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Chapter1 - Beyond a Full Stop
Have you ever come face to face with a full stop ? I expect you have met them when you were tracking, going along nicely following a trail, when suddenly you saw that horrid little cross lying on the ground which said ' No further—do not follow this road,' and you had to stop and cast about until you picked up the true trail again, the trail which you were meant to follow.
Full stops are supposed to end things, but they often have quite a different effect and begin a new chapter of things which go on and on and multiply and lead to new and exciting adventures. That was the way with the one I faced in Kenya in 1942.
As you have probably guessed I like being busy. Ever since I became your Chief in 1916 I have had plenty to do ; You have kept me busy, and I have tried to fulfil my task.
But in 1942 I found my conscience beginning to prick, for there was I, living far away in Kenya, doing my job as President of the East Africa Women's League, but quite cut off from the world and
active work for ' my ' big Guide family.
Letters kept coming—grand letters with thrilling stories to tell of all that you were doing to help end the horrible war which was bringing so much sadness and tragedy to this poor old world. I was proud of you all, the Guides of Britain and the Empire, and if I were torn with anxiety for you who were going through the bombing of Britain, you can guess how I felt about those other children of mine in the tragic countries from which no letters came.
The doors were closed and barred between them and the free world, nobody knew what was happening behind them. We could only guess at the fearful things that were going on, and try in spirit to reach out to out friends imprisoned in the occupied countries.
As for Guiding and Scouting, I knew that the spirit would never die but there was nothing to tell how many Scouts and Guides would survive where the Nazi hand was crushing out everything which stood for freedom and goodness and kindness and happiness.
These were the thoughts which haunted me out there in the quiet beauty of Kenya, and I was powerless to do anything to help. The reports from Britain showed how you had responded in full
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measure to the call for service of all kinds, and as far as 1 could see, you had no urgent need of a Chief, for you had so many fine leaders and were standing squarely on your own feet without requiring my services.
So I concentrated on rny work for the East Africa Women's League, attending meetings, travelling up and down the country visiting the different branches in the far away scattered townships and in all that I did I found that the training I had, in working for Guides, helped me a lot.
Then I met a full stop. My year of office as President of the League came to an end, and T was just going to be 'unemployed'.
And then the sign of the trail appeared suddenly and unexpectedly for me in the form of a letter, written by a Guider who, at that time, was Editor of The Guider. She told me about your doings, of life at home, of bits of personal news, and she also told me something which nobody else had said. I read it over and over again. . . .
You should come home now, and see for yourself what is happening because all this will never be quite real to you unless you have lived through it and seen and heard it for yourself . . . and you are more wanted in England now than ever before. . . '
That was my pointer. With the letter in my hand I went to the shipping office ; and before long I was home again with you all.
The Founder used to say : " You have got ail the time there is : and it is what you do with it that matters." So having returned to my homeland I have done quite a lot with my time, and have
spent it rushing about visiting Divisions and Districts, and I have seen quite a lot of you, and quite a lot of you have seen me !
I have seen and 1 have heard, and T know what fine things many of you did all through those war years. You gave a lot of very useful service, you also carried on your Guiding, and I have felt awfully proud of your achievements and the good name you have earned for yourselves and for our Movement generally.
But now J am not going to write about yourselves, as T have something else to write about—about Guides in countries other than our own.
Very often at Rallies you have put on some excellent displays, and one of the very usual items on the programme has been some scene depicting Guides of other lands, with members of your own companies dressed up for the occasion in the other uniforms—the grey of Poland for instance, or the green of Denmark, or an Indian sari or the white of the Guides of Brazil.
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Sometimes there has even perhaps been a French girl living in the neighbourhood, who could wear her own brown uniform of the
Eclaireuses, ' or an American, who could show off the nice attractive greyish-greenish Girl Scout uniform of the. United States.
And when such a show has been going on I expect you have—in your own minds—found it rather exciting and interesting just to think of there being these other Guides, scattered all over the world, doing the same things as you are, even though they talk different languages and belong to another nationality.
But if You get a thrill out of that sight of foreign ' Guides parading and acting at your Rallies with their flags flying, what do you think it feels like to ME, because as Chief Guide of the world those people are more especially mine,' and so the thrill is multiplied a thousand-fold.
Every time I see one of these performances I am vividly reminded of what my own task is, and of the service I owe to those other Guides far away, whom I used to see years ago in their own countries, when it was possible to tour about and pay them visits. We used to have such wonderful International Camps and Conferences to meet the leaders of these Movements from 1920 onwards, and we had all become such friends and kept in constant
close communication with one another. And then the large proportion of all such communication came to an end when war began.
