1st great Eccleston

Scouts and Cubs in Great Eccleston

The 1st Copp (Great Eccleston) Scout and Cub Group was formed in 1971,The registration number being 40089, but this registration was first used in1945-7. So was there a Scout Group in Great Eccleston in 1945 to 47 and if so, what was its Title ? If you can help with any information about an earlier Group then please let us know. I was once told it was active during the war? The first meeting of the Scout Group Council was at Copp School on the 13th May 1971, and their where 19 members present. Mr Geoffrey Ball was appointed as Chairman, Mr Rees was elected Secretary and Mr Huckerby became the Treasurer. In 1971 the Scouting officials were as follows :Group Scoutmaster- Norman Perryman; Cub master- Maureen Gibson; Assistant Cub master - Anne Thistlethwaite; Scoutmaster -John Cowgill; Assistant Scoutmaster Peter Coweill. There were 5 Shouters, 12 Wolf Cubs and 12 Boy Scouts. The Cubs and Scouts gave reports and Fund Raising was discussed at great length - a Coffee evening and Fashion Show at Millbank, Elswick had been held on the 15th of April and raised the princely sum of £9. The District in those days was North Fylde (not Wyre). The Headquarters was at Copp School and the Sponsoring Authority was St. Anne's Copp Church (the Reverend Edward Barrett). It was decided to change from being a sponsored to an independent group just over 12 months later and The name was changed to 1st Great Eccleston officially on 1.1.1972, but continued as an Open Sponsored Group, i.e. associated with Copp Church but accepting and freely working with other denominations. In 1980 it became a fully Open group with reduced association with Copp Church. On 2.2.1981 the membership was 19 cubs and 26 scouts, with the number of cubs staying reasonably steady at between 25 and 35 up to 1982 with a waiting list for new recruits.

In 1982, presumably because more supervision became available, the cubs split into Odin and Thor packs with about 24 in each. Since then we have had the introduction of the younger section Beavers, and seen the demise of the Odin Pack. Currently Cubs and Beavers have between 20 to 24 members each, with a waiting list for Beavers as and when necessary, membership being limited by the ability to find warranted helpers to supervise activities. The membership is made up of young people from most of the surrounding village.

But in contrast the membership for the scout section has been more variable, from a minimum of about 9 to a maximum of 31; the current membership is 9. Holding the attention of this age group is more difficult than it used to be; they tend "to have seen it all" with more direct experience, for example from greater family travel opportunities, and indirect experience via TV, peer pressers on this age range is also grater. Scouts tend to be recruited from a wider area than the cubs, including St Michaels, Inskip, Catforth, Thornton, etc. The nearest scout groups are Poulton-le-Fylde, Garstang, Kirkham and Hambleton, but as late it is becoming more and more difficult to attract and retain young people of Scout age.

Venture Scouts, for older boys, was outside the troop arrangement, and had a larger catchments area, with 15 members meeting in Great Eccleston in 1980 under the name of Leckonby. In subsequent years additional units were formed in Garstang and Over-Wyre and the Leckonby group fell apart; it was restarted in 1994 and became an end on Unit to 1st Great Eccleston, only to be disbanded a short time later by the District with the introduction of the new Scout age range, and the newly formed Explorer Section.

Funding of the Great Eccleston Group was initially by social events, jumble sales, tom bola, barbeques, dances, etc, one of the more unusual fundraisers in those early days was a Balloon race (record balloon being found in East Germany), canoe and raft races were also organised to generate fund. The troop was generally well supported financially, and owned its own mini-bus, During this time they embarked on the provision of a permanent hut. And a hut was finally purchased from Weeton Camp, but installation took many months due to intermittent support, with drainage and access problems, with the hut not being in full use until about 1982. Unfortunately after all the hard work, the hut burnt down not long after the opening and had to be replaced.

From the earliest days, the scouts and cubs were involved in the usual working for badges, bob-a-job weeks, frequent local and long distance camping, sporting and competitive scouting activities etc. Also along with all the other things in those early days, Swimming was one of the regular activities, held mainly at Garstang on a weekly basis, and was regarded as an important skill to have, and this was probably the main route for boys to learn haw to swim in those early days. Another important addition to the activities in those days was a French troop spending a week camping at 1st Great Eccleston Scouts. Church parades were held monthly at first but this was changed to quarterly, and later just on special occasions. The group also entered floats in the Gala, and helped at the Agricultural Show and on occasions at Tractor Pulling events.

In more recent years the scouts have held a strong position in the local area, repeatedly winning many of the Wyre District awards for Scouting, and winning the Lancashire County Acorn Challenge Trophy for scout skills, along with the County Back Woods Cooking competition, and the County Camping competition on a number of occasions. And then having gone on to representing the County in the North West Regional championships, managed to win a number of Regional competitions, and in so doing put 1st Great Eccleston Scouts, in the County record books.

