History of the Group
5th Preston (St Cuthbert’s) Scout Group began in 1912, making our Group the oldest surviving in Preston District. Over the years, we have built up a great reputation in our Preston District, West Lancashire Scout County, and further afield.
The Group began meetings at the now demolished St Cuthbert’s School, Sedburgh Street, Preston, in August 1912. In 1954, parents’ and supporters’ of the Group worked hard to purchase a 2nd World War infectious diseases hospital unit which was rebuilt on St Cuthbert’s Church field, Lytham Road, and paid a peppercorn rent of 1 shilling every year to the church.
We occupied the wooden ‘Scout Hut’ until 2005 when the hut was demolished, and the Group moved to its new HQ in the Douglas Hall, which is a part of the new St Cuthbert’s Church Centre.
1912 – 2012
In 2012, 5th Preston (St. Cuthbert’s) Scout Group proudly celebrated their 100th anniversary.
There have been many people involved with the 5th over the years who have contributed to our success & we tried to involve as many as possible in our celebrations. There were several special events over the year – read more below.
Centenary Badge
We wore a specially designed Centenary badge. A competition held amongst our young people gave us the design for a badge that we could wear on our uniforms throughout 2012. Two Cub Scouts produced amazing designs so we joined them together & made a badge that had elements of both designs. There are only 150 badges in circulation. Unfortunately we have had to remove them from our uniforms now, but anyone who has one should keep it for posterity.
Centenary Ball – March 2012
The Ball in March was attended by 100 people dressed in all their finery. Lots of familiar faces from the past and it was nice to see current parents too. We love it when parents join in.
The Westleigh Centre venue looked great. Our organising team had spent many hours making 50 metres of red and grey bunting, which hung around the dance floor making us all feel quite at home, there were red and grey balloons on each table and each table had been named with a Scouting reference.
Pete (Indiana Explorer Scout Leader) had prepared a presentation of photographs, past and present which amused us all whilst we were eating (maybe not the best time to laugh at old photos of our current leaders).
We also had a centenary cake with the 5th Preston red and grey neckerchief on the top. This was cut by Roy Lewis who was an invited guest along with his wife Jean. (Roy was a Scout Master from the 1940s – 1960s and helped keep the Group going during the immediate post war years). We were very pleased they could join us and Roy could share his memories of the Scout Group.
After the meal, the Group Scout Leader thanked everyone who attended and presented 2 Long Service Awards to David our Supporters’ Group Chairman and Kath our treasurer, then the dancing went on until the wee small hours.
Everybody we have spoken to said it was a fantastic evening and a brilliant way to celebrate 100 years of Scouting at 5thPreston (St Cuthbert’s). Many thanks to the organisers for pulling it all together – you did an amazing job. The fact that everyone enjoyed it is testimony enough.
Centenary Group (Family) Camp – May 2012
Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers joined together for a camp to remember at the Waddecar camp in Preston. Parents were invited to join us for the weekend (or just the day) to join in the activities.
I am not sure they really knew what to expect… On Friday evening, after learning how to pitch a tent – there was a tour of the site and a few ‘Wide games’ (outdoor games that spread far and wide) before supper.
Saturday was a very hot day so with hats on heads, our eager campers (and day visitors) were sent off to take part in activities such as kayaking, climbing, abseiling, archery, caving, fire lighting, back woods cooking, craft, badge making & orienteering. We cant count how many jugs of cordial we made up for our thirsty adventurers and we could have done with a bath of sun cream.
A BBQ for around 80 people was followed by a camp fire and songs that had everyone in high spirits so, it was inevitable that, the party games turned into a dance fest with the Explorers leading the way. Our day visitors left after the camp fire, but we hope they enjoyed their day and a taste of what Scouting is all about.
Saturday was the Beavers night to sleep over and they were very excited when they saw a mess tent full of pop up tents to sleep in, needless to say they didn’t drop off to sleep quickly!
Sunday morning and everyone emerged from their tents ready for another action packed day (really!). After a cooked breakfast it was time to start packing all the gear away breaking for a short visit to the Little Gem Scout Museum on site. Michael (the curator) guided us around explaining everything and pointing out interesting facts …who knew that Neil Armstrong and 10 more members of the moon landing team had all been Scouts – amazing!
‘It’s a Knockout’ was run by the Indiana Explorers and although a little unsure, the brave parents got stuck in and were encouraged to take part in the ‘bush tucker trials’ (seriously no witchetty grubs), Slippery slope and other challenges. Then there was just time for lunch, final pack up and a short service of thanks for Scouting and our own 100 year old Group (Scout’s Own) in the outdoor chapel lead by our ex Group Scout Leader before heading back to the Headquarters to unpack. Luckily there was no wet tentage to hang out to dry.
All in all, it was an amazing camp, thanks to everyone who helped with the organisation (no mean feat) and everyone who came along to join in, we hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.
Centenary Expedition To Austria – August 2012
Many of 5th Preston Scouts, Indiana Explorers and leaders spent 12 days experiencing the Austrian Tyrol.
Adventure was the theme… White water rafting, mountain biking, canyoning, trekking to a mountain hut and many many more things.
Visit the Expedition to Austria page for a run down of the adventure as it happened.
Centenary Service of Thanks &
Exhibition of 100 Years of Memorabilia – October 14th 2012
Well, what an amazing afternoon that was at our Scout HQ, Douglas Hall, Douglas Road, Fulwood, Preston. For those of you that joined us, thank you – For those of you that were not able to make it – we had a great time, but we missed you.
You can read a full report on the Memorabilia Day page.
History of 5th Preston (St Cuthbert’s) Scout Group
In 1962, Roy Lewis (a key player keeping the Group going during the immediate post war years) decided it would be a good idea to write down the history of our Group. The booklet was published on the anniversary of our 50th year to celebrate.
In 2009, David Platt (ex Group Scout Leader, who has been connected with 5th Preston for the last 50 years) retired as GSL and decided to take on the challenge of following this on with the history from 1962 to the present day.
This recount has been 3 years in the making, a labour of love culminating in a fantastic new booklet to celebrate our century in Scouting. David and Pete H (Explorer Scout Leader and member of our Group for 40 years) fine tuned and proof read until it was ready for formatting and was finally printed by Pete in readiness for our Memorabilia Day.
This booklet is a marvellous piece of 5th Preston History, showing the very best of our Scout Group through 100 years, based from our Scouting HQ Fulwood, Preston. Also, included in the back of the book is the original 1912-1962 history written by Roy Lewis, it tells the story of 5th Preston Scouting through from 1912-2012.
Copies were available at the Memorabilia event.
The young people from the Group who were at this event received their complimentary copy. If anybody else would like a copy, for a small donation of £3.00, you may have one with our pleasure. Just ask a Section leader or contact us for details.
6-8 years
8-10½ years
10½-14 years
14-18 years