Our History

In 1919 the Rev. Frederick J. Rae, who was at that time the Minister of Beechgrove United Free Church, proposed the formation of a boys’ organisation in the church. He discussed the matter with young members of the congregation, including Mr. T. C. Young, who, having been a member of the 1st Troop at one time, naturally advised the formation of a Scout Troop rather than a Boys’ Brigade Company.

A few months later three young men of the congregation, Tom Young, James Blair and Keith Thom- son were invited to train as Patrol Leaders prior to the starting of the new Troop. The Troop’s first Scout- master was Mr. William Donaldson assisted by Mr. George Hay. Both of them were former members of the 23rd Troop whose Scoutmaster, Mr. Joseph Ross, suggested they might like to help found the new Troop.

In order to give the inception of the Troop an air of being under official auspices, an inauguration ceremony was held in May 1919, at the Troop’s Headquarters, Beechgrove Church Hall at which a contingent from the 1 Troop under Mr. S. M. Huss was present.

In the nature of things, the new Troop found itself raw and inexperienced and for a while there was a conspicuous lack of badges. Thus much of the time in those early days was spent in acquiring scouting know-how, passing tests and gaining badges.

In January the Café Chantant took place in Mile End School Gymnasium, being opened by Lt. Col. Frank Fleming and raising £55 which was a small fortune. (Worth £3,000 in 2019)

The next step was the purchase of an ex-Army hut, which was then standing at the former airship station at Longside, at a cost of £45. It was dismantled and re-erected at Oakhill Road.

To celebrate the opening of the hut in September 1923 there was a “bun fight” to which a patrol of the 1st Troop was invited as there were close links with that Troop, with gymnastic matches and a fairly regular borrowing of their trek-cart.

In January 1924 George Hay became Scoutmaster with Bill Thomson becoming one of the Assistant Scoutmasters. A Cub Pack had been formed by this time with Sam Fisher as the first Cub-master.

In 1925 the Troop suffered a serious blow when building projects in Oakhill Road forced the Troop to sell the hut as another site in the area could not be found. After so much effort it was a great disappointment to have to revert to using Mile End School Gymnasium as Headquarters.

In April 1939 Marshall Knox (now Group Scoutmaster with John Ballantyne as Scoutmaster) after much effort secured for the Troop the use of the hut formerly used by the 1st Troop and situated at Anderson Drive near the Rubislaw Quarry. The 1st had acquired another, better hut elsewhere in Aberdeen.

Although this was somewhat out of the way the Troop enthusiasm was greatly enhanced and despite its dilapidated state (part of it dated from 1915) it gave a new focal point for the Troop.

John Taylor was now called up to serve in the Navy and Troop Leader Eric Reid became Acting Scoutmaster with John Fiddes Cubmaster. In the latter part of 1941 or 1942 the Scout Troop was forced to close but the Cub Pack continued to meet throughout the war years.

In 1945 Miss Elspeth (Eppie) Taylor took over as Cubmaster and she was one of the leaders who has had the most influence on the Group and on the Cubs and Scouts passing through the Group. Her role as Cubmaster from 1945 to 1965 has been unequalled and her influence as leader was not confined solely to the Group but spread through Scouting all over Aberdeen.

The Scout Troop was re-formed in 1946 with George Wallace as Scoutmaster and meetings took place in Beechgrove Church Hall which was shared with the 37th Guide Company, with the Scouts and Guides alternating in the use of the Hall and the Session Room. Fund raising for camp equipment started at an early stage and jam jar collections figured prominently.

Numbers continued to grow both in the Cub Pack and in the Troop and in 1953 thoughts turned to extending the Hut. Part of the existing building was demolished and a new extension was added enabling eight Patrol Dens, a Scouters’ Room, a kitchen, new toilets and a gear store had been provided by 1954.

A Gang Show was run in Beechgrove Church Hall to raise part of the funds needed, but the Parents’ Committee raised the bulk of the funds by Coffee Evenings and Whist Drives and the first of many Jumble Sales.