We heard, of course, constantly from Guide friends in the countries on the far side of the Atlantic, and all the British Dominions and Colonies ; but there was this dreadful silence and complete cut-off-ness ' from all our very dear Guide friends in Europe.
How we ached for them, and wondered and wondered how they were faring. Just occasionally rather small vague messages and news came through to us by underground ' means, brought by escaping prisoners or some of those courageous people who went back and forth on the most perilous secret missions.
And so we just knew that Guides were carrying on in France, in Norway,. Belgium and in Holland and elsewhere, but no clear picture could come through with details or full information of what was really happening.
Then doors began opening, and with the liberation of each country in turn, more definite news began to arrive telling us that not only had the Guides been carrying on in those countries in
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spite of the occupation by the enemy, but they were full of enthusiasm, growing in numbers, and going ahead vigorously.
It was so lovely to get this news ; and just as I was wondering how and if and when I could possibly rush over to see some of them, a delightful invitation came, asking me to go across as soon
as possible to visit the Scouts and Guides in France.
The Scouts all over the world—as I expect you know—make a special occasion annually of the Festival of St. George on April 23rd. Do you Guides know why ? Some of you will, no doubt ; but some of you will not ; and so I must tell you that the Founder wants all Scouts to know and to remember what the knights of old used to do, in the way of redressing wrongs, fighting for freedom and justice, bravely going out into the world to bring help and comfort to the poor and weaker peoples. They were brave, full of enthusiasm and the spirit of adventure, strong of body and good of heart, courteous and chivalrous, the best of men, whose code of honour was of the highest, and who were the forerunners in past ages of what Scouts should be and can be to-day.
The Founder suggested that Scouts should try and live up to that same code of honour, and carry on that same tradition of knightly behaviour ; and as St. George was not only the Patron Saint of England (the birthplace of Scouting) but also the Patron Saint of Chivalry, St. George's Day has become the special feast day ' for Scouts to celebrate by having rallies, meetings, church parades and so on.
A great number of Scouts make it their very special day in the year, and renew their Promise at a particular ceremony, pledging themselves afresh to take their share in spreading the ideals of chivalry, kindness, service and goodwill.
The Scouts of France planned to make a very great occasion of the 1945 ' St. George's Day,' as it was the first for five years on which they were free to hold a big parade, and the first big Scout day for celebrating their freedom.
So it was the Scouts who invited me to come over and share it with them, and the whole Guide Movement of France was, of course, included in the invitation.
The plan was made for me to visit Paris first for their big occasion, and later to tour through Normandy and Alsace and Lorraine, and the programme sounded simple enough. What it became is quite another story, and it is that story that I am going to try and tell you in this book.
My story is a long one, so we shall have to go along bit by bit ;
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but before I begin a description of my doings in France, it would be as well for you to know a little more about the Scouts and Guides there.
The Movement began there round about 1911, just a few years after the Chief had invented ' Scouting for boys ' here in England. The man who began it in France translated the word Scout literally into the French language, called the boys Eclaireurs, and formed an Association.
Then some girls started, and they naturally adopted the same name too, but put it into the feminine gender and called themselves Eclaireuses, and wore brown, and they called their Brownies Petites Ailes (Little Wings.)
The leaders and members of this Association were largely of the Protestant religion, and they were a splendid group of people, and worked hard. Later the Roman Catholic Church and leading Catholic men and women became interested, and started up another Association, and called themselves ' Scouts ' (pronounced
SCOOT ') and ' Guides ' (pronounced GEEDES. ') They wear dark blue with white collars, and their Brownies are called Jeannettes, though the Wolf Cubs of both Associations took the name Louveteaux and the Rovers are always known as Routiers.
There were other sections of Scouting and Guiding that started up too, and worked on their own for a time. But then they realised that ' unity is strength,' and that it was best for all the Associations to go hand in hand, and so although they could not alter their names and uniforms, they have all come together in a ' Federation,' and both Scouts and Guides all over France come under the direction of one Headquarters which functions as le Scoutisme Francais, though each Association keeps its own identity.
It is just as if here Rangers, Guides and Brownies, Rovers, Scouts and Wolf Cubs, were all lumped together in one collective title of ' British Scouting.'
Each group runs its own affairs, just in the same way as your own companies and packs which can do as they like, some specialising in one thing, some in another, but all working on similar lines, and all striding together down the same road which our Founder opened up for us.
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