1925
3rd Chesham Bois registered
A Scout Troop known as 3rd Chesham Bois was registered with The Scout Association on 27 May 1925, with five Scouts and one leader.
The registration recorded the headquarters as Meadow School, Chesham Bois.
Since 1925
A Century of Scouting in Chalfont St Giles
From the first recorded Scout troop in 1925 to today’s thriving Scout Group, discover how Scouting evolved in Chalfont St Giles over more than a century.
27 May 1925
3rd Chesham Bois registered
3rd Chesham Bois registered
13 Sept 1927
Re-registered as 1st Chalfont St Giles
Shortenills Preparatory School
Re-registered as 1st Chalfont St Giles
Shortenills Preparatory School
1928
2nd Chalfont St Giles first recorded
2nd Chalfont St Giles first recorded
1934
Original Group recorded as closed
Village Group becomes 1st Chalfont St Giles
Original Group recorded as closed
Village Group becomes 1st Chalfont St Giles
1946
Scouting resumes after the Second World War
Scouting resumes after the Second World War
4 Apr 1964
Silver Hill Scout Centre opens
Silver Hill Scout Centre opens
Our story
More than 100 years of adventure, service and community
Scouting in Chalfont St Giles can be traced back to 27 May 1925, when a troop known as 3rd Chesham Bois was registered with The Scout Association with five Scouts and one leader. In September 1927, the troop was re-registered as 1st Chalfont St Giles, late 3rd Chesham Bois, with its headquarters at Shortenills Preparatory School.
Around the same time, a separate village troop, 2nd Chalfont St Giles, emerged. Contemporary newspaper reports from 1928 onwards record its camps, Scout Hut, Rover Crew, community events and growing role in village life. Although no separate registration records for this troop have so far been found in the Scout Heritage archives, its existence is well documented in contemporary newspapers and Scout Association reports.
The South-East Chilterns Scout Association Annual Report for 1934 records that the original 1st Chalfont St Giles Group had closed and that “the group known as 2nd has now become 1st Chalfont St Giles.” From 1935 onwards, newspaper reports refer only to 1st Chalfont St Giles. The available evidence indicates that this village troop is the direct predecessor of today’s 1st Chalfont St Giles Scout Group, which has continued to provide adventure, friendship and Skills for Life for generations of young people.
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Registration records
Official Scout records trace the Group’s origins to 1925.
Registration records
Official Scout records trace the Group’s origins to 1925.
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Newspaper archives
Reports from the 1920s and 1930s show early Scouting activity.
Newspaper archives
Reports from the 1920s and 1930s show early Scouting activity.
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Group archives
Annual reports, newsletters and minutes preserve decades of memories.
Group archives
Annual reports, newsletters and minutes preserve decades of memories.
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Local heritage
The Group’s story is deeply linked to village life.
Local heritage
The Group’s story is deeply linked to village life.
Archive discovery
The records that changed our history
For many years, little was known about the Group’s earliest years. Recent research in Scout Association records, local newspaper archives and surviving Group documents has uncovered a much richer story, revealing that two separate Scout Groups operated in Chalfont St Giles during the late 1920s and early 1930s before the village Group became today’s 1st Chalfont St Giles.
Together, these records reveal more than a century of Scouting heritage in Chalfont St Giles.
Official Scout Association registration record for 3rd Chesham Bois, officially registered with The Scout Association on 27 May 1925. This troop was re-registered as 1st Chalfont St Giles, late 3rd Chesham Bois in 1927. It represents the earliest documented Scout Group connected with Chalfont St Giles.
How today’s Group evolved
From two Scout Groups to one
Research has shown that two separate Scout Groups operated in Chalfont St Giles during the late 1920s and early 1930s. Although they briefly shared the same name, they followed different histories.
Original Scout Group
1925–1934
Registered as 3rd Chesham Bois on 27 May 1925, based at Meadow School, Chesham Bois. It was re-registered as 1st Chalfont St Giles, late 3rd Chesham Bois in 1927, with its headquarters recorded at Shortenills Preparatory School. The South-East Chilterns Scout Association Annual Report for 1934 records that this Group had closed, while the village Group became 1st Chalfont St Giles.
Village Scout Group
1928–Today
First recorded as 2nd Chalfont St Giles in newspaper reports from 1928 and later listed in Scout Association district records. The 1934 South-East Chilterns Scout Association Annual Report records that this Group became 1st Chalfont St Giles, from which today’s Scout Group has continued.