By September 1955 it had become obvious that some change in Group policy was required because the Cub Pack had over 40 members and a long waiting list and the Scout Troop with eight patrols and over 50 members was stretched to the limit.

It was agreed that an “A” section be formed within the Group with Eppie Taylor as Cubmaster and Robbie Taylor as Scoutmaster of the 25th Pack and Troop and Mrs Jean Sharp as Cubmaster and John Fiddes as Scoutmaster of the 25th “A” Pack and Troop. On September 28th 1955 the Group Accounts show an “Initial Grant” to the new Troop of £5.00.

The new Cub Pack met in Beechgrove Church Hall on Tuesday evenings and the new Troop in Rubislaw Special School in King’s Gate on Fridays.

John Fiddes resigned as Scoutmaster of the 25th”A” Troop in March 1956 and was succeeded by Ronnie Scott Brown and in the 25th”A” Pack Jean Sharp resigned and was succeeded by Mrs Amy Souter in May. The Troops owed much to John Fiddes who had been an inspiration and a firm guide to many boys passing through the Troop in the post war decade. It was not usual in the Group or in the City to have as long a period of stable leadership and the development and progress of the 25th was in no small measure due to his outstanding service.

The senior members of the 25th Troop paid a return visit to Kandersteg in Switzerland in 1961, travelling by Dormobile and having a most memorable time although the fair northern skins took a pasting from the bright sunshine.

The 25th”A” Troop went for a cooler climate by going to Norway where they linked up with the 1′ Fjosanger Troop in Bergen for sightseeing in Bergen and the Sognefjord region, followed by hiking in the mountains above the Hardangerfjord and a camp near the Oystese. It was a fabulous trip crowned by getting to know the Norwegian Scouts in their own country and homes. It was a link between the Troops that was to continue for many years, as were the individual friendships

During the next two years the wheels began to move for the erection of the new Group H.Q. Plans were drawn up by Mr Mackie, a parent, grant assistance was obtained from Aberdeen Education Department and the Scottish Education Department and with over £2,000 raised by the Group, building got under way.

The cost of the Scout Hut in 2019 values is £148,000.

The fund raising had been a massive effort and took the form of whist drives, coffee afternoons and the annual Jumble Sale that took place in Beechgrove Church Hall.

Running costs were also met largely by the expansion of the Jumble Sale, the Scout Hut with its two halls giving more space.

By the autumn of 1963 the external work was finished and the ensuing winter saw willing bands of parents and scouts hard at work putting up internal partitions and ceilings, painting and doing a thousand and one other jobs.

The Patrol Dens had been allocated and it was up to each patrol how they would decorate their small room. One or two were designed to be very functional with cupboards and shelves; benches that incorporated storage, almost business like in appearance made by patrol leaders with joinery skills. Others, on inspection were obviously furnished with an assortment of chairs and other useful small items of furniture left over from a jumble sale or fetched from parent’s or grandparent’s attics or cellars.

in wooden chairs were painted with the left-over paint from the walls. One patrol painted
the walls of their den with gloss grey and when that was all used up moved on to grey undercoat to finish the job. This unconventional treatment was commented on by the Chief Scout on his visit. We don’t know if he tried this interior decoration technique out in Duart Castle or not!!

All was ready for the official opening of the new H.Q. on 6th June 1964 by Sir Charles Maclean, the Chief Scout, when the outbreak of a typhoid epidemic in Aberdeen caused the cancellation of all functions in the City. Sir Charles paid an informal visit to the building on that date and was impressed by all he saw.

It was certainly a year for international Scouting as our Bergen friends made the journey to Aberdeen. They were met in Edinburgh and shown the sights there before coming to Aberdeen. The party hiked through the Lairig Ghru and then on through the Corrieyarrick Pass to Fort Augustus, followed by a rapid return to Aberdeen to see the Dons v Rangers at Pittodrie.

