Activities and Competitions (1932-1939)
Click here to read a chapter with more detailed information
1 Introduction
The lack of Troop Logs covering 1932-1939 limits the level of information that can be provided on Troop activities. For example, very little is known about the typical Friday night Troop progamme in terms of activities and games. The most that can be stated about these is that they may have been similar to those described in the Troop Log for 1939-1943. Some useful information on Summer Camps is provided in a short pamphlet that was prepared in 1992, and which referred to the old Troop Logs when they were still in the Group’s possession. The Court of Honour (COH) minutes covering 1934-1941 also contains entries relating to camping equipment and storage, and this implies that camping activities were carried out. The COH minutes also provides interesting information on the Troop's involvements in competitions and parades. These accounts backed up by information obained from relevant issues of the Greenock Telegraph are described in the following sections.
2 Competitions - Why have them?
Competitions have always been part of Scouting, whether they be within the Troop itself or between different Troops. No doubt some educationalists would criticise competition, arguing that the losers' self esteem is bound to be irrevocably damaged. There is an element of truth in that, but it can be taken far too far. Scouts have always been enthusiastic about competitions, challenges, games and wide games - the rougher the better. Or at least most have! Certainly in the thirties, competition was considered an effective means of motivating Scouts to do better than they might have done if left to their own devices. It was also considered important in teaching Scouts how to lose as much as how to win. In an ideal world, all losers would be magnanimous and generous to their victors and vice versa.
The minutes of the Court of Honour demonstrate that the Troop regularly took part in various competitions organised and run at District or County level. These were all taken very seriously and the Patrols that entered committed themselves to specific training in the months leading up to each event. The following are examples of such competitions.
3. The Shannon Cup
For many years, the Shannon Cup (Fig. 1) was the most prestigious camping competition run by Greenock District Scouts, before it was superseded by the Hardie-Webster trophy in the seventies. The cup was donated by the shopowner Mr. Shannon who was the official stockist for all Scout uniforms in the town after 1933. His son had been killed in the First World War and the Cup was probably donated in memory of him. It is not known when the 70th first entered the Shannon Cup competition, but the Troop certainly won the trophy over the weekend of the 25th-26th May 1935 - a remarkable achievement for such a Troop that had only been in existence for three years. Some details of what was involved were provided in an article in the Greenock Telegraph. The teams reported to the Everton Hut at 3 pm on the Saturday. All boys were instructed to carry a Bible, and the Patrols were to arrange their own menus and food. Breakfast had to include porridge and eggs, while dinner had to include stew with one vegetable, and a milk pudding. Patrols had to lay out a camping site, set up a kitchen and build the necessary gadgets. There were also tests on ambulance, signalling and cooking skills. The examiner was
Figure 1 The Shannon Cup
Mr. Andrew McKechnie, assisted by William Whiteford and the final scores were;
​
1st 30th Greenock (70th Renfrewshire) with 147 points
2nd The 32nd with 140 points. 3rd The 10th with 128 points. 4th The 28th with 117 points. 5th The 33rd with 100 points.
The winning patrol was led by Alan Hardie who recalled the Cup being presented by the District Commissioner at Seafield House - the HQ for Greenock Scouting at that time. Unfortunately, he was not certain about who was present in the winning Patrol, but he believed that it included Eoin Steel and possibly Ian Blake, Lawrence Harvey and Ronald Grant. A short article in the Telegraph described the presentation as happening on 18th June 1935 and praised the 70th's victory as being 'particularly satisfying' since the troop had only started up in 1932.
Competition is definately a good thing! It is surprising that the Court of Honour minutes did not record the 1935 victory, especially since 70th success in the Shannon Cup has been pretty rare. Indeed, the Troop only won the Cup on three occasions over the many years that it ran. As the educationalists say, competition is a bad thing!
