Humshaugh

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Humshaugh is a parish in the Tynedale local district of Northumberland, England. It is located near Chesters Fort on Hadrian's Wall and is about 20 miles west of Newcastle upon Tyne. The village of Humshaugh lies on the military road running from Newcastle to Carlisle built by General Wade during the Jacobite rebellion.

The paper mill at Humshaugh, among other mills in various rural locations around England, was used during the Napoleonic Wars to print fake French money in a bid to flood France with the forged notes, which was intended to cause a marked devaluation of the currency.^[1]

It is also attributed as the site of the first official Scout camp, held a year after the more famous experimental camp on Brownsea Island, in August, 1908.^[2] However, this is not entirely correct, and is due to an error made by the organiser Robert Baden-Powell. The actual site is on land belonging Park Shields Farm (grid reference NY 885 697), in nearby Fourstones, and is now marked by a cairn commemorating the event.^[3]^[4]

1 First official Scout camp
2 Etymology
3 See also
4 References

[edit] First official Scout camp

While Brownsea Island was the site of the experimental camp run by Baden-Powell in 1907, Humshaugh hosted what is recognised as the first official Scout camp from August 22nd to September 4th, 1908. The difference between the two camps is that the 1907 event was not attended by any invested members of Scouting, since there was no movement at the time. The Humshaugh camp saw 30 invested Boy Scouts from around the United Kingdom who were members of recognised Scout Troops who followed the Scout Method and Scout Law as developed by Baden-Powell and published in his Scouting for Boys.^[5]

[edit] Build-up

The camp was advertised in the first issue of The Scout magazine in April, 1908. The magazine asked the question "Who of you would want to spend a fortnight under canvas with a Troop of other boys, and under the care of General Baden-Powell?", which was meet with great enthusiasm by the members of the fledgling movement. However, there was a catch - there were only thirty places available for Scouts on the camp, and they were to be selected by a voting system. Each issue of the magazine included a coupon which was to be sent back to the publisher with the name of a Scout being nominated to attend the camp.^[5]^[6]

This voting scheme was not the choice of Baden-Powell, but rather that of the magazine's publisher, C. Arthur Pearson, and many consider the idea to be a cynical marketing scheme designed to increase the sales of the magazine. Baden-Powell himself wrote "There is something in it which I fear will put off some readers of the better sort".^[6] However, this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the Scouts themselves. Lists were published in each issue, building up to the event, allowing Scouts to see who was in the top fifty nominees. When the voting had closed, the first placed Scout, F. D. Watson, had gained nominations from over 29,000 "friends".

Baden-Powell personally awarded the top fifty nominees a special edition "Scout" camera, along with a free copy of Scouting for Boys to the next fifty.^[5]

[edit] Participants

The thirty nominated participants became known as the "Gallant Thirty". They were divided into five Patrols, and joined by a further six Scouts who were invited by Baden-Powell himself, including his own nephew, Donald Baden-Powell (who was also a participant of the Brownsea Island camp).

A number of adults also participated in the camp, many of whom were to become key figures in the Scout Movement in the years following the camp:

Percy Everett - was an editor in the employ of Pearson, and also attended the Brownsea Island camp
Victor Bridges - became Secretary of the Scout Movement in its early years
W B Wakefield - one of the first two Scout Inspectors, and donated the land which was to become Great Tower Scout Camp
Eric Sherbrooke Walker - the other of the first Scout Inspectors
Henry Holt - became the Quartermaster of the Scout Movement, and started what became the Scout Shop
Captain D Colbron Pearse - was instrumental in the formation of the local Scouting committees which were to become the District and County organisations
J L C Booth

It is also believed that there were two instructors from the United States of America, but very few details are known about these participants.^[5]

[edit] Programme

The camp participants visited many local sites of interest, including Houghton Castle, Hexham Abbey, and Walwick Grange. They also spent time exploring the nearby stretches of Hadrian's Wall.^[3]

However, much of the programme was based around the gully in which the camp was sited, and saw many of the Scout games and Scoutcraft activities which Baden-Powell and his fellow instructors had developed for the Movement.