2nd Kirkella (St Luke's) Scout Troop

Above: A photograph taken at St Luke's with a group of Japanese Boy Scouts and Leaders taking part in one of our Troop Meetings. Photographs on this site contain the names (where known) of the Scouts taking part in various activities. These have been given due to the fact that these are historical records dating from the 1980's and 90's. They do not relate to current members of a Scout Troop for safety reasons.

In the 1980s and 90s, 2nd Kirkella (St Luke's) Scout Troop, later known just as Willerby (St Luke's) Scout Troop, was one of the largest and most successful Scout Toops within Haltemprice District. Numbers reaching 60 boys at one point.

The Scout Troop catered for boys aged 10 and a half to 15 and a half years old, with most of the boys joining the Scout Troop from the Willerby area. Willerby is one of the villages on the outskirts of the city of Kingston Upon Hull. However, the Troop also had boys asking to join from as far away as Hessle, Ferriby and Swanland as well as from the neighbouring West Hull District.

The Scout Troop was based at St Luke's Church on Chestnut Avenue in Willerby (just off Kingston Road) and meetings were held every Wednesday night between 7.00pm and 9.30pm. Whilst serving the village of Willerby our church was actually part of Kirkella Parish, hence the Troop being named 2nd Kirkella (St Luke's). Within the overall St.Luke's Scout Group there was also a Cub Scout Pack and a Beaver Scout Colony. At one time St Luke's also had its own Venture Scout Unit but this later combined with the unit at 2nd Anlaby (St Mark's) due to numbers. St Luke's Scout Group was a 'Sponsored Open' group which meant that, although sponsored by St Luke's church, they were able to have an open membership policy. No restrictions on who could join and therefore had many boys of many different religions within the group. We were given a lot of support and encouragement from the church and at one point the Curate was also our Group Scout Leader.

A Scout Troop is organised into a number of groups called 'Patrols', usually averaging between 5 and 8 boys in each. Each Patrol is led by a Patrol Leader, usually one of the older and more experienced Scouts. The Patrol system being the basis of the way that a Troop operates. St Luke's believed strongly in the Patrol system and the Troop as run through the Patrol Leaders Council (PLC), made up of each Patrol Leader with the Scout Leader and Assistant Scout Leader there for adivice and guidance. The PLC organised the programme of activities, handled promotions within the Troop and also dealt with any business affecting the life of the Troop.

Right: Stephan Smith discusses the route to take during a day hike around Malham in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The Scout Leaders were given many challenges to overcome by the boys who were encouraged to think 'outside of the box' and find creative ways to put the Scout Training Programme into effect. It was this approach that led to the popularity of the Troop as the Scouts responded well to plenty of activity, opportunity and to a fun environment. Individual Patrols were also asked to feed their own thoughts and ideas back to their Patrol Leader who, in turn, represented them at the PLC.

Above: A photograph taken at a week long Activity Camp, run along the lines of a traditional Scout Summer Camp, to provide the experience for 27 underprivilaged boys invited from Social Services Teams across the County of Humberside. The camp was organised by our Scout Leader and with the support of Haltemprice District.

Within the Scout Troop there was a structured training programme whereby the Scouts learnt new skills at Weekly Troop meetings before being asked to put these into practise at the weekends on the many camps, expeditions or activities which were laid on. The variety and wide range of these opportunities greatly added to the appeal of the St Luke's Troop to the boys who flocked to join its ranks. The ultimate aim of any Scout was to receive the Chief Scouts Award (the highest training award in the Scout Section) and our boys regularly did so.

Above: Humberside Scouts receive their Chief Scouts Award Certificates at the Raywell Park Scout Centre, September 1992. Amongst these are six Scouts from St Luke's: Paul Smith, Stephen Broomfield, Richard Gannon, James Markham, Robert Cooper and Andrew Magson .

For anyone interested in recalling the days within the Scout Troop there are several hundred photographs contained within the Friends Reunited website (www.friendsreunited.co.uk). The photographs can be found in the Teams / Clubs section. Some of these take a while to load and, if the image doesn't appear, click on the box where it should be and it will normally load. There is also the opportunity to add your comments, memories and even your own photographs to this section. Click here to log in to the site and then go to the St Luke's Scout photopage. You can also look up your old school and work friends using this excellent site. However, if it's just the Troop photos you want then go straight to my photopage (see the link below). Our Scout Troop had very strong links with neighbouring Scout Troops in our own and other Districts. You'll find lots of photos of joint activities with other groups on this site such as South Cave, Skidby, Willerby Carr Lane, Hessle, 2nd Anlaby, 1st Gilberdyke and 1st Beverley Troops as well as District activities..

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