Another 70th Patrol entered in 1936, but failed to regain the trophy. No details of the team's members or how they performed are known. In 1937, P.L. Wilson Hill was meant to lead another patrol but they withdrew before the event took place. There is no record of whether the Troop competed in 1938, but a patrol did apply to enter in 1939, but they too had to withdraw prior to the event due to examinations. There was also the thorny issue of the competition clashing with the Greenock Academy's Sports Day. Most, if not all, of the 70th Scouts would have attended Greenock Academy, and, if the thirties were anything like the sixties or seventies, the chances of any Scout avoiding Sports Day were zero!
4. The County Flag
Only one Patrol could represent a District in the County Flag, which meant that Greenock District ran a separate competition to decide which Patrol would be their representativies. Like the Shannon Cup, the Troop had some early success in this. When the Troop entered in March 1935, the 70th was duly chosen as the District's representatives to compete in the County Flag itself.
In the modern era, the County Flag has been a camping competition, but the records from the 1930s suggest that it was a more complex competition at that time. An initial assessment was involved where a team of Leaders from 'up County' inspected a Troop meeting held by each competing Troop. There was then a 'second stage' where the Patrol entered by each competing Troop was assessed during a weekend camp. The whole assessment process could take several weeks or months. In 1935, a Patrol from the Barrhead Scouts ended up as eventual winners. Having missed out on the flag in 1935, a patrol under Eoin Steel was entered in 1936. It, too, proved successful in being chosen as the District's representative. The initial inspection of the Troop meeting by the County examiner then took place on Friday 24th April 1936. However, things did not go well! When the examiners reported back in September, they stated that 'the material of the troop was promising, but that there was a slackness in leadership'. The Troop took these criticisms very much to heart, and several radical changes were made in how the Troop was run and how training was carried out. For example, it led to the introduction of 'Patrol Corners' at Troop meetings where P.L.s were required to train their Scouts in Scouting skills. However, the criticisms from County had a longer-term effect similar to getting one's fingers burnt. From then on, the Troop was wary of taking part in the County Flag again. The full details of the examiner’s report are not recorded, but one of the criticisms was that the Church Hall was too small for Troop meetings. This was certainly true, but there was little the Troop could do about that. Therefore, there seemed little point in entering the County Flag unless the rules changed. Consequently, the Troop did not enter again until 1943. As the educationalists say, competition is a wicked, evil thing!!
Finally, it is not entirely clear how the County Flag operated in the 1930, and the Troop records provide little information on the details. What was being tested? If the examiners were inspecting a Troop meeting, were they only looking at one patrol or were they assessing the whole Troop? If the former, were they marking how well the P.L. organised and ran that patrol? Were they marking the programme itself or the facilities, discipline, uniform standards or what? It's all a bit of a mystery!
​
5. The Scout Swimming Gala
If the Troop had a patchy performance with the Shannon Cup or the County Flag, it positively shone at the District Swimming Gala - a two hour event held annually on a Friday evening at the West End Baths during the first half of June. The event was an important item on the Scouting calendar, and was watched by local dignitaries and Scouting VIPs. The event usually got a write up in the Greenock Telegraph the day after, with a report on any speeches that were made. The Gala contained a range of competitions, but the three main championships were for Cubs (1 length), Scouts (2 lengths) and Rovers (4 lengths). Championships were also held for the Brownies and Guides, while other events included a diving championship for Scouts, a Scout novices race consisting of one length of the pool, and team competitions. Various fun events were also introduced in different years such as an underwater race for Scouters, pyjama races, Scouters races, boat races, ladies races and handicap races. Other events and displays were laid on purely for entertainment. In 1938, the Sea Scouts put on a regatta with paddle 'steamers' that they had constructed. Polo matches between local polo teams were a common feature, and in 1939 there was a diving demonstration by the "Wonder Diving Twins". However, the blue-ribbon event of the Gala was the Victory Trophy - a team event involving lifesaving, diving and a team race. Throughout the thirties, the 70th and the 59th vied with each other for this principal honour. The 70th won it on three occasions (1935, 36, & 39) while the 59th won it in 1937 and 1938. The 70th came second in 1937 and 1938 and may have come second in 1934.
