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A world of adventure
Scouting in Chessington began in 1930 with the formation of 1st Chessington Scout Group.
Meetings were held in a range of strange places, from a hut on Winey Hill to a shed at the bottom of the Old Vicarage Garden, from Buckland School to the current headquarters in Garrison Lane.
During World War Two, scouting in Chessington waned as many scoutleaders were enlisted and sent abroad but recovered to such an extent that in 1951, 2nd Chessington Methodist Scout Group was founded, meeting in the Methodist Church Hall in Church Lane.
In the period from 1956 to 1958, a wooden scout building was erected on the Garrison Lane site with a new extension built nine years later.
However, the lifespan of the wooden building was limited and thanks to leaders and supporters, the group managed to buy the freehold of the site years later and build a permanent headquarters, opening in 1982.
For more than 30 years, the two scout groups in Chessington operated separately, until they were forced to amalgamate in 1985 due to flagging numbers.
The group was renamed and relaunched as Chessington Scout Group in 1989 and consisted of two beaver colonies, two cub packs and one scout troop. The amalgamation was so successful that membership peaked at 130 in the early 1990s.
However, as with several scout groups in the district, a recent struggle to find scoutleaders has led to a drop in numbers and the closure of one beaver colony and one cub pack.
Memories
Harry Jones, 52, was Scout Commissioner for the borough of Kingston in the mid-1980s and a former Chessington Scout Group cub.
He said: "I joined the group as a cub in 1963. Like many scout groups we had a leader we called Skip. I think it was just an easy thing to call the leader and had certain military connotations.
"As a cub, we took part in sporting competitions, taking on other scout groups from the district, particularly in football and athletics. There was a big open field at the back of the headquarters in Garrison Lane where we used to practise and kick a ball around. We used to play our home matches on the King Edward Recreation Ground in Hook or Church Fields Recreation Ground in Chessington.
"My first camp with the scout group was to Oxshott and I must have been nine. I remember it rained all weekend. It was the first time I'd really been away from home for two nights.
"After cubs, I moved into the scout group, and I'm still in touch with many of the scouts from that time. When I got older, I became Venture Scout Leader at the group and then District Commissioner for what was then Surbiton District."
Alan Bailey, 63, joined Chessington Scout Group as a scout in 1955. He said: "It was traditional scouting with the original uniform and original activities.
"In 1957 or 1958, the headquarters in Garrison Lane were built and there used to be a large field at the back where we played things called "wide games".
"One team of boys would go and hide and a second team would have to find them. There were night hikes where we would be told to get from one place to another in the district with minimal equipment, and walking with a trek cart to camp in Polyapes. All these things just wouldn't be permitted today."
See next week's Surrey Comet to read about the history of Kingston District Rifle and Canoe Clubs.4:39pm Wednesday 23rd May 2007
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