A Brief History of Girlguiding
So let's start in 1909 at the Crystal Palace Rally which was a boy scout rally. It was held in London on the 4th of September where 11,000 boy scouts were in attendance. This is quite impressive as scouting had only been going for a few years, it was started by Robert Baden Powell. What was not expected by Baden Powell was the several hundred Girl Scouts that attended, he knew girls were interested in Scouting but I don't think he understood to what extent. Due to the media coverage and the passionate young girls 'Girl Guides' began under Robert Baden Powell's sister, Agnes Baden Powell, in 1910 in the UK. Before this Guiding was introduced in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand and South Africa. By 1912 there were also groups in Ireland, Portugal, Norway and the US (which was established by Juliette Low).
Now we know how Girl Guides started let's next jump into world war one and see what this meant for the Guides. Well to start of with what we now call Brownies was started, when it was originally started, however, it was called Rosebuds but only for a year. Brownie's is a junior section for girls under the age of 11. During the war some of the Guides acted as messengers of confidential information but a lot were mainly doing domestic work and caring for the sick and young. The girls were encouraged to make ration bags for soldiers, take charge of hospital linen and help in the soup kitchens and nurseries. Mid way through the war, in 1916 , a senior group for girls aged between 14 to 25 was set up.
Now let's jump to 1920 where the First World Conference was held in England. This is significant as it gave representatives of the Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting world the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas and experiences. This strengthened international Scouting and Guiding and it also raised the profile of the organisations. The organisation became known to the International Council and for the first time groups began to plan trips abroad. The First World Camp, in 1924, brought 1,100 girls and young women together from 40 countries. On the fourth International Conference, in 1926, World Thinking Day was launched. It is a day for Girl Guides and Girl Scouts around the world to think of each other and express their thanks and appreciation for our international movement. They chose the 22nd of February because it was the birthday of both Lord Baden Powell and Olave Baden-Powell who was the World Chief Guide. Furthermore in 1928, WAGGGS was created with 26 founding members.
That's the main bulk of key dates and events but I still have a few more important times in our history. In 1931 WAGGGS reached one million members. In 1942 the Guide International Service Committee was set up to select and train leaders for relief work after the war. In 1946 the Queen's Guide Award was introduced. In 1980, Innovate began. It was a discussion group for member between the ages 16 and 26, it gave girls a voice in the direction of guiding. In 1987 Rainbows was introduced. In 2002 The Guide Association was renamed to Girlguiding. To conclude my list of dates, in 2018 the new program was introduced.
This is where I will leave you, this obviously isn't everything, there is still so much more detail I could go into but I would be here for a while. Guiding has changed and grown so much over the years and changed so many lives, I can't wait to see where it goes :)
If you want to challenge yourself and earn a badge, why not look at the Guiding History Interest Badge in your badge book? See what you can find out and leave a comment below.
Thank you for reading and make sure you keep safe and keep on Guiding!
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