I am only too aware that Girlguiding UK are blessed with County Archives and I understood that the former Girl Guide archivist sent out a quarterly newsletter to the Counties. Is this practice still going ahead?
Hopefully, all the Counties with Girl Guide Archives will join our fledgling Society and help shape our aims. What say you?
Meanwhile, wouldn't it be nice to see every Scout County with an Archive. Perhaps we could twin new Scout Archives with their sister Girl Guide Archives for support.
I am not forgetting the few successful County Scout Archives that do exist (Hertfordshire springs to mind).
In todays Scouting climate where history is a dirty word we need to shake the Scouting hirearchy into opening a Scouting Museum (I'm for one am fed up with promises - what happened to the planned Scout Museum which was to be opened in time for our 2007 Jamboree celebrations?).
The so called Scout Museum at Gilwell is a joke (it is a glorified shack which has housed a handful of items for at least the last decade). The items that used to be on display in the cabinets at the White House (Gilwell) have long gone. Our Scout Archive Department, at Gilwell, should be putting on displays for us, especially at the Gilwell Reunion. The Scout Association prefers to rely on the goodwill of others to put on displays.
With the Scout Association refusing to open a proper Scout Museum should it be an aim of our new Society to put pressure on them to keep to their promise. It's our Movement why can't we have a say? What say you?
I have donated items to Scout Archives and I know of many other individuals, both in the UK and the USA, who have done likewise and if these items are not to be displayed then perhaps we should open up our own museum and ask for the return of our items?
The Scout museum at Yolbury has been told by the Scout Association that they need to find a new home (correct me if I'm wrong). There is no Scout Museum planned for Gilwell in the next ten years. Will our Scout Archive at Gilwell be scaled back? Will they have to dispose of items? Will they be disposing of items that we have donated? Do they even know what items have been donated and by whom?
Will it be the Scout Association or our Scout & Guide Historical Society who encourages Counties to open/support Archives. What say you?
It will be your Society and you can shape it.
Regards,
Greg