R.I.P.

From GirlGUiding UK

CELEBRATING A GUIDING LIFE
THE HON MRS BETTY CLAY, CBE
1917-2004
Betty Clay, daughter of Lord Baden-Powell, the Founder of guiding, died peacefully in her sleep on the morning of April 24 - a few days after celebrating her 87th birthday. The last direct link with our Founder and Olave, Lady Baden-Powell, Betty will be remembered for her warm,
friendly personality and her ability to make people feel at ease, needed and indispensable.

Closely involved in guiding all of her life, Betty became a Vice President of The Guide Association in 1978. Her commitment to Guiding and Scouting was recognised in 1997 when she was awarded a CBE in The Queen's New Year's Honours List.
 

Born on April 16, 1917, Betty was the third and youngest child of Lord and Lady Baden-Powell. She had the same mannerisms, enthusiasm and inflections of voice as her mother, but was loved for herself and for the varied work she did for both Guiding and Scouting.
 

Working her way through the Movement, Betty became a Brownie, Guide, Ranger, Guider and Commissioner, as well as a busy wife and mother. Betty always described herself as 'ordinary' and could identify herself completely with the girls in the units, their Guiders and their parents.
 

The fundamentals of guiding were what mattered to Betty and she was happiest with the basics - the outdoors, the Patrol system, the fun and, of course, the adventures.
 

Her own childhood was a happy one. She was educated at Westonbirt, Gloucestershire and St James', West Malvern, and went on to train in secretarial work. In 1934 she joined her parents and elder sister Heather on a world tour, visiting Guides and Scouts in the Far East, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA.

In May 1936, while on the way home from South Africa, Betty met Gervas Clay, a Commissioner in what was then Northern Rhodesia. They married in September of the same year and returned to Northern Rhodesia where they lived until 1964.
 

Betty's 'Be prepared' training must have stood her in good stead for living in the African bush and bringing up her four children -Gillian, Robin, Nigel and Crispin - in hard conditions. In 1950 she became active in guiding again, serving as Acting District Commissioner, Commissioner for African Guides, Colony Commissioner and Division Commissioner. She was awarded the Beaver in 1963 for outstanding service to the Movement.
 

When the family all returned to England in 1964, Betty continued her guiding work, both locally and nationally. She was Division Commissioner for Taunton and Deputy Chief Commissioner for England. When England was divided into Regions in 1970, Betty became President for South West England until 1991. She was President of the Trefoil Guild from 1989 to 1994 and was a founder member of the Olave BadenPowell Society, for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, which was set up in 1985.

In 1999, Betty was guest of honour at Girlguiding UK's World Camp to celebrate the 75th anniversary of guiding (pictured above). Here she transmitted with great conviction her belief that young women can make a difference in every aspect of society.
 

Through Betty, the link with Lord and Lady Baden-Powell was kept alive for millions of young people and adults throughout the world. For that great service and for her own special qualities of simplicity, humility, practicality and generosity, we will be forever grateful.
 

 The Trefoil
Summer 2004 No. 204

Betty Clay

It was with deep regret in late April that The Scout Association and GirlGuidingUK announced the death of their Vice President, the Hon Mrs Betty Clay CBE.

Betty, younger daughter of our Founder Lord Baden-Powell, died peacefully in her aleep at a Somerset nursing home on the morning of Saturday April 24th 2004, just a few days after she and her husband had celebrated their joint birthday. Betty was 87, Gervas 97.
 

Scouting and Guiding was Betty's life. Unselfish, warmhearted and friendly, she was a very special link with her muchloved parents for millions of people, young and old, who had never met them.
 

Born on April 16th 1917, Betty St Clair Baden-Powell joined Peter and Heather to complete Robert and Olave Baden-Powell's family. Her childhood was immensely happy; she especially enjoyed being a Brownie, riding, swimming, walking and looking after her pets. Educated at St James' School, West Malvern, where she joined the school Guide company, Betty later trained as a secretary. She travelled with her parents on goodwill cruises to visit members of the Scouts and Guides Movements in the Baltic and Mediterranean countries then, with her sister Heather, accompanied them on a world tour, meeting Scouts and Guides in the bar East, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA.
 

In 1936, on hoard ship returning from South Africa. Betty met Gervas Clay in an coincidental re-enactment of her parents' first encounter. It must have been even more amazing for the young couple to learn that, like Betty's famous parents, they shared a birthday. Gervas and Betty were married on September 24th 1936 made their home in Northern Rhodesia until 1964, when they moved to an old house with a beautiful garden at Wiveliscombe, Somerset. They had three sons and one daughter.

Betty continued her Guiding work, becoming successively Taunton Division Commissioner, Deputy Chief Commissioner for England, South West England President and Vice-President of the Guide Association. She was also a founder member of the Olave Baden-Powell Society and, from 1989 to 1994, President of the Trefoil Guild. She was also a member of Taunton Guild.

She became Vice President of The Scout Association in 1989. Betty's List of awards is impressive. In 1984, The Scout Association gave her its highest award, the Silver Wolf, and in 1993, Betty became the second recipient of the honorary leadership training award, the Gilwell Wood Badge. The first recipient had been her mother. In 1995, Betty was presented with the Guide Association Silver Fish award in the unusual form of a brooch. Betty's unique service to Scouting and Guiding was recognised, in 1997, with the award of a CBE in the Queen's New Year Honours. In 1999, World Scouting honoured Betty with its only award, the Bronze Wolf, a highly prestigious achievement.
In her later years, Betty continued to attend many Scouting and Guiding events, including the annual Gilwell Reunion. In 2000, she was honoured to represent HM the Queen at a review of the Queen's Scout Parade at Windsor. That occasion will long be remembered as the time when, instead of stopping occasionally to speak to a few Queen's Scouts, Betty found time and energy to chat to every young person on parade, even those in the second and third ranks. The same year, Betty was Guest of Honour at the Guide World camp to celebrate the Millennium.

Betty was never without a home projects. She was a meticulous and faithful correspondent all her life and never failed to answer letters and cards, which she kept in wonderful huge scrapbooks, together with photographs, programmes and every possible e form of memorabilia. The current scrapbook on which she was working would always be open on a table in the guest bedroom, where she would try her best keep the record up to date. When The Trefoil visited Betty in 1997, just before her 80th birthday, she pointed out the dozens of books with enormous pleasure and said cheerfully, `l'm doing well - I'm only about three years behind at the moment!'
 

Betty spoke with enormous pride of her parents and their outstanding contribution to young people's lives. `I feel immensely privileged to have been their daughter,' she said. `They were marvellous parents and I've had the most wonderful life: In 1979, in The Guider (later Guiding), she wrote, `It can be given to very few families to be loved by millions of people of many nations'. She was referring in her usual unselfish way mainly to her parents but the sentiment is true today of Betty herself. She was loved not just by her family and close friends but by countless people all over the world, not the least those in the UK Trefoil Guild. She will be very much missed by us all.

The funeral arrangements were carried out by Harold Miles, funeral director, Winton Cottage, Folly Lane, South Cadbury, BA22 7ES.