Francis "Skipper" Gidney (1890–1928) was an early leader of the

Scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

movement in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. He was appointed the first Camp Chief of

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 ...

in May 1919, and organized the first

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 ...

adult leader training course there in September 1919. He served in the Scouting organization until 1923, and was honoured by having the Gidney Cabin at Gilwell, a training centre, named for him.

Biography

Gidney started one of the first

Scout Troop A Scout troop is a term adopted into use with Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and the Scout Movement to describe their basic units. The term troop echoes a group of mounted scouts in the military or an expedition and follows the terms cavalry, mounted inf ...

s in 1908, when he was only 17 years old. Gidney then served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was seriously wounded and invalided out of the army before the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...

. His position in Scouting led to financial and marital difficulties: he himself complained that he was underpaid, and his wife did not care much for Scouting. The marriage eventually foundered. They had at least three children, one of whom died in 1921. His son, Alan Francis Gidney, later became an officer in the 10th Gurkha Rifles and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

during the Burma Campaign. Gidney established the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of "Gilcraft" which he used when writing articles in '' The Scout'' and the ''

Headquarters Gazette ''Scouting'' magazine was a bi-monthly publication of The Scout Association. The magazine included information, resources and support for both young people and adults involved with The Scout Association and Scouting. It was supplied free of direct ...

'', also in several instructional books and booklets for both adult

Scouter A Scout leader or Scouter generally refers to the trained adult leader of a Scout unit. The terms used vary from country to country, over time, and with the type of unit. Roles There are many different roles a leader can fulfill depending on ...

s and boys. The pseudonym continued to be used by his successors at Gilwell in the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

. It was his idea to start the 1st Gilwell Scout Troop (today the 1st Gilwell Park Scout Group) for all Wood Badge holders, with its distinctive

neckerchief A neckerchief (from ''neck'' (n.) + ''kerchief''), sometimes called a necker, kerchief or scarf, is a type of neckwear associated with those working or living outdoors, including farm labourers, cowboys and sailors. It is most commonly still see ...

, and he successfully established the pattern still used for modern-day Gilwell Reunions. Disputes over how Gilwell Park should be managed led to Gidney resigning in 1923, which greatly upset the founder of the Scouting movement,

Robert 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 worl ...

. Gidney then worked as a Master at a preparatory school in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, before retiring due to ill health. He died from complications to his war wounds in 1928 at the age of 38. The Frank Gidney Memorial Cabin was built at Gilwell by Don Potter, one of the staff members, who had been given his first set of woodworking tools by Gidney. The cabin was opened by Baden-Powell on

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

, 1930.

References

1890 births 1928 deaths The Scout Association Scouting pioneers {{Scout-bio-stub

Biography

See also

References