The Order of World Scouts (OWS), founded in 1911, is the oldest international Scouting organisation. It is headquartered in England, with the administration headquarters in Italy.
As of November 2008, the Order of World Scouts includes member associations in 14 countries – 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
Australia,
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
,
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, as well as two associations each for
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
,
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
,
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
,
Bolivia,
Brasil
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 an ...
,
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and three associations in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
and
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
, Uganda, Honduras and the United States (United States Trailblazers).
History
The Order of World Scouts was formed by Sir
Francis Vane upon the
British Boy Scouts
The British Boy Scouts and British Girl Scouts Association (BBS & BGS Association; also known as The Brotherhood of British Scouts) is an early scouting organisation, having begun as the Battersea Boy Scouts in 1908.'' The Scout'', September 190 ...
which had spread across the British Empire and the National Peace Scouts. The British Boy Scouts were formed in 1908 as the Battersea Boy Scouts. The Battersea Boy Scouts briefly registered with
The Baden-Powell Boy Scouts in September 1908 but withdrew out of a concern that
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 ...
's organisation was too bureaucratic and militaristic. The Battersea Boy Scouts (BBS) were reconstituted as the British Boy Scouts (BBS) and launched as a national organisation in March 1909.
Sir
Francis Vane had been the
Baden-Powell Boy Scouts London Commissioner. He felt that
Scouting should be non-military and pushed for the Baden-Powell Boy Scouts to be a more democratic organization. Through
mediation, Vane reconciled the British Boy Scouts with the Baden-Powell Boy Scouts by having the British Boy Scouts as an affiliated organisation. However,
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 ...
appointed members of the
National Service League
The National Service League (NSL) was a British pressure group founded in February 1902 to campaign for the introduction of compulsory military training in Great Britain, in order to protect the country against invasion, particularly from Germany ...
, a pro-military group to his Boy Scouts Headquarters and Vane's position was eliminated. In a protest meeting, the London area Scoutmasters voted overwhelmingly in support of Sir Francis. Baden-Powell promised to reinstate Sir Francis but never did.
On December 3, 1909, Sir Francis Vane accepted the presidency of the British Boy Scouts taking most London area Troops with him. The Quakers' Birmingham and Midland Troops also followed. Vane was instrumental in gaining Quakers to sponsor Scout Troops,
with support given by George and Barrow Cadbury. Discussions with the pacifist Boy's Life Brigade led to the creation of the National Peace Scouts, launched on 1 April 1910. The Order of World Scouts was an international extension of these efforts.
With Vane having an Italian summer home, he and his co-founder Remo Molinari were able to launch the Scouting Movement in Italy with the
Italian Boy Scouts (Ragazzi Esploratori Italiani) in 1910.
[Working Class Movement Library: Sir Francis Patrick Fletcher Vane, Bt.](_blank)
/ref>
In 1911, in France, Vane assisted Augustin Dufresne, a ship owner, to organise a French Scouting organisation.
With the spread of the British Boy Scouts program throughout the world via the CHUMS (paper)
''Chums'' was a boys' weekly newspaper started in 1892 by Cassell & Company and later, from 1927, published by Amalgamated Press. The publisher gathered the weekly paper into monthly and annual editions. The monthly versions were published on the ...
and Vane's efforts, Vane aligned the various national Scout organisations as the "Legion of World Scouts", the first international organization, launched on 1 May 1911. This included the 'American Boy Scout'. The relationship with the American Boy Scout was short lived due to its overt militarism.
Vane then launched The Order of World Scouts on 11 November 1911. This day was influenced by the French, as it was the day that Baldwin was crowned King of Jerusalem, on 11 November 1100 (St Martin's Day). Vane became the Grand Scoutmaster of the Order of World Scouts.
Representation covered fifteen countries (counting Ireland as being separate) being; the UK, Ireland, Italy, the United States (isolated troops), Canada, France, Belgium, India, South America, China, South Africa, Canada, Egypt, Australia and New Zealand.
Vane put his wealth behind the World Scouts, BBS and other national Scout organisations: providing a London headquarters and financing the organisations, even the manufacture of Scout uniforms not only for the BBS, but also for the Italian Scouts. This over-burdened his finances to the point of having to declare bankruptcy. Thus the Order of World Scouts and BBS lost their headquarters, source of equipment and uniforms, and their leader, Sir Francis Vane.
The World Scouts was left with member troops in England (remaining to the present), and in Australia. The Australian BBS, proved more resilient than was initially thought. The 4th Alexandria (Australia) British Boy Scouts existed in the 1950s, and possibly beyond that date, Individual members in Australia corresponded with the British Chief Commissioner up until the late 1960s. Robert Campbell, an Australian Scout researcher, traced the BBS in Australia and credits the continuation of membership in Australia to the 1990s, when the Scouts of Australia
Independent Australian Scouts, previously known as Scouts of Australia (1992 to 2001), is a Scouting organisation operating as a central umbrella organisation for independent local scout clubs or associations. Independent Australian Scouts is a ...
became the successors to the BBS, which "Ceased activity in Australia c1950s but retains members".
In the mid-1980s expansion began again with members joining in Hawaii (USA). In the early 1990s, contact was made by a Scouting organisation in Australia, followed by Scouting organisations in other countries.
After contact in 1991 with the Independent Scouts of Australia Incorporated,[The Australian organisation was known as "Independent Scouts of Australia Incorporated" 1986-1992, then "Scouts of Australia" 1992-2001, and finally reverting to the previous name for legal reasons, minus the addition of "Incorporated" in 2001] the Order was more formally organised with the appointments of a BBS Commissioner for Australia in 1991 and a Chief Commissioner of BBS & BGS in Canada in 1999.
