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Robert Baden-Powell was a British army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the world-wide Scout movement, and founder of the world-wide girl Guide Movement. Baden-Powell authored the first editions of the seminal work, Scouting for Boys, which was an inspiration for the Scout Movement.

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He was born on 22nd February 1857 in Paddington. His dad died when he was three. Subsequently, Baden-Powell was raised by his mother, a strong woman who was determined that her children would succeed.

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Robert Baden Powell

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Educated at Charterhouse School, Baden-Powell served in the British Army from 1876 until 1910 in India and in Africa. On his return from Africa in 1903, Baden-Powell found that his military training manual, Aids to Scouting, had become a best-seller, and was being used by teachers and youth organizations.

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Aids to Scouting

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In August 1907 he held a camp on Brownsea Island to test out his ideas; about twenty boys attended. Boys and girls spontaneously formed Scout troops and the Scouting Movement started spontaneously, first as a national, and soon an international phenomenon.

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First camp on Bownsea Island

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A rally of Scouts was held at Crystal Palace in London in 1909, at which Baden-Powell met some of the first Girl Scouts. The Girl Guides were subsequently formed in 1910 under the auspices of Baden-Powell's sister, Agnes Baden-Powell, but the chief of Guides movement was Olave Baden-Powell, B.P.'s wife. In 1912, Baden-Powell started a world tour with a voyage to the Caribbean. Another passenger was Juliette Gordon Low, an American who had been running a Guide Company in Scotland, and was returning to the U.S.A. Baden-Powell encouraged her to found the Girl Scouts of the USA.

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Guide badge

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Agnes Baden Powell

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Olave Baden Powell

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Baden-Powell had a positive impact on improvements in youth education. Under his command, the world Scouting Movement grew. By 1922 there were more than a million Scouts in 32 countries; by 1939 the number of Scouts was in excess of 3.3 million.

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Scout of the world

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In June 1934 Nazi Germany banned Scouting, seeing it as "a haven for young men opposed to the new State". Based on the regime's view of Scouting as a dangerous espionage organization, Baden-Powell's name was included in "The Black Book", a 1940 list of people to be detained following the planned conquest of the United Kingdom. A drawing by Baden-Powell depicts Scouts assisting refugees fleeing from the Nazis and Hitler.

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Scout troops in World War II

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At the 5th World Scout Jamboree in 1937, Baden-Powell gave his farewell to Scouting, and retired from public Scouting life. 22nd February is marked as Founder's Day by Scouts and World Thinking Day to remember and celebrate the work of the Chief Scout and Chief Guide of the World.

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World Thinking Day

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In his final letter to the Scouts, Baden-Powell wrote:

"I have had a most happy life and I want each one of you to have a happy life too. I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be happy and enjoy life. Happiness does not come from being rich, nor merely being successful in your career. One step towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy, so that you can be useful and so you can enjoy life when you are a man. Nature study will show you how full of beautiful and wonderful the world. God has made the world for you to enjoy. Be contented with what you have got and make the best of it. Look on the bright side of things instead of the gloomy one. But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best. "Be prepared" in this way, to live happy and to die happy, stick to your Scout Promise always even after you have ceased to be a boy, and God help you to do it."

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Final letter from Baden Powell

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Baden-Powell died on 8th January 1941: his grave is in St. Peter's Cemetery in Nyeri, Kenya. In 2001 the Kenyan government declared Baden-Powell's grave a National Monument.

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Baden Powell grave