A Guide, Girl Guide or Girl Scout is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations who is between the ages of 10 and 14. Age limits are different in each organisation. It is the female-centred equivalent of the (Boy) Scouts. The term Girl Scout is used in the United States and several East Asian countries. The two terms are used synonymously within this article.
Girl Guides are organised into units/troops averaging 20-30 girls under guidance of a team of leaders. Units subdivide into patrols of about six Guides and engage in outdoor and special interest activities. Units may affiliate with national and international organisations. Some units, especially in Europe, have been co-educational since the 1970s, allowing boys and girls to work together as Scouts. There are other programme sections for older and younger girls.
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Robert Baden-Powell was a famous soldier who fought in the Boer War in South Africa at the beginning of the 20th century. During the Siege of Mafeking, when the town and British soldiers were besieged by Boer soldiers, B-P noticed how the young boys made themselves useful by carrying messages for the soldiers. When he came home, he decided to put some of his Scouting ideas into practice to see if they would be any good for young boys and took 21 boys camping on Brownsea Island, near Poole in Dorset. The camp was a success, and B-P wrote his book Scouting for Boys, covering tracking, signaling, cooking etc. Soon boys began to organize themselves into Patrols and Troops and called themselves "Boy Scouts". Girls bought the book as well and formed themselves into Patrols of Girl Scouts.
In 1909 there was a Boy Scout Rally at Crystal Palace in London. Among all the thousands of Boy Scouts there was also a group of girls from Pinkneys Green, in Berkshire, who spoke to B-P and asked him to let girls be Scouts. B-P decided to take action.
In those days, for girls to camp and hike was not common, as this extract from the Scout newspaper shows: "If a girl is not allowed to run, or even hurry, to swim, ride a bike, or raise her arms above her head, how can she become a Scout?"[1]
B-P's career had been in the British Army. There was an Indian regiment called the Khyber Guides who served on the north-west frontier of India. B-P persuaded the girl "Scouts" that Guides was a very special name of which they could be proud. So, in 1910 the first Girl Guides began.
Since 1910 Guides have spread and there are now millions of Guides worldwide. The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) was formed to link together Guides. In some countries the girls preferred to call themselves ‘Girl Scouts’.
(Reference: 'The Guide Handbook', London: The Guide Association, 1996)
The first Guide Company was 1st Pinkneys Green Guides (Miss Baden Powell's Own), who still exist in Pinkneys Green, Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire.[2]
Things that are shared amongst all Guide Units are:[3]
Local groups, called variously units, companies or troops are the fundamental unit of the Girl Guides. These are run by an adult, normally a woman who is between 18 and 65 years of age. She has responsibility for the girls in her group and plans out activities for the girls as well as leading the meetings. These leaders are supported by assistants. Meetings are held anywhere from weekly to monthly depending on the commitments of the participants and the activities in progress.[4]
Individual national or other emblems may be found on the individual country's Scouting article.
Uniform is a specific characteristic of Scouting. Robert Baden-Powell, at the 1938 World Jamboree, said it "hides all differences of social standing in a country and makes for equality; but, more important still, it covers differences of country and race and creed, and makes all feel that they are members with one another of the one great brotherhood".[5]
In the 1909 The Scheme for Girl Guides, the uniform for the newly emerging movement was given as:
Jersey of company colour. Neckerchief of company colour. Skirt, knickers, stockings, dark blue. Cap - red biretta, or in summer, large straw hat. Haversack, cooking billy, lanyard and knife, walking stick or light staff. Cape, hooked up on the back. Shoulder knot, of the 'Group' colour on the left shoulder. Badges, much the same as the Boy Scouts. Officers wear ordinary country walking-dress, with biretta of dark blue, white shoulder knot, walking stick, and whistle on lanyard.[6]
Guide uniform varies within cultures, climates and the activities undertaken. They are often adorned with badges indicating a Guide's achievements and responsibilities. In some places, uniforms are manufactured and distributed by approved companies and the local Guiding organization. In other places, members make uniforms themselves.
Lones are girls who live too far away to attend meetings in a guide district. Often they run the program by mail, but there are some girls who are part of Lones of the Air who talk and have unit meetings by radio. Lones have an 'L' on their promise badge.
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