History

Scouting in Alrewas since 1912

The 1st Alrewas Scout Group was first registered with The Scout Association HQ under this name in 1942 and it completed its first census in 1943. In 1943 there were 10 Cubs, 26 Scouts and 3 leaders.

The Scout master was Mr Walter Mead of Furlong Lane and he may well have run both the cub pack and the scout troop. The group was originally a church sponsored group, but in 1950 it changed its registration to become an open group and began to raise funds to build its own scout hut. The Group Scout Leader (the manager of a scout group) who pioneered this change and the building of the scout hut in William IV Road was a Mr Stanley Clarke. Press cuttings from the time record the fund raising activities of the group in 1951 and that their summer camp that year was held at Whatstandwell near Matlock.

However we know that the group existed for many years before 1942.

We found out in 2006 that we were previously known as the 12th Burton (1st Alrewas) Scout Group. A villager brought a flag to us that had been in his garage for decades and the flag bore the name 12th Burton (1st Alrewas) Scout Group.

We then had a clear out of the cupboards in the scout hut and found some press cuttings and photos from the 1920s that showed the group was active then. In particular there was an interesting article from 1929. In that year a 15 year old scout (Fred Durose) saved a 6 year old girl (Lily Dunn) from drowning in the canal and was awarded a medal for bravery. He lost his watch during the rescue and the village had a whip round to replace it. We do not know who gave Fred the bravery award, it was not the Scout Association, but may have been the Parish Council. We also found photos of the scouts at camp in 1922.

Most recently we found a major piece of evidence right under our noses - a plaque on the north wall of All Saints Church which commemorates three members of 1st Alrewas Scout Troop who died in the First World War. Their names are listed as Arthur Bannister, John Bean and William John Lucas, and all appear in the 1911 Census. So we now know that our Scout Troop has been in existence since at least 1914. We may find out more at some point.