It is not clear when the Troop first entered the Swimming Gala, but there is a possibility that it entered in 1934 and came second in the Victory Trophy. There is an element of doubt, however, since the report mentioned the 30th Renfrewshire, and not the 70th Renfrewshire. This may have been a mistake on the part of the Telegraph and the 30th Greenock/70th Renfrewshire was intended. However, the troop certainly entered every year from 1935 onwards and always did well.
In 1935, the 70th won both the Victory Trophy and the individual Scout Championship. It is not known which Scouts were present in the Victory Trophy team, but likely that Alan Hardie and Eoin Steel were both involved. The former certainly won the Scout Championship and was a consistent winner throughout the thirties. That year there was an additional award to a Wolf Cub (unidentified) for his 'splendid but not quite successful' effort in the Cub championship - a lifeguard eventually had to dive in and retrieve him.
​
Figure 2 Presentation of the Victory Trophy to Alan Hardie in 1936
​
In 1936, there was a record entry for the Gala, and the 70th retained the Victory and Scout Championship trophies. Alan Hardie won the latter Championship and presumably led the Victory Trophy Team as he received the trophy from Lord Beresford (Fig. 2). The photograph indicates that Eoin Steel was a member of the team, and possibly Dick Leggett. The fourth member of the team is more difficult to identify.
In the 1937 gala, J. Buchanan won the Scout novice race, Alan Hardie won the Rover race, and the 70th Rovers won the Rover Team race. The Victory Trophy team came second, but there is no record of who participated.
In 1938, the 70th again came second to the 59th in the Victory Trophy. As compensation, Alan Hardie retained his title for the Rover championship, Scout Alan McKay won the novice race and the 70th won a 'group race'. It is not known which individuals competed in the last race, however.
In 1939, the troop won the Victory Trophy for the third time with a team consisting of Dick Leggett, Ian Curtis, Jim Buchanan and Ronald Mackay. The novice cup was won by John Menzies and the Rover cup was won by Eoin Steel who also organised the preparation and training (Fig. 3). The educationalists are daft. Competitions are excellent!!
Figure 3 Known Participants in the Swimming Gala - Alan Hardie, Eoin Steel, Dick Leggett, Ian Curtis, Jim Buchanan and John Menzies (Missing - Ronald Mackay
In 1937, Greenock District was invited to send a four-man swimming team to take part in a relay race at the Glasgow Scout Swimming Gala at Cranstonhill Baths on the 29th January. This included Dick Leggatt who was fastest over the 50 yards at 28.4 secs. The Greenock team performed well but failed to win against stiff competition. A relay team was also entered for the Glasgow Gala on 1st April 1938, again with Dick Leggett in the team. It was the youngest team competing and, despite not winning, they performed sufficiently well for the County Secretary to include two Greenock Scouts in a County team that competed in the Stirlingshire Swimming Gala. It is not known how this team performed but there is a good chance that Dick Leggett may have been one of the two Scouts picked.
6. The Football Shield
In November 1937, the Troop was invited to enter a football league that had been run by the District for several years. The winners would be presented with a shield as the prize. Teams were limited to Scouts aged 11-16 and each match would cost 6d. However, the PLs felt that most of the Scouts would be playing rugby on Saturdays. Nevertheless, it was decided that Lawrence Harvey should take responsibility for a team if it transpired since 'he appeared to know something about the game'. The proposal received the approval of the Troop, but nothing seemed to happen over the next 10 months. As a result, the Court of Honour was not particularly interested in entering the Shield when the time came to apply again in October 1938. This caused a minor rebellion within the Troop, for at the next Court of Honour meeting, Jim Crawford tabled a motion to overrule the previous decision, and was seconded by Ian Munro. A committee was then set up consisting of Ian Curtiss, Nicol Smith, Ian Munro and ASM Eoin Steel to 'govern' the 70th's team. A discussion then ensued about obtaining a football, and two proposals were put forward:
a) 'that the troop should supply a new ball out of Troop funds' or
b) 'that a ball in moderately good condition belonging to Scout Jim Buchanan be renovated at the Troop's expense'.
