The Boy Scouts in the Great War

A very readable book that will interest anyone with an interest in the Great War or who has a connection with scouting, padt or present.

The Scouting movement had its origins in a book, Scouting for Boys, written by Robert Baden-Powell; his ideas for the book were tested during an experimental one-week boys' camping event on Brownsea Island in 1907, just seven years before war was declared. Freelance writer Craig Armstrong explores the wide variety of duties undertaken by Boy Scouts during WWI, brought to life by copious illustrations and quotations from newspapers and local leaders.The book is divided into five chapters, one for each year of the war, each chapter being divided into two sections covering the Home Front and Military Service. The author describes the types of work undertaken by the Boy Scouts at each stage of the war, and how they were perceived by the general public. Specific examples of activities undertaken by Scout troops from around the country are given.I found this a fairly interesting book, well-researched and packed with information about the Scouting movement during the Great War, although my interest had begun to wane by the time I reached the final chapter as the writing did seem to be somewhat dry and repetitive. I was surprised to learn about the range of tasks undertaken by the Scouts, previously knowing only that a few boys had volunteered to peel vegetables for our local Red Cross hospital; some of the Scouts were entrusted with surprisingly important and complex tasks with major responsibilities. I recommend the book to anyone with an interest in the history of Boy Scouts, or the social history of the Great War.I would like to thank Pen & Sword and NetGalley for giving me a free advance reader copy of this book to review. This review is my own honest and independent opinion of the book.

Pen & Sword doesn't 'do' editorial, but a sub-editor's helpful comments would have made reading this work an easier and more enjoyable experience. Nevertheless, this is a previously under-researched topic and one which will no doubt be of interest to some.

This book is a summary of many of “the largely unremarked but nevertheless incredibly useful duties which were performed by scouts throughout the war”The Scouts had existed for less than 10 years at the time of WW1, and they certainly stepped up – though in many ways their enthusiasm was not matched by their age/experience and it was soon realised that 12 year olds were probably better completing their education in school than standing guard over railway tunnels! I did appreciate the acknowledgement that many of the scouts/former scout who joined the Army soon proved their worth. They knew how to listen, to look after their kit, to work with others and the skills learnt in Scouts such as signalling, first aid, teamwork and leadership translated easily to the ones needed as a soldier so scouts were soon finding themselves with specialist roles, promotions and in some cases being offered commissions or taking charge when officers were killed.Whilst there is evidence of significant & thorough research (which I always appreciate in a historical book) and there are moments of real interest, the book feels dry & repetitive compared to the delightful “How the Girl Guides won the War” by Janie Hampton. Where we could have had real narrative, we get fact after fact, and many of the examples actually are just about “Private Joe Bloggs, a former scout …” well that’s lovely, but much of the middle of the book does feel like filler & it would perhaps have been a more interesting read if the timeline had been wider, perhaps focussing on both wars. The lack of reference to the ways that the Boy Scouts & Girl Guides worked together was also notable, it was almost as if the author was deliberately ignoring any mention of the girls!I was not aware of the Scout Defence Corps and found that interesting to read about, particularly BP’s thoughts on it, but was dismayed to find so many incidences of accidental death caused by scouts being foolhardy & overly keen to “play soldier” – from accidental gunshots to a chimney giving way during unsupervised climbing practice.Overall I think this is a book that needed to be written, and I am glad that I have read it, but it doesn’t do justice to the work that the Scouts (and Guides!) did during the Great War or subsequently. I found it really hard to rate - 4⭐ for the excellent research but 2⭐ because it could be so much more! Shall we settle on 3⭐?Disclosure: I received an advance reader copy of this book free via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the author & publisher for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.#TheBoyScoutsintheGreatWar #NetGalley