The graves of

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

The 1st Baron Baden-Powell and his wife, Olave, Baroness Baden-Powell, G.B.E., are in

Nyeri Nyeri is a town situated in the Central Highlands of Kenya. It is the county headquarters of Nyeri County. The town was the central administrative headquarters of the country's former Central Province. Following the dissolution of the former pr ...

Nyeri County Nyeri County is a county located in the central region of Kenya. Its capital and largest town is Nyeri. It has a population of 759,164 and an area of 2361 km2. It is currently under the leadership of H.E. Governor Mutahi Kahiga. Other gove ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, near

Mount Kenya Mount Kenya (Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba, ''Ki Nyaa'') is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (), Nelion () and Point Lenana (). Mount Kenya is locat ...

. Lord Baden-Powell died on 8 January 1941, and is buried in St. Peter's Cemetery in the Wajee Nature Park. When his wife Olave, Lady Baden-Powell, died, her ashes were sent to Kenya and interred beside her husband. Kenya has declared Baden-Powell's grave a national monument, Scouters consider the grave, "one of the most revered shrines and pilgrimage sites in the world."

Background

Baden-Powell, who knew and liked Kenya, decided to start wintering in Nyeri at the

Outspan Hotel The Outspan Hotel is in Nyeri, Kenya. It was built up from an old farm by Eric Sherbrooke Walker in the 1920s. Walker had purchased of Crown Land in Nyeri and in 1928, opened the Outspan Hotel, overlooking the gorge of a river in the Aberdare R ...

of his friend, Eric Sherbrooke Walker. He chose Kenya as his last home because of favorable climate and the political situation in Europe. Baden-Powell knew his health was failing and planned accordingly. He said, "I'd rather die in Africa, where my heart is, than anywhere". His will stipulated that he was to be buried in Nyeri, eschewing the tomb allotted to him in Westminster Abbey. He left final letters for Scouts and Scouters, and made plans for his burial. His death was world-wide news. Speaking for Canada, Prime Minister MacKenzie King called it, "a loss which will be felt throughout the civilized world". He also said, "The Boy Scout movement will in itself be his enduring memorial". Baden-Powell was given a

military funeral A military funeral is a memorial or burial rite given by a country's military for a soldier, sailor, marine or airman who died in battle, a veteran, or other prominent military figures or heads of state. A military funeral may feature guards ...

with a procession. He was buried in St. Peter's Cemetery in the Wajee Nature Park. When Baden-Powell's wife, Olave, died on 25 June 1977, she was cremated and her ashes taken to Kenya for interment at the Baden-Powell gravesite. A memorial service was subsequently held for them in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. The memorial stone is in the south aisle of the nave of Westminster Abbey, against the screen of St George’s chapel and was unveiled on 12 February 1981.

Inscription

His gravestone bears a circle with a dot in the center, "ʘ", which is the

trail sign Trail blazing or way marking is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail. A bla ...

for "Going home", or "I have gone home".

Legacy

Kenya has declared Baden-Powell's grave a national monument. The nation's largest newspaper, the ''

Daily Nation The ''Daily Nation'' is the highest circulation Kenyan independent newspaper with 170,000 copies. History The ''Daily Nation'' was started in the year 1958 as a Swahili language, Swahili weekly called ''Taifa'' by the Englishman Charles Hay ...

'', has called the Scouting founder's final resting place "one of the most revered shrines and pilgrimage sites in the world", with as many as 50,000 people visiting the site each year. Each year on 22 February, members of the

Kenya Scouts Association The Kenya Scouts Association is the national Scouting association of Kenya. Scouting was founded in British East Africa in 1910 and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1964. It has 323,929 members (as of 2010). Hi ...

and

Kenya Girl Guides Association The Kenya Girl Guides Association (KGGA) is the national Guiding organization of Kenya. It serves 120,805 members (as of 2003). Founded in 1920, the girls-only organization became a full member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scou ...

celebrate Founders' Day at the grave. The British government employs staff to maintain the site.

References

External links

* * {{Scouting Scouting monuments and memorials Nyeri Cemeteries in Kenya Monuments and memorials in Kenya

Background

Inscription

Legacy

See also

References

External links