My Group’s Drums

Following on from my last post about something from the past of my Group, comes something very up to date! Last night our Drum Corps had their first annual Band Inspection. All Scout Bands have a yearly inspection to ensure that they uphold the correct standards for a Scout band which performs in public. Happily we passed!

 

It’s very impressive to see how much effort the young people put into their playing and how good they are considering how short a time a lot of them have been playing!

I am very impressed and proud!

My Group’s Remembrance Site

Today the part of our website that pays tribute to the members of the Troop who were killed in World War 1 and World War 2 is being relaunched

When it was originally set up in 2005, the site had the list of the names that are on our War Memorial in St. Andrew’s Church with links to each man’s commemorative page on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s website. It actually took a while to locate all the men and it has only been in the last couple of months that the last one has been properly identified.

On the new site, you can see information about each of the men, such as where they lived, information about their parents and siblings, what jobs they had, their grave or memorial and in a few cases a photo of the man himself. There is also some information on our Memorial and the Porthill War Memorial.

In addition to the men on the Memorial, we have found one Scout who was killed in World War 2 and four more, from a list we have of our original Scouts from 1908, who were killed in The Great War (WW1). These men are now commemorated here as well.

It is especially poignant that the site is being relaunched today as it is exactly 94 years to the day that one of our Scouts, Harold Bailey, died of the wounds received in battle (25th March 1918). He died while fighting on the Somme with the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry.

Please take a look at the site here.

Internet Safety

I was at an internet safety conference this week and a couple of things caught my eye with regard to Scouting and thought it would be worth sharing.

Firstly is the Professionals Online Safety Helpdesk. This is for anyone who works with young people, whether voluntary or paid. If adults are worried about how their online presence can affect their career (or role in Scouting), are asking ‘is it ok to friend young people on social networking sites?’ or feel they are being bullied online, they can contact the helpline for advice. Contact them by ringing 0844 381 4772 or email helpline@saferinternet.org.uk Oh yes and it’s free!

Next is the OnlineCompass tool. It is a simple tool that shows you what you need to do to make the use of technology safer for your group. Once you rate where you are, it gives you advice on how to improve and the means to get you there. It is designed for any organisation that works with young people. See the other flyer. This would be used by Groups who have internet access at their HQs. This is free as well