1930s & 1940s

From our Divisional Office (as well as being in a District, all Groups in our area are in the Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle Division. This is because there are so many Districts so close together) comes an Annual Census form from 1934. By this year it appears that we had started a Wolf Cub Pack, however no Cubs were recorded in the actual census figures. It would be 1938 when we actually had some Cubs.

1934 census.

We have been given some photographs and we are led to believe they are members of the Troop and Pack sometime in the 1930’s.

1930s Troop (Medium)1930s Troop 3 (Medium)1930s Troop 2 (Medium)

There looks to be both Cubs and Scouts in the pictures. Do you know any more about these photographs? If so, please contact us.

In 1928 our registration number was 3209 and in 1938 it was (and is to this day) 19379. Unfortunately, there appears to be a period of inactivity in the Group in 1937 and according to the Burslem Division minute book on 3rd September 1937 the “registration (was to) be cancelled and every effort be made to start a new Group”.

However, by the Division’s meeting of 25th March 1938 “a request had been made by the 1st City asking that their Registration be completed by Easter and that he had sent the Registration form to the March Ex. It was agreed that the Secretary’s action be approved”. Below is that registration –

1938 registration.

From the registration it can be seen there were 26 Wolf Cubs and 19 Scouts, but by the time of the 1938 Census (September), we can see that there were now 33 Wolf Cubs and 26 Scouts. Very healthy numbers!
The Group Scout Master and Cub Master was the Rev. L. H. Gunner. The Scoutmaster was now the Rev. H. J. Hemmings and the Assistant Scout Masters were Mr. Bernard Rydar and Mr. Leslie Simkins.

The Census figures from 1927 – 1972 can be seen here.

From 1947 to 1982 the Scout Association kept a Group Card which recorded which sections were run by the Group and attached to that is a list of the leaders from 1945 to 1970. However, the list is missing a few names!

Group Card & Leaders list.

img742 (Medium)St. Andrew’s Church, Watlands View and Porthill Bank in the 1940s

In 1947, Roy Millward joined the Troop as a Scout. He eventually became an Assistant Scout Master and then Scout Master before leaving the area in around 1957. Roy has been good enough to share some of his memories of his time in the Troop with us.

You can read the first instalment of memoirs here.

Part two of his memoirs can be read here.

Bob Hadley, who became Scoutmaster in the late 1940’s has been good enough to let us have some photographs of the Group from 1949 to 1951. They can be seen in our Gallery here.