13 THIRD (AND LAST) INTERLUDE
documents/13-third-and-last-interlude.pdf
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THIRD (AND LAST) INTERLUDE
THERE WERE three more days to be spent at sea before reaching home, and there was still much to be done in the way of gathering up the scattered ends.
Colonel Murray had to complete the Cubmasters' Training Course which he had held, with the help of two Akela Leaders who happened to be in the ship. This was very much appreciated, and thirty-six Cubmasters became eligible for the Certificate given to those who have attended a recognised Course.
There was no regular training for Guiders, but many of us discovered Mr. Martin Baker's gifts for teaching woodcraft and Indian sign language and gave him no peace till he taught us too. He had given a demonstration of "silent drill," using only hand-signals, at the Norwegian camp fire, and it was very effective.
In their spare moments the Scouters and Guiders ran about like agitated ants, exhibiting and inspecting each other's photographs, collecting addresses, putting down their names for the Souvenir Book (I only hope that now they see it they won't wish they hadn't!), and, with great mystery, signing the book which we had bought in Stockholm, and which was to be presented to the Chiefs on the last
evening.
Miss Collingridge drew on the title-page a shield, with quarterings to represent the Scouts and Guides, Brownies and Wolf Cubs, and with the White Star as crest. The dedication was written in beautiful lettering by Miss Dalrymple Smith, and ran:
"TO THE CHIEFS!
"This book contains the names of those who were privileged to accompany the Chiefs on their visit to the countries of the North.
"It is offered in the hope that its possession may bring back never-ending memories of a voyage so full of inspiration.
"The visit of the Chiefs cannot fail, not only to bring increased happiness to these countries, but also to forge a yet stronger chain to bind together the youth of all nations.
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REPRODUCTION OF THE MEMENTO SENT BY THE "CALGARIC" GUIDERS AND SCOUTERS TO ALL THOSE WHO SO KINDLY ACTED AS CONDUCTORS IN THE VARIOUS COUNTRIES
VISITED.
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Photo] [M. Crowdy
"LOOKING WIDE"
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"May happiness and a great hope of lasting peace ever follow in the wake of Scouting and Guiding!"
In the book were the signatures of every single member of the cruise, ending up with that of Commander F. J. Burd, the ship's captain.
On Saturday evening took place the fancy dress dinner. Nearly every passenger appeared in a disguise of some sort. There were many.beautiful and elaborate dresses brought from home, but most of the costumes were improvised in a few hours. The ingenuity of the dresses was extraordinary—there can be no truth in the statement that Scouters and Guiders of the present day are lacking in originality! Among the best costumes were Mr. and Mrs. Noah, Admiral Lord Nelson, an old Irishwoman with her pig, and the pig in its pink skin was human! Miss Crowdy arrayed herself entirely in "lost property" from the purser's office, in the hope that the owners would see their possessions and tear them off her. She did succeed in getting rid of some of the derelicts—(but, alas, not of the "brown lady's mackintosh" which was advertised hopefully since early on in the cruise, and which no brown lady ever arrived to claim).
The few people who had not achieved a fancy dress wore the really lovely caps presented at dinner by the White Star Line, so the whole scene was very festive.
After dinner took place the camp fire entertainment, which was even better than the concert (or did I only think so because I couldn't hear the latter?). There was a very realistic camp fire arranged on the platform, and Mr. Chilton opened the proceedings by directing, with great vigour, the noises descriptive of a ship-wreck. Then came national songs by the Irish and the Scottish groups and some really lovely part-singing by the trio of Swiss Guiders. Miss Wilson, of New Zealand, danced two Maori dances, with their curious rhythm, and Sir Percy Everett, disguised as his co-Commissioner, Lady Marjorie Dalrymple, told stories. The most amusing item was the topical verses concocted by "Brevi" and sung to the tune (which he hoped we were hearing for the last time) of "Bring back my bonny to me." The chorus was:
"Scouters, Guiders,
Cruising all over the Baltic Sea,
Good ship, peace ship,
Friend-ship, thanks to B.-P."