The available evidence indicates that today’s 1st Chalfont St Giles Scout Group descends from the village Scout Group, first recorded as 2nd Chalfont St Giles in 1928.
Timeline
From 1925 to today
1927
Re-registered as 1st Chalfont St Giles
On 13 September 1927, the troop was re-registered as 1st Chalfont St Giles, late 3rd Chesham Bois. The headquarters was recorded as Shortenills, Chalfont St Giles.
1928
A second Scout Group emerges
Newspaper reports record the first known activities of 2nd Chalfont St Giles, a separate village Scout Group that organised camps, community events and later established its own Scout Hut.
Earliest known newspaper references to 2nd Chalfont St Giles.
1934
Original 1st Chalfont St Giles recorded as closed
The South-East Chilterns Scout Association Annual Report for 1934 records that the original 1st Chalfont St Giles Group, based at Shortenills, had closed.
This brought to an end the Scout Group first registered as 3rd Chesham Bois in 1925.
1934
2nd Chalfont St Giles becomes 1st
The same Annual Report states that “the group known as 2nd has now become 1st Chalfont St Giles.” This marks the point at which the village troop adopted the 1st Chalfont St Giles name.
From 1935 onwards, newspaper reports refer only to 1st Chalfont St Giles.
1946
Scouting resumes after the war
Following the Second World War, Scouting resumed in March 1946, led by Laurence Lees, Kim Budd, Alan Sleator and others connected with Newland Park Teachers Training College. The old Scout Hut behind the Parish Church was in poor condition, so early meetings were held in the village school while repairs were carried out.
The first post-war summer camp took place at Bryher Island in the Isles of Scilly.
1948
A thriving post-war Group
A surviving 1948 annual report provides one of the earliest detailed records of the re-established Group, showing an active programme of Scout and Cub activities, camping, community events and growing membership.
1957
A vision for a new headquarters
Rapid growth meant the old hut was no longer suitable. The idea of a new purpose-built headquarters began during the Jubilee Year celebrations.
1958
The Building Fund begins
The Building Fund was launched on 1 January 1958. Fundraising included Christmas cards, calendars, Bob-a-Job Week, fairs, whist drives, public appeals and the famous Buy a Brick scheme.
1960
Silver Hill land purchased
The lower section of the Silver Hill site was purchased for £500 for the benefit of 1st Chalfont St Giles Scout Group, creating the site for the new Scout Centre.
1964
The Scout Centre opens
The new Scout Centre was officially opened on 4 April 1964 by Lord Curzon and dedicated by Rev. C. R. Warner, County Scout Chaplain.
Today
The story continues
Today, 1st Chalfont St Giles Scout Group continues to provide adventure, friendship and Skills for Life to young people across the village and surrounding communities.
The Silver Hill story
Built by the village, for the village
The Scout Centre at Silver Hill was not simply built — it was earned. For six years, families, volunteers, local businesses and supporters raised funds through fairs, Christmas card sales, Bob-a-Job Week, whist drives, public appeals and the famous Buy a Brick scheme.
The result was a purpose-built home for Scouting in the heart of Chalfont St Giles. Former Group Scout Leader Bill Carden later recorded that architect Geoffrey Pennel provided his services free of charge, while John Browne and Fred Adams played leading roles in helping turn the project into reality.
The opening plaque
“Through generous support of the people of the village”
The opening plaque inside the Scout Centre records that the headquarters was erected through the generous support of the people of the village and parents and friends of the Group.
It remains one of the most important physical links between today’s Group and the community effort that created our home.
Fundraising
How the village helped build our home
The figures below are taken from the Scout Centre opening booklet and illustrate some of the major fundraising activities that helped finance the construction of the new headquarters. Amounts are shown in 1964 values.
Annual Fairs
£800
£800
Christmas Cards & Calendars
£750
£750
Bob-a-Job Week
£350
£350
Sales & Bazaars
£350
£350
Public Appeal
£325
£325
Whist Drives
£140
£140
The land beneath the hut
Old Mead, The Crown and the Silver Hill site
Part of Old Mead
Historic deeds refer to part of a field called Old Mead, as well as a “shop and paddock at rear”.
Cannon Brewery
The land was connected with Cannon Brewery Company Limited and the estate associated with The Crown public house.
