Scouting and Guiding in Malta

The Scout and Guide movement in Malta is served by three organizations:

• The Malta Girl Guides Association, member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts^[1]
• The Scout Association of Malta, member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement^[2]
• Baden-Powell Scouts Malta, member of the World Federation of Independent Scouts^[3]

History

Scouting appeared in Malta in 1909. The 1st Sliema Scout Troop applied to be registered by The Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom on October 12, 1909 and, a year later in 1910, it was registered as the second overseas troop with The Boy Scouts Association. At this time there were 338 Boy Scouts and 3 Scoutmasters listed as members in Malta.^[4]

The Boy Scouts Association formed a local association in Malta on 15 September 1913 which became The Boy Scouts Association Malta Branch.

The First World War had a significant impact on Scouting on Malta, since most of the Scoutmasters were also servicemen and were ordered to the front in Europe. Many of the Scouts also volunteered for duties as interpreters, coast watchers and messengers, as well as to serve in hospitals and other support establishments. By the end of 1915, there were 84 Scouts on war duty from the island, and only 105 Scouts and leaders on Malta. However, as the latter half of the war progressed, membership rose sharply and The Boy Scouts Association branch's general meeting on 30 November 1917, reported 1,200 members with 28 Scout Troops on the island.

The Second World War saw similar service from the Maltese Scouts, as they supported the Allied forces throughout the aerial siege of 1940 to 1943. This resulted in The Boy Scouts Association's branch and its members receiving a collective award of the Bronze Cross, "in recognition of their courage and devotion to duty in the face of continuous enemy action in the war for freedom".

Malta became an independent state in 1964. In October 1966, an extraordinary general meeting of The Boy Scouts Association Malta Branch dissolved the branch and the Malta Boy Scouts Association was formed independent from The Scout Association of the United Kingdom.

See also

References