Brownsea Island footprint was installed beside an existing bust of Lord Baden-Powell and unveiled by one of B-P's grandchildren, Gillian Clay, daughter of the B-P's daughter
Betty Clay
Betty St Clair Clay ( née Baden-Powell; 16 April 1917 – 24 April 2004) was the younger daughter of Olave Baden-Powell, the first Chief Guide and Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting. She was the sister of P ...
. It is the donors' highest wish that their gift will benefit Brownsea Island and give joy and good B-P spirit to visitors to Brownsea Island for many years to come.
[Øystein Gonsholt, staff member 65. Trefoil-Gilwell training ]
List of copies
See also
*
Petrosomatoglyph
A petrosomatoglyph is a supposed image of parts of a human or animal body in rock. They occur all over the world, often functioning as an important form of symbolism, used in religious and secular ceremonies, such as the crowning of kings. Some a ...
External links
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References
{{Scouting, places
Casting (manufacturing)
Scouting monuments and memorials
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