The G.I.S. - Guides International Service
Introduction
Rosamond Douglas was born in Q4 1923 in Pickering, North Yorkshire; she never married. She had a sister Sheila four years younger, whose daughter contacted me in about 2017 - she had inherited Rosamond's "Guiding papers", that she wanted to "pass on to a good home", so I took them, scanned them, and passed them on to GG SW Region, as Rosamond had moved to the South Coast and became deeply involved with Guiding.
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The WAGGGS World Camp "Pax Ting" was held in Gödöllő, Hungary, from 25 July to 7 August 1939 - note the date !
It was attended by some 5,800 Girl Guides from around the world,
It seemed that the World was likely to descend into another World War - which it did just three weeks later.
However, the agreed feeling was that they were sisters, that their friendship would not be affected by the War, that there would be no rancour, and that post-war they would help each other to recover.
The G.I.S. was the "Guides International Service", started in, for Britain, the darkest days of the Second World War, with the sole purpose to carry out that pledge.
The "full" story can be found in a book "All Things Uncertain" by Phyllis Stewart Brown and published in 1966 by the British Girl Guides Association.
I have a copy.
This is the introduction to that book :-
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ALL THINGS UNCERTAIN
by Phyllis Stewart Brown
tells the remarkable story of the G.I.S.
Few people have heard of the unique and outstanding service provided by the Girl Guides Association during and after the Second World War. Financed by Guides, teams of women trained vigorously in preparation for Relief Work in liberated countries. The fascinating story of their achievements, endurance, and incredible cheerfulness is told for the first time in this book.
Published by
THE GIRL GUIDES ASSOCIATION
17s. 6d. net
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The Author, Miss Phyllis Stewart Brown, a Diploma'd Trainer, and at one time Assistant County Camp Adviser for Buckinghamshire, was a member of the Guide International Service Committee from its inception to its last meeting.
She was Chairman of the G.I.S. Training Committee and devised and ran many camps and tests. She has travelled extensively and has always been keenly interested in the international side of Guiding and the promotion of international friendship.
Her experience in training through patrol camping and trekking led her to value their adaptation as a method of character training in preparation for G.I.S. work. But, from the first, Miss Stewart Brown turned for guidance in training for relief work to those who had had practical experience in the field, thereby gaining from them invaluable help for the Guide International Service.
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As you may have guessed Rosamond - aged 15 when War broke out, and 22 at the War's end - became a (junior) member of the G.I.S., and here are some of her "Papers".
1. A booklet entitled They were Prepared
2. "The G.I.S. and Me" by Rosamond Douglas
3. G.I.S. Plaque - pending
4. 'Mindful of Others' (2002) - pending
[More to follow]
