How Girlguiding Oxfordshire began
In the early 1900s, Major General Robert Baden-Powell wrote a book called Scouting for Boys, based on his army experiences. In 1909, Baden-Powell organised a camp at Brownsea Island in Dorset for young boys, which was run in accordance with the guidance set down in Scouting for Boys. It was a huge success, and the Scout Movement was born.
The following year, the Scouts held a rally at Crystal Palace. To Baden-Powell’s surprise, a number of girls turned up to join the rally, asking the war hero for ‘something for the girls.’ Baden-Powell turned to his sister Agnes, charging her with organising the girls into Girl Guides. Later, Baden-Powell’s wife, Olave, took over the running of the organisation, which would over time be split into Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Rangers.
The first recorded instance of girls wanting to become involved with the Scout Movement in Oxford came in May 1909, when the Vicar of Headington applied to the Scout Executive Committee for recognition of a group of Girl Scouts. The application was refused, but Girl Guide groups continued to flourish, and by 1910, a local Oxford newspaper was reporting that there were about 60 Girl Guide groups in the region. In 1911, Mrs Sanderson Furniss was appointed the first County Commissioner for Oxfordshire, and by 1917/18, there were 326 Guides in Oxfordshire.
In May 2011, the figures for Oxfordshire were as follows:
- 11 divisions
- 41 districts
- 71 Rainbow Units, with 810 Rainbows
- 164 Brownie Units, with 2,905 Brownies
- 90 Guide Units, with 1,621 Guides
- 17 Ranger/Senior Sections Units, with 82 members
- nine Trefoil Guilds
- and four Friends of Guiding (FOG).
That's 1,179 adult volunteers and 5,418 younger members!
Want to know more about the history of Girlguiding Oxfordshire? In 1999, a wonderful book called Our History: The First Fifty Years 1910–1960 was published by Una M Dean and the Oxfordshire Guide Association – it’s still available online and from the Oxford City Library. We’re currently working on a book charting the growth of Guiding in Oxfordshire from 1960–2010, so watch this space!
Looking to the future
Along with members of Girlguiding across the world, Girlguiding Oxfordshire have just celebrated 100 years of Guiding. It’s been an amazing year, with celebrations, badges and events galore, but now we’re looking forward to the next 100 years. Girlguiding UK today is of course very different to the Girl Guides of 1910, but we always have, and always will, put girls in the lead!
Girlguiding Oxfordshire properties
Here in Oxfordshire we are fortunate enough to own a number of residential and activity centres. For more information about the properties, including booking information, please visit our properties page.