1st World Scout Jamboree
| 1st World Scout Jamboree | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 placeholder badge as no official badge was issued | |||
| Location | Olympia, London | ||
| Country | United Kingdom | ||
| Date | 30 July 1920 to 8 August 1920 | ||
| Attendance | 8,000 Scouts | ||
| |||
The 1st World Scout Jamboree was held from 30 July to 8 August 1920, hosted by The Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom at Kensington Olympia in London.[1] 8,000 Scouts from 34 nations attended the event, which was hosted in a glass-roofed building covering an area of 6 acres (24,000 m2). The organizing secretary was Major Alexander Gawthrope Wade, MC.[2][3]
The Jamboree was compared to the League of Nations and called a "League of Youth".[4][5]
Olympia and camping
The Olympia arena was filled with a foot-(30 cm)-deep layer of earth, which was turfed over, enabling the Scouts to pitch tents within the glass-roofed hall.
However, around 5,000 of the Scouts were encamped at the Old Deer Park in nearby Richmond.[6][7] The Scouts rotated in and out of Olympia to give them all the opportunity to participate in the events there. The Thames flooded the campsite one night and Scouts had to be evacuated.[8]
Olympia hosted numerous exhibitions, pageants and contests (including tug-of-war[4][9]) during the Jamboree event.[10][11][1][12] Olympia and Old Deer Park events were open to the public.[7] Attendances were such that entrance was restricted to restrict incidents of crushing.[5][11]
Oswald Stoll produced a show at the Alhambra Theatre of Variety for visiting scouts.[13]
Opening show
The event was formally opened by the King's uncle (Prince Arthur Duke of Connaught and Strathearn), and daughter (Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood.[14] The King, George V, unable to attend the event,[15] sent a message of welcome to the visiting contingents in a message to Baden Powell.[14]
Closing ceremony
War-weary World (at the Jamboree). "I was nearly losing hope, but the sight of all you boys gives it back to me."
Cartoon in Punch magazine 4 August 1920, referring to the 1st World Scout Jamboree in the context of the aftermath of World War I
The Scout Association's founder and Chief Scout, Robert Baden-Powell gave a closing speech at the end of the Jamboree:
"Brother Scouts. Differences exist between the peoples of the world in thought and sentiment, just as they do in language and physique. The Jamboree has taught us that if we exercise mutual forbearance and give and take, then there is sympathy and harmony. If it be your will, let us go forth fully determined that we will develop among ourselves and our boys that comradeship, through the world wide spirit of the Scout brotherhood, so that we may help to develop peace and happiness in the world and goodwill among men".[16]
Baden-Powell proclaimed Chief Scout of the World
James E. West, the Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America had suggested that Baden-Powell be given the title of Great Indian Chief.[17] As part of the staged closing ceremony of the jamboree, run by Baden-Powell's organization, his organization proclaimed him to be Chief Scout of the World.[18][19][20][10][21] Use of the title Chief Scout of the World was allowed to lapse after his death in 1941.
Jamborees since 1920
Many lessons were learnt from the first World Scout Jamboree, including the acknowledgement that an indoor venue was too restrictive for the activities and numbers of Scouts who would attend. It was also realised that above all else, a Jamboree is a means of developing a spirit of comradeship among the boys of many nations and the more that aspect can be stressed, the more successful a Jamboree becomes.