And here are some of the verses:
"There was a young lad of Riga,
Who rode on a tiger, 'tis said,
But our smiling and waving Chief Guider
Rode Swedish Girl Guiders instead.
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"There's a man who was scouting at Brownsea,
On this cruise he has worked might and main,
And we're sure we can count on Sir Percy,
If EVERETT happens again.
"In his nest on the bridge sits the Captain,
His species has seldom occurred,
His plumage is blue, black and yellow, '
Tis 'Pilotus Securus,' our Burd.
"We line up in queues for our dinner,
We line up in queues for a drink,
We line up in queues for the launches
Calgaric's a Q-ship, we think."
During the course of the entertainment, Lady Baden-Powell presented the prizes to the winners of the gymkhana and of the sports tournaments. The prizes were autographed copies of the Chief Scout's book, Lessons from the Varsity of Life, and signed photographs of him and the Chief Guide.
At the end of the camp fire we had some wonderful singing by the Welsh contingent, and they finished with Tallis's Canon:
"Glory to Thee, my God, this night
For all the blessings of the light."
This was really beautiful and brought the evening to a fitting close.
On Sunday morning we had a very moving and inspiring Scouts' Own, conducted by Mr. Banham. The Chief Scout gave the address, and it is given as the epilogue to this book.
On Sunday afternoon Lady Baden-Powell and Mrs. Kerr had announced that they would talk, to anybody who cared to come, on "Countries we have NOT been to." This talk was given in the Social Hall and there was a queue (yet another) all round the ship to get in to it. Finally the doors had to be closed, and the room was so crowded that the Black Hole of Calcutta was nothing to it.
On Sunday evening we had a sort of "winding-up" performance. The Chief Scout, on behalf of all the Scouters and Guiders, expressed immense gratitude to the Captain for his unfailing care and courtesy, and begged him to convey our heart-felt thanks to all the officers and men of the ship's company. The Captain responded briefly and said that the cruise had been a happy and memorable one for him, too.
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Lord Baden-Powell then thanked Mr. Robbins and Mr. Humphrey for all they had done for us, and richly they deserved to be thanked. The Chief Scout presented each of them with a copy of his book, and the Chief Guide said that as both Mr. Robbins and Mr. Humphrey were Guides at heart, she was going to decorate them both with the Thanks Badge of the Guides. The greatest enthusiasm was aroused by Mr. Robbins' announcement that there would be another cruise, probably to the Mediterranean, in 1934.
Mrs. Moody, County Commissioner for Londonderry, expressed in a few words what an inspiration the Chiefs had been to us all, and begged them to accept a small token of our love and gratitude. At this juncture the book with the signatures was presented to them, all beautifully wrapped up, by three of the youngest members of the party, Ranger Stella Canning, Guide Jean Byford, and Scout Stephen Makovski.
The Chief Scout and Chief Guide together undid the parcel containing their joint present, and certainly looked as if they were pleased with it!
The Chief Guide then spoke to us, and in her talk she begged that we should not allow this cruise to be an end in itself. We must do our best to carry on its spirit, and she suggested three practical ways of doing this—first, by inviting the Guiders or Guides of our hostess countries to come and camp with us; secondly, by making up small parties to go and re-visit them; thirdly (and this involves the very minimum of trouble and expense), by keeping up a correspondence with the friends we had made at the different ports of call. If each of us would keep in touch with three or four, this would mean a tremendous spread of the spirit of comradeship.
The Chief Scout spoke to us, and finding himself in very good form, he was led on to give us a demonstration of the awful results which can be produced by lessons in
ELOCUTION.
Becoming serious again, he said that the success of this cruise had far exceeded his expectations. When planning it, he had, of course, known that a certain number of Scouts and Guides would turn out to see and to be seen by us, but what he had never anticipated was the importance attached to the visit by governments and by municipal authorities in every country, nor the interest shown by the general public. This was extraordinarily encouraging and showed how deeply these countries appreciated what Scouting and Guiding could do for their children.
