A  Short History of  1st Cwm  Scout  Group

The Scout Group was started by a few choirboys mainly members of Saint Pauls Church choir and two enthusiastic young men – Reg Banfield & Cliff Henry. They met in a loft over a garage/stable at the rear of Bailey Street and in 1927 the Group was registered as the Saint Pauls Troup at headquarters in London.

 

Their meeting place was generally referred to as THE NEST and was used by the troop until 1936 when a plot of land was bought for the sum of £30:00 from the Llanover estate.

With the help of funding from the George 5th Jubilee Fund a wooden building was erected on the site.  All preparation of the ground,  the laying of foundations and piers and the building of the Headquarters was undertaken bytheScouts,Leaders and Committee with the help of Parents and Supporters. The piers were made from butter boxes and filled with  concrete.

 

In 1936 the group was registered at London Headquarters as the 1St Cwm Scout Group and membership was opened to all denominations in the Cwm area.

With a larger HQ the group expanded to include a Wolf pack for boys aged 8 -11 and led by Mrs Ada Banfield wife of Reg Banfield and Mrs. Williams together with 2 young helpers.

During the war years the group was extended with the arrival of a group of Boy Scouts evacuees from Dover and lasting friendships developed between the 2 groups.

 

Over the years  the ‘Scout Hut’ has been avenue for many events, fundraising, social and training of Scout Leaders.  It also served for many years as a place of worship by the Salvation Army.

The group has been served by many dedicated adults, namely, Reg & Ada Banfield, Cliff Henry, Charles Ricketts Reg Buckler Wynford Hughes Byron Potts until their deaths.

Many others have served as Warranted Leaders, some who started as Cubs or Scouts –

Rob Brookman ,Byron Potts, Jonathan Griffiths and most recently Beaver Leader Michael Marshall.

The mothers of Scouts & Cubs have also played a big part in providing Leaders for both Cubs & Beaver Sections.

Christine Brookman has taken on the added responsible position of Leader in Charge of the Group.

Records show that the Scout Group erected and maintained the Fire Beacon that was lit on the Dummon Fawr Mountain above Cwm to mark the Coronation of King George 6th.

Leaders attended the World Jamboree to mark 50 years of scouting.

 Scouts lined the route of the opening of the Seven Crossing Bridge and met the Duke of Edinburgh when he visited Ebbw Vale in the 1960’s

 Even during the difficult times after the war Cwm Scouts still enjoyed their Annual Summer Camp in spite of times of rationing and shortages of most material things and still enjoy this event every year since.

 

Today the Group is still going strong and the ‘Hut’ has enjoyed several facelifts over the years, the latest being a patio and garden arranged by Cwm Community Care.

 It is always a focus for the young looking for Fun & Friendship.

The group now has a strong Beaver Colony and Cub Pack and a Scout Group rescued from the brink of closure by 2 former scouts – Matthew Poultney and Matthew Annett.

 

This brief history of the 1st CWM SCOUT GROUP is dedicated to all those who have given their time and energy and unpaid efforts to keep alive the Dream of Lord Baden-Powell that all young people had a chance to experience adventure and responsibility in their life.

 

The group can be contacted at The Scout Hut in Canning Street Cwm on Wednesdays at 6 – 30 p.m. and meet Christine Brookman and Miss Hughes