Contingents
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Australia.svg.png)
Belgium[10].svg.png)
Canada[10].svg.png)
Ceylon[22]
Chile[23].svg.png)
China[10]
Czechoslovakia[4]
Denmark[1][10]
England[1]
Estonia
France[1][10]
Gibraltar[24].svg.png)
Greece[10]
India[10]
Irish Free State[12]_crowned.svg.png)
Italy[10][22].svg.png)
Jamaica[22][25].svg.png)
Japan[10]
Luxembourg[10].svg.png)
Malaya[24].svg.png)
Malta[22]
Netherlands[26]
New Zealand[24]
Norway[10][27]
Poland[22].svg.png)
Portugal[10]
Romania[9]
Scotland[14][12]
Siam[4].svg.png)
South Africa[28].svg.png)
Spain[10][29]
Sweden[10].svg.png)
Switzerland[10].svg.png)
United States[1][7] (35 States)[10]
Wales[1].svg.png)
Yugoslavia[4][22]
Exhibits
Amongst the thousands of Scouts, there was also a selection of wild animals at the Jamboree:
Official badge
There was no official badge for this event; the first badge was made for the 2nd World Scout Jamboree.[30] There was later a placeholder badge made to make the set of reminder badges complete.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Olympia Thrills". Evening Standard. 6 August 1920. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "1st World Jamboree Olympia, England, 1920". Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
- ↑ "Ten mile hikes, camping raids and Scout games: how women helped secure Scouting's survival in the early 20th century". Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "A World Gathering of Boy Scouts". Manchester Guardian. 31 July 1920. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 "Jamboree Carnival". Evening Standard. 2 August 1920. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
They are young. The future lies with them. We, of the older generation, have got the world into a terrible mess, a welter of slaughter and famine. There is only one hope stands above the flood, that after all the terrible destruction we see around us this is to be the dawn of a new era.
- ↑ "Scouts' Farewell". Evening Standard. 9 August 1920. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "The Scouts' Programme". Evening Standard. 28 July 1920. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Kuiper, Deborah (3 August 2007). "Arnold, 100, commemorates first world scout jamboree". The Cumberland News. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2007.
- 1 2 "An English Day - The Jamboree Revisited - A tonic for Weather Weariness". Manchester Guardian. 7 August 1920. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "Young Envoys of Peace". Evening Standard. 6 August 1920. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 "At The Jamboree". Evening Standard. 3 August 1920. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 "Scouts' Jamboree". Evening Standard. 24 July 1920. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Boy Scout Post". Evening Standard. 2 August 1920. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 "Jamboree Opened". Evening Standard. 30 July 1920. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
I welcome the contingents from abroad who have come to take part in the competitions and displays, and whose friendly rivalry cannot fail to act as a healthy stimulus to the boys of all.
- ↑ "Inspection of Scouts". Evening Standard. 10 August 1920. p. 7 – via newspapers.com.
- ↑ "ScoutBase UK: The Library - Scouting history - World Jamborees". Archived from the original on 22 March 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2006.
- ↑ "1st World Jamboree, Olympia, 1920. Home Page". Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2006.
- ↑ "Chief Scout Of The World - Wolf Cubs' Great Howl". The Times. London. 9 August 1920. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Last Shout Of Jamboree - Hailing Chief Scout Of World". The Weekly Dispatch. London. 8 August 1920. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Silver Buffalo". TIME Magazine. Vol. 7, no. 19. 5 October 1926. ISSN 0040-781X. EBSCOhost 54752960.
- ↑ Wilson, John S. (1959). Scouting Round the World (First ed.). Blandford Press.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The End of The Jamboree". Manchester Guardian. 9 August 1920. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Scouts' Big Jamboree - World Rally In London - Living League of Nations". The Daily Telegraph. 12 June 1920. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 "Joyous Jamboree - Scouts of All Nations - Great March-Past At Olympia". The Times. London. 3 August 1920. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Shipping News - After The Jamboree - West Indian Scouts Homeward Bound". Western Daily Press. Bristol, England. 25 August 1920. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Dutch Boys Go Home". Evening Standard. 6 August 1920. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "The Norwegian Boy Scouts". Manchester Guardian. 5 August 1920. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "King and the Scout". Evening Standard. 23 July 1920. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Five Young Hopes". Evening Standard. 4 August 1920. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "NVVSO Nederlandse Vereniging Verzamelaars Scouting Objecten". www.nvvso.nl.