List of members
Grand Scoutmasters and other officers
;Grand Scoutmasters
*Sir Francis Vane (1911–1912)
*Albert Jones Knighton (1913–1926)
*Rt Hon Lord Alington (1926–1932)
*Samuel Nalty Manning (1932–1967)
*Percy Herbert Pooley in-charge (1967–1971)
*Charles A Brown in-charge (1971–1983)
*Charles A Brown (1983–1992)
*Edward E Scott (1993–2000)
*Rev'd Michael John Foster (2000–2016)
*David Cooksely (2016–)
;President
*Colonel Frederick Charles Keyser 1909
*Sir Francis Vane bt 1909–1913
;Vice President
*Prince Di Cassano of Italy
;Honorary President
*Mrs G White Brebble 1932
*Viscount Milton
The titles of Baron Milton and Viscount Milton have both been created several times.
Sydney family
The first creation was for Henry Sydney, who was created Viscount Sydney of Sheppey and Baron Milton (i.e. Milton in Kent) in the Peerage of E ...
1939
* The Rt Hon The Earl of Fitzwilliam 1948
*The Reverend Bill Dowling 1997
;Assistant Grand Scoutmaster, Britain
*Captain Masterman 1911–1912
*L C Hobbs 1914–1926
;Assistant Grand Scoutmaster, South Australia
*Joseph Regis-Coory 1911–1914
;Assistant Grand Scoutmaster, South Africa
*H C Edwards-Carter 1911–1914
;Assistant Grand Scoutmaster, France
*Monsieur Augustin Dufresne 1911–1914
;Assistant Grand Scoutmaster, Italy
*Ivano Venerandi 2007–
;Assistant Grand Scoutmaster, Poland
* Jerzy Gach 2009–
;Assistant Grand Scoutmaster, Latinoamericana
*Francisco Arias 2017–
;Chief Commissioner for Britain
*W G Whitby 1909–1911
*Percy Herbert Pooley 1926–1971
*Charles A Brown 1971–1983
*Rev'd Michael John Foster 1983–2000
*David Cooksely 2000–2017
*Paul Stevens 2017–
;Chief Commissioner for Australia
*Robert Campbell 1991–2001
;Chief Commissioner for Canada
*Bill Nangle 1999 Resigned
;Chief Commissioner for Italy
*Ivano Venerandi 2006–2007
;Chief Commissioner for Poland
*Jerzy Gach 2002–2008
;Chief Commissioner for Argentina
*Osvaldo Fonseca 2008–2016
*Gabriel Palma 2017–
;Chief Commissioner for Bolivia
*Rolando Farfan 2008–2016
;Chief Commissioner for Brasil
*Salvio Avenor 2008–2016
;Chief Commissioner for Chile
*Marcelo Vergara 2008–2016
;Chief Commissioner for Republica Dominicana
*Roberto Torres 2008–2016
;Chief Commissioner for Jamaica
*Lavinia McClure 2009–
;Chief Commissioner for El Salvador
* Francisco Arias 2016
;Chief Commissioner for Mexico
*Juventino Sandoval 2009–2011
*Miguel Chi 2017–
;Chief Commissioner for Peru
*Josè Luis Duffoò Cornejo 2008–2016
;Chief Commissioner for Ukrain
*Aleksander Matsiyevskyy 2009–
;Chief Commissioner for Uruguay
*Jorge Villaran 2008–2016
;Chief Commissioner for Ecuador
*Eduardo José Mera Alay 2010–2014
;Chief Commissioner for Nepal
*Sudhan Maraseni 2016–present
Italian Boy Scouts
Italian Boy Scouts (IBS) was the first Scouting association in Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
founded by Francis Vane and Remo Molinari lasting from 1910 to 1914. While short lasting, its existence influenced others to start other Scouting organizations in Italy.
History
Francis Vane's winter home was in Bagni di Lucca
Bagni di Lucca (formerly Bagno a Corsena) is a comune of Tuscany, Italy, in the Province of Lucca with a population of about 6,100. The comune has 27 named frazioni (wards).
History
Bagni di Lucca has been known for its thermal springs since th ...
, Italy in the Apennine Mountains. Vane started a troop at a local school which spread the ideals of the Scouting movement and the backing of the Catholic Church. On July 12, 1910, an official launch of the Italian Boy Scouts at the Lawn Tennis Club in Bagni, followed with a royal inspection on November 6, 1910 at by King Victor Emmanuel with the co-founders of a troop of 30 boys. The royal inspection led to the patronage of the Italy King for the organization with the King becoming president of the Italian movement. For Rome organizer, Prince Di Cassano was appointed to the position. Initially, the REI had a long 10-point Scout Oath, but was replaced in 1911 with a shorter 9-point oath.[
With ]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 ...
and other absence of Vane, the IBS ended in 1914 with many of the troops joining the National Explorers Youth Corps.
Symbols
The National Peace Scout Lily badge was initial used by Vane for the Italian Scouts plus a variant with "Be Prepared" beneath the lily for the Bagni troop. This was soon replaced by an Italian overly ornate lily. Being too ornate, this was replaced by a stone lily in the Lanaivoli Fiorenti Chapel in the Church of Corpoazioni Medioevali di S. Agostino found by a Scout.
See also
* The Scouting Portal
Notes
References
External links
Order of World Scouts
archived pages
The British Boy Scouts and British Girl Scouts Association
homepage Organization of Ukrainian Scouts
(Ukraine)
Agrupacion de Escultismo Woodcraft de Chile
(Woodcraft Chile)
{{scouting, international
Non-aligned Scouting organizations
International Scouting organizations
Youth organizations established in 1911