Our History
There was a Scout Troop in Menston as early as 1909, one of the first in the country, when the Scout Master was Charles H Guy, who lived on St John’s Park. In fact, Guy was the name given to the troop some years later. They had a band and played at parades in the District. According to the local history books, the Troop may have disbanded at the outbreak of the first world war and started up again in 1935. The Scouts and cubs met in the St Johns church hall (now owned by the business Parmley Graham).
Guides and brownies were first established in Menston in 1943 and prominent leaders have been Mrs Agnes Schofield, Mrs Nellie Dearden, Mrs Barbara Chadwick and Mrs Pam Robertson. Closely involved with Scouts & Guides were Marie Storr and the late Margaret Elsworth. In the fifties, when a new brownie pack was formed, the Guide company was reopened after a period of closure. The Guides and Brownies met in the school, and all their possessions were kept in huge suitcases.
The current HQ building on the edge of Menston Hall grounds, next to Menston Park, cost around £1k to build, and was opened in 1965 after 20 years of joint fundraising by the Scouts and Guides. At that time there was one Scout troop, one Cub pack, one Guide company, and two Brownie packs. In 1966, due to long waiting lists a new Cub pack was formed. This was called Cromwell. The other pack still met in the church hall, so this was called Fairfax.
The biggest growth was in the 70s. There were three Brownie packs, the First, Third, and Fourth. And two Guide companies, First and Third. The Second Brownies and Guides at that time were based at the children’s hospital, now demolished (on the Chevin, near the present Royalty pub). There were also three Cub packs, Fairfax, Cromwell and Jubilee. Numbers had grown in the early 70’s to such an extent that a second Scout troop – Apollo – was formed by Ian Drylie & Ken Chadwick, after the Apollo landing on the moon. The other troop was called ‘Guy 1909’. Two troops flourished in the 70’s-80’s but a decade or two later, a decline meant that Guy troop was disbanded, leaving Apollo – the survivor.
In 2007, after 15 years, the Scout leader Peter Finlay (later our long-serving Treasurer) stood down and after nearly 100 years, Menston Scouts almost came to an end, until 2009 when Charlie Barnes and Ashley France started it up again. It has been going strong since then, with a second troop – Gemini – started by Neil Ward and Naomi McMorn, opening in 2017.
(All of this history was sourced from local history books: pp 84-85 Memories, Hopes & Dreams, Millennium in Menston and Menston Remembered by Jack H Kell, pp 135-139)