A poll was held and the latter option was favoured. It was also decided that football jerseys should be purchased by the Troop in Troop colours. The team went on to draw one game and gain a walkover in the next game when the opposition failed to turn up. However, by the New Year, initial enthusiasm had waned and the team was struggling to find 11 players. They lost their next game 3-0, but still managed to win another game 2-0 with only 9 players. The Shield continued to be played in some of the war years such as 1943 and 1944, but there is no record of the 70th taking part.
7. Other District Competitions
The Court of Honour was more enthusiastic about a District cricket competition that was proposed in the summer of 1938 (no doubt since it was a core school sport at Greenock Academy). However, there is no record of this competition ever taking place.
Other District competitions that ran in the thirties were the Public Service Vase on first aid (later to be renamed the Drummond Vase), and the Fire Shield on fire fighting and rescue techniques. There is no evidence that the 70th entered for any of these.
A sports day was held at Everton campsite on the 13th June 1936 to mark the completion of the swimming pool. Prizes were funded by the Cub Council, and the events included a 50 yard sprint, high jump, long jump, marathon, tug-o-war, relay race and 5-aside football. It seems highly likely that the 70th were involved in this and may even have won some of the prizes. However, no details have been tracked down.
​
8. Inter Troop Challenges and Activities
There is some evidence that informal inter-troop activities were fairly regular occurrences during the thirties and forties. The 70th had a particularly close relationship with the 6th Renfrewshire Scouts (1st Gourock, Colonel Darroch's Own) based presumably at Ashton Church. Indeed, in 1940, it is reported that an English Scout who volunteered to help with the 70th's Wolf Cub pack joined the 1st Gourock Scouts, mistakingly thinking that they were the 70th! It is also known that the Troops leant each other camping equipment on occasions. In the forties, there were shared troop meetings and wide games, which probably occurred in the thirties too. It is certainly known that the 70th Troop's summer camp in 1933 was a joint camp with the 6th. It is possible that there were similar activities with other troops. For example, ten Scouts from the 70th visited the 38th Renfrewshire on 12th February 1937, in response to a challenge to a game of handball!
​
9. Competitions within the Troop
As mentioned earlier, the Troop received a critical report from County Flag examiners in 1937. This led to Ian Dunlop introducing a Patrol competition on the first Friday of each month in order to encourage training and increase standards. Inspections would be held each night as well. The winning patrol would be given the honour of taking the lead at the monthly church parade, and be given custody of a small pennant. The Wolf patrol won the first patrol competition held in September 1936.
In February 1937, Ian Dunlop donated a Cup (aptly called the GSM's cup) which would be contested each year. The rules recorded in the COH minutes included the following follows:
* The competition will be held every year at such time as the Court of Honour shall determine
* The subject for competition shall be as the COH and the SM shall determine and will normally be part of the Second or First Class Badge, this being altered every year.
* Only Scouts (not PLs or Seconds) may compete. The P.L.s with the help of the S.M. shall decide the best Scout in each Patrol and these Scouts shall be tested by an external examiner (or by the GSM).
* The examiner shall be appointed by the court and S.M..
* The initials of the winner and the year shall be inscribed on the Cup at the winner's cost and the Cup shall be presented to the winner in the presence of the troop.
The first competition took place in April 1937 and involved Second Class ambulance skills. The winner was a young Harold Hastie of the Wolf patrol. Not long after his success, he was promoted to Second. In 1938, the competition was on morse and semaphore, but it is not recorded who won. In 1939, the competition was on Tenderfoot and Second Class knots. This was won by Duncan MacKenzie of the Woodpigeon patrol (later to become MacKenzie the jeweller).
​
​
​