From the bottom of his heart he thanked every one of the Scouters and Guiders who had come on the cruise. Their behaviour, their friendliness, their smile, had won all hearts, and had contributed to make the cruise a real triumph, for their own country as well as for the cause of Scouting and Guiding.
The singing of "Jerusalem" and of "Taps" brought to close another wonderful evening.
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Poem by One of the Ship's Stewards
Now all you good Scouters,
Just listen to me,
And hear of the cruising
Of Scouts on the sea.
The Scouters and Guiders
Have had a fine trip,
They made the Calgaric
Their very own ship.
They swam well, and danced well,
Played games, too, galore,
And made friends of strangers
Afloat and ashore.
The "Chief" was delighted
To see so much fun,
And show strangers friendship
Instead of the gun.
The Scouters abroad were
In really high glee,
To meet British Guides,
Who came over the sea.
They hailed us with cheers and
Escorted with bands—
A proof that the Movement's
Affecting all lands.
Our comrades from over the sea
Gave him a shout:
"B.-P." . . . "B.-P."
"Baden-Powell, Chief Scout."
CONODY.
S.S. Calgaric,
August 26th, 1933.
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THE SCOTTISH GOOD-BYE
Photo] [M. Shepherd
THE TENDER HEADS FOR OBAN
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Photo] [Walshams, Ltd.
THE B.-P.'S
Photo] [[M. Crowdy
ARRIVAL AT LIVERPOOL
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Poem by A Scout Commissioner
LISTEN, all ye Scouts and Guiders,
Cubs and Brownies, gather round me
While I tell you the wondrous story
Of the sailing of the Peace Ship,
Sailing ever to the Northward,
Thro' the waters of the Baltic;
Tell of great B.-P., the leader,
He, the Chief of many battles,
With his honours thick upon him.
He of Scouts the honoured Leader,
With his squaw and her papooses,
She of Guides the Lady Chieftain,
Ever smiling, ever gracious,
Bringing peace to all the nations.
They who fought and died for freedom
Sailing in their ship, Calgaric,
Underneath her white star pennon.
I would tell of suave Sir Percy,
Squire of Guides, the Great Chief's Henchman;
He the knightly, he the courteous,
Soothing all the cares and worries,
Hardy Norseman, plunged his person
Fresh from sleep and dreams ambrosial
In the blue lagoon whence rising,
At six-thirty punc. ac emma,
Greets the dawn in snow-white raiment,
Fares he forth to do his devoir.
I would tell of Lady Kettles,
She jocund and round in person,
Cancelled all the final orders,
Orders that Sir Percy gave her,
Gave her own and disobeyed them;
How she danced from port to starboard,
She conducted all the singing,
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Marshalled all the Scouts and Guiders
From the boat deck to the tender,
From the tender to the gangway,
From the gangway to the tender,
Till the Captain, lord of all things,
Grovelled on the deck before her.
Then the Chieftain called his leaders,
Trusted leaders, all before him:
"When they see me they will cheer me,
Cheer me to the highest heaven,
So in ans'ring be not backward;
Cheer with cheer shall ye return them."
Then outspake the shortest chieftain,
He who thought his voice the sweetest:
"With your leave, Sire, I will lead them,
I will lead the cheering for you,
As you wish so shall it be then."
So they practised long and often,
Practised songs and rounds and catches,
In the bathrooms, in the cabins,
In the bathrooms till Squire Baker
Almost cut his throat while shaving.
He the short and dapper led them,
E'en the ventilators cheering,
Till the Captain, raging greatly,
Off the deep end went and shouted:
"Peace! ! For none can hear my orders."
Thus they journeyed to the Northward,
Making friends with all the nations,
Showing all the politicians,
They who argue, talking endless,
That 'tis not in wordy treaties,
Not in protocols and speeches,
That men seek to come together,
But in love and joyous laughter.
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