Other changes of organisation, uniform and training programme had already taken place. From the names of the Movement’s sections Boy Scouts lost the ‘Boy’, Wolf Cubs lost the ‘Wolf’ and Rover Scouts were renamed Venture Scouts and were in1976 to admit girls to their ranks and in 2007 girls could join all sections of the Movement. The age range of the Scout Section was now 11-16 years, Venture Scouts were 16-20.

The Venture Scouts were very active at this time. Malcolm Smith and Alistair Bruce from the 25th”A” and Alan Fraser from the 25th joined the 30th Rover Crew that had formed the nucleus of the new Venture Unit with Hamish Cruickshank as leader. Judo, folk singing, go karting, motorcycle scrambling, rock climbing, skiing, hiking were all part of the Venture Scouts programme.

During the winter months of 1967-68 there was a growing interest in canoeing. This was helped by the fact that the Venture Scout Unit, which older members of the Group joined after leaving the Troop, was interested in taking up canoeing.

Joint 25th and 25″A” weekend canoeing and adventure weekends were held in 1968 with the help of the Venture Scouts and the 25th”A” Troop invested in a mould to make fibre-glass canoes. The kayaks proved so popular at the Troop Camp at Glen Esk that first one and then two Sea Scout Patrols were formed.

The group celebrated its 50th anniversary with past and present members coming together for a display at the Scout Hut followed by a meal at The Athenaeun.

In November it was decided to close the 25th Troop. Numbers had been dropping for some time in both Troops and it was felt that an amalgamation for a while, at least was the best way to use the Group’s resources.

Also in 1981 the Beechgrove Beaver Colony was started. Beavers are our youngest members, and generally meet for an hour per week. They enjoy all that Scouting has to offer; being introduced to outdoor activities, having the opportunity to be creative, explore their local community and experience for example, the excitement of a Beaver Scout Sleepover with their friends.

The Beaver Colony is the first and youngest section of the Scout Group. Beaver Scouts are young people aged between 6 and 8 years old. There is flexibility in the age range: young people can join from age 5¾ and can move to Cubs between age 7½ and 8½.

The leaders who set up the group were, Janis Anderson, Pat Maloney, Anne McLennan, Hazel Cameron and Alison Wood.

In 2001 proposals emerged from the Scout Association to change the age range of the Scouts. They would now leave at age 14 and join a new Section (Venture Scouts being disbanded) called Explorers up to 18 years, a new development that would be run at District level rather than by the Group. A section called the Scout Network would be formed to allow over 18s to continue their association with the Scout Movement with the hope that they would become interested in taking on leadership responsibilities.

The most memorable event of 2006 was the visit to Scotland of 13 members of the 1st Fjosanger Troop now with girls and boys as members marking the 45th anniversary of the friendship between the two troops.

They had a programme handed down from previous Norwegian visitors with a stay in Edinburgh before travelling to Aberdeen where they stayed with 25th Scouts as hosts, hiked in Glen Tanar and visited the Town House.

Chief Scout Bear Grylls visited Templars Park and the 25th Beechgrove Cubs got to see him. The group made a banner to help get noticed and which made it on the local news. We’re not sure who was more excited the Cubs or the Leaders!!

Beavers took part in a one-night camp at Templars Park joined by lots of other Beavers from the district, this was the first time any Beechgrove Beavers had participated in camping under canvas. They enjoyed lots of games, activities and toasting marshmallows on the campfire. We are looking forward to taking the Beavers on lots more camps in the future.

Scout Hut renovations were completed including new toilets, cavity wall and underfloor insulation, electrics improved, access ramp installed, air source heating, new windows and solar panels. In all £86,500 was spent. Parent’s Group chairman Colin Morrison was very involved with this redevelopment.

25th Beechgrove celebrated being 100-year-old! We, of course, did this in style with a group camp at Haddo House in June and a day of celebrations in October at the Scout Hut. This was followed by a glorious meal at The Marcliffe Hotel celebrating with old and current members, along with our current connection to Norway. Everyone was given a badge designed by Scout Jack Rowlands, and is being worn on the uniform to celebrate our 100 years of scouting.