Guides to Scouts
The Girl Guides Association Trust Corporation purchased the Silver Hill site in 1958. The lower section of the site was subsequently purchased for £500 for the benefit of 1st Chalfont St Giles Scout Group, while the Guides retained ownership of their headquarters and the upper part of the land.
Ministerial approval
The 1960 purchase and trust arrangements required approval from the Minister of Education, reflecting the legal status of the charitable trust.
The Old Scout Hut
Before Silver Hill, the Group met in a wooden Scout Hut behind the Parish Church near Bowstridge Farm. Bill Carden’s recollections record that the hut was already in poor condition when the Group was re-established in 1946. Early meetings were therefore held in the village school while repairs were undertaken. The hut had no mains water, limited facilities and solid-fuel heating, but served generations of local Scouts until the move to the new Scout Centre at Silver Hill in 1964.
No photograph of the original hut has yet been found in the Group archives. If you have photographs, documents or memories connected to the old headquarters, we would love to hear from you.
🥁 Drum & Fife Band
The Group once had a Scout and Guide Drum & Fife Band, performing at parades, local events and national competitions.
🇩🇪 International adventures
1960s newsletters record international exchanges and links with German Scouts.
🏎️ Karting champions
The Group competed in National Scout Go-Kart Championships and achieved national success.
✈️ Air Scouts
Historical records suggest Air Scout activities formed part of the Group’s programme during the 1970s.
⚓ Sea Scouts
Historical records indicate the Group also operated Sea Scout activities, showing the breadth of Scouting offered locally.
🏕️ Early camps
Camping has been at the heart of the Group’s programme for generations. Surviving records show camps at Bryher in the Isles of Scilly (1946), Dunster (1947), Crickhowell (1948), Guernsey (1959), Pembrokeshire (1960), Mid Wales (1961–62), Cornwall (1964) and Weymouth (1965), alongside Senior Scout expeditions to the Pyrenees.
🏅 Bill Carden
Bill Carden joined the Group as a Senior Scout in 1947 and went on to serve as Assistant Scout Leader, Scout Leader and Group Scout Leader. He was awarded the Medal of Merit in 1963 and later became Assistant District Commissioner. His recollections, compiled in 2007, provide one of the most important surviving first-hand accounts of the Group’s post-war history.
OUR IDENTITY
The St Giles Hand
The St Giles Hand has long been part of the Group’s identity and appears on our scarves.
A 1966 Group newsheet explains that the emblem was inspired by imagery connected
to the Parish Church and the village’s St Giles heritage.
It links every current member with generations of Scouts who wore the same symbol before them.
Still being researched
The history project continues
Recent research has transformed our understanding of the Group’s early history, but there are still gaps waiting to be filled. If you have photographs, documents or memories that could help answer these questions, we’d love to hear from you.
When was the original village Scout Hut behind St Giles Parish Church built, and when did it first come into use?
Do any photographs survive of the original Scout Hut, early camps, the Drum & Fife Band or other pre-1964 Scouting activities?
Are there any surviving programmes, log books, minute books or membership records from the village troop before the Second World War?
Can you help identify people, places or events shown in our historic photographs and documents?
Archive gallery
Documents that tell the story
Key documents discovered during the history project, including registration records, newspaper reports, annual returns, newsletters and personal recollections from former leaders that help trace the development of Scouting in Chalfont St Giles.
April 1968 Newsletter
2 November 1934 report on the transition from 2nd to 1st Chalfont St Giles.
Personal recollections and historical notes compiled by former Group Scout Leader Bill Carden in 2007.
Headquarters
Our homes through the years
1925–1927
Meadow School, Chesham Bois
Meadow School, Chesham Bois
1927–1934
Shortenills Preparatory School
Shortenills Preparatory School
1929–1964
Scout Hut behind the Parish Church
Scout Hut behind the Parish Church
1964–Today
Silver Hill Scout Centre
Silver Hill Scout Centre
Help us preserve the story
We are continuing to research the history of 1st Chalfont St Giles Scout Group. If you have photographs, documents, memories or stories connected to the Group, we would love to hear from you.
Research note
This history has been compiled from Scout Association registration records, South-East Chilterns Scout Association annual reports, local newspaper archives, surviving Group records and other primary historical sources. Where records are incomplete, the narrative reflects the best available evidence currently known and will continue to be updated as further material is discovered.
