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Not many scout groups in Kingston can boast of a 70-year uninterrupted history, trips to America and Austria, and a new headquarters that is so big it can hold nearly three Wembley-size football pitches. HOLLYE BLADES checks out 6th Tolworth.

6th Tolworth was founded in July 1943 as a cub pack under Mrs Webster with the name 6th Tolworth (Old Malden). The second part of its name was later dropped when Old Malden became a separate scouting group. As the name suggests, many of the group's original members came from the Malden area.

One year later, the lone cub pack was joined by a scout troop created by Jack Towgood, with many of the new scouts transferring from the existing 1st Tolworth scout group.

6th Tolworth continued to meet weekly until the end of 1947, when numbers dramatically fell until the cub pack ceased to exist and there were only four scouts in the troop.

Six months later, in May 1948, the group was rescued by a Mr A S Moss and his two sons - P W and H Moss - and the cub pack restarted under the leadership of Miss Sherwood. It quickly prospered.

Throughout its history, 6th Tolworth has held its meetings at Grand Avenue School but recently moved to Elm Close, Tolworth, where it is one of the only scout groups in the borough, able to boast of four-and-a-half acres of land.

In the past year, the site has been subject to an extensive makeover.

Good times, jamborees and Bill
Gordon McIllroy, 55, was a member of 6th Tolworth scouts in the later 1960s. He fondly remembers the camps at Polyapes, a trip to America for the World Scout Jamboree and one remarkable scoutmaster in particular.

He said: "I joined the cub pack when it was meeting at Grand Avenue School under an akela named Mrs Sweetman, a lovely lady who was good at keeping naughty little boys in order.

"I progressed from cubs to the scout group, when Bill Masters, or rather S W Masters, was group scout leader. I never did find out what the S W stood for in his name.

"The group was flourishing at the time and was supporting two cub packs and a scout group.

"At this time, about 1967, a new uniform was being brought in for scouts across the country which meant no more short shorts and long trousers instead.

"6th Tolworth was one of three groups to get the new uniform first because we were going to the World Scout Jamboree that year.

"The jamboree took place in Denver, USA. For a 16-year-old boy who had only had one foreign holiday in his life, it was such an adventure.

"I remember arriving at the airport in America and having our sandwiches confiscated, which our mothers had packed for us.

"We had 10 days staying with an American family and then 10 days at the camp itself.

"We were meant to be staying with a family in Chicago but the race riots there at the time were awful and we had to be relocated to a Mormon family in Denver.

"We didn't really know what was going on at the time, it was so overwhelming.

"I do remember the actor Jimmy Stewart coming to the camp and us hosting an English tea party for other scouts from around the world.

"The opening ceremony was amazing - there was a huge firework display, which we English boys had never seen before, and a man wearing a jet pack who just launched himself and flew around.

"Back in Tolworth, scout life was just scout life. There were the weekly meetings, the weekends spent camping at Polyapes.

"And then there were the gang shows, organised by Bill Masters.

"I was a bit of a star on stage at the shows and my photos were all over the Surrey Comet at the time.

"Bill's very old mother used to make all the costumes for the shows.

"Bill was incredible actually. He was the one who combined 6th Tolworth with 26th Streatham and took us on a camping trip to Austria.

"I remember getting on the train at Surbiton station and we couldn't wear our uniforms as we travelled through Germany because of the Nazi connotations, so we stopped at Cologne and changed again before arriving in Austria!"

12:36pm Wednesday 20th June 2007

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