	1st great Eccleston Scouts History
		Scouts and Cubs in Great Eccleston The 1st Copp (Great Eccleston) Scout and Cub Group was formed in 1971,The registration number being 40089, but this registration was first used in1945-7. So was there a Scout Group in Great Eccleston in 1945 to 47 and if so, what was its Title ? If you can help with any information about an earlier Group then please let us know. I was once told it was active during the war? The first meeting of the Scout Group Council was at Copp School on the 13th May 1971, and their where 19 members present. Mr Geoffrey Ball was appointed as Chairman, Mr Rees was elected Secretary and Mr Huckerby became the Treasurer. In 1971 the Scouting officials were as follows :Group Scoutmaster- Norman Perryman; Cub master- Maureen Gibson; Assistant Cub master - Anne Thistlethwaite; Scoutmaster -John Cowgill; Assistant Scoutmaster Peter Coweill. There were 5 Shouters, 12 Wolf Cubs and 12 Boy Scouts. The Cubs and Scouts gave reports and Fund Raising was discussed at great length - a Coffee evening and Fashion Show at Millbank, Elswick had been held on the 15th of April and raised the princely sum of £9. The District in those days was North Fylde (not Wyre). The Headquarters was at Copp School and the Sponsoring Authority was St. Anne's Copp Church (the Reverend Edward Barrett). It was decided to change from being a sponsored to an independent group just over 12 months later and The name was changed to 1st Great Eccleston officially on 1.1.1972, but continued as an Open Sponsored Group, i.e. associated with Copp Church but accepting and freely working with other denominations. In 1980 it became a fully Open group with reduced association with Copp Church. On 2.2.1981 the membership was 19 cubs and 26 scouts, with the number of cubs staying reasonably steady at between 25 and 35 up to 1982 with a waiting list for new recruits. In 1982, presumably because more supervision became available, the cubs split into Odin and Thor packs with about 24 in each. Since then we have had the introduction of the younger section Beavers, and seen the demise of the Odin Pack. Currently Cubs and Beavers have between 20 to 24 members each, with a waiting list for Beavers as and when necessary, membership being limited by the ability to find warranted helpers to supervise activities. The membership is made up of young people from most of the surrounding village. But in contrast the membership for the scout section has been more variable, from a minimum of about 9 to a maximum of 31; the current membership is 9. Holding the attention of this age group is more difficult than it used to be; they tend "to have seen it all" with more direct experience, for example from greater family travel opportunities, and indirect experience via TV, peer pressers on this age range is also grater. Scouts tend to be recruited from a wider area than the cubs, including St Michaels, Inskip, Catforth, Thornton, etc. The nearest scout groups are Poulton-le-Fylde, Garstang, Kirkham and Hambleton, but as late it is becoming more and more difficult to attract and retain young people of Scout age. Venture Scouts, for older boys, was outside the troop arrangement, and had a larger catchments area, with 15 members meeting in Great Eccleston in 1980 under the name of Leckonby. In subsequent years additional units were formed in Garstang and Over-Wyre and the Leckonby group fell apart; it was restarted in 1994 and became an end on Unit to 1st Great Eccleston, only to be disbanded a short time later by the District with the introduction of the new Scout age range, and the newly formed Explorer Section. Funding of the Great Eccleston Group was initially by social events, jumble sales, tom bola, barbeques, dances, etc, one of the more unusual fundraisers in those early days was a Balloon race (record balloon being found in East Germany), canoe and raft races were also organised to generate fund. The troop was generally well supported financially, and owned its own mini-bus, During this time they embarked on the provision of a permanent hut. And a hut was finally purchased from Weeton Camp, but installation took many months due to intermittent support, with drainage and access problems, with the hut not being in full use until about 1982. Unfortunately after all the hard work, the hut burnt down not long after the opening and had to be replaced. From the earliest days, the scouts and cubs were involved in the usual working for badges, bob-a-job weeks, frequent local and long distance camping, sporting and competitive scouting activities etc. Also along with all the other things in those early days, Swimming was one of the regular activities, held mainly at Garstang on a weekly basis, and was regarded as an important skill to have, and this was probably the main route for boys to learn haw to swim in those early days. Another important addition to the activities in those days was a French troop spending a week camping at 1st Great Eccleston Scouts. Church parades were held monthly at first but this was changed to quarterly, and later just on special occasions. The group also entered floats in the Gala, and helped at the Agricultural Show and on occasions at Tractor Pulling events. In more recent years the scouts have held a strong position in the local area, repeatedly winning many of the Wyre District awards for Scouting, and winning the Lancashire County Acorn Challenge Trophy for scout skills, along with the County Back Woods Cooking competition, and the County Camping competition on a number of occasions. And then having gone on to representing the County in the North West Regional championships, managed to win a number of Regional competitions, and in so doing put 1st Great Eccleston Scouts, in the County record books.