Chapter Two
Following the move from Chesham Bois, Captain Michael George Hogg relocated both his preparatory school and Scout troop to Shortenills. On 13 September 1927, the troop was officially re-registered as 1st Chalfont St Giles, beginning a new chapter that would shape the Group for more than three decades.
A new beginning
After leaving Chesham Bois, Captain Michael George Hogg MC moved his preparatory school and Scout troop to Shortenills, Chalfont St Giles. The troop’s identity changed with the move.
On 13 September 1927, the Scout Association re-registered the troop as 1st Chalfont St Giles, late 3rd Chesham Bois. This wording preserved the troop’s earlier Chesham Bois origins while marking the start of a new chapter in Chalfont St Giles.
This was the original 1st Chalfont St Giles Scout Troop. It appears to have continued for a number of years before later District records suggest that it no longer existed, after which the former 2nd Chalfont St Giles became the modern 1st Chalfont St Giles.
The Founder
The driving force behind the original troop was Capt. Michael George Hogg MC, a decorated Royal Artillery officer, schoolmaster and Scoutmaster. After establishing Chesham Bois Preparatory School in 1925, he formed the Scout troop that became 3rd Chesham Bois. When he purchased Shortenills in 1926, both the school and troop moved with him, and in September 1927 the troop was officially re-registered as 1st Chalfont St Giles.
During the Second World War he later served with the Pioneer Corps before returning to education and archery, eventually captaining the England international archery team and serving as Chairman of the Royal Toxophilite Society.
Captain M. G. Hogg in later life
Archery became a major part of Captain Hogg’s life after his Scouting years. He captained the England international archery team and later served as Chairman of the Royal Toxophilite Society.
Primary evidence
The official Scout Association record shows the troop being re-registered on 13 September 1927 as 1st Chalfont St Giles, late 3rd Chesham Bois. Its headquarters were recorded at Shortenills, Chalfont St Giles.
This document is one of the most important records in the Group’s early history because it links the Chesham Bois troop directly to the Chalfont St Giles troop.
13 September 1927 Registration Record
The record showing 1st Chalfont St Giles as “late 3rd Chesham Bois”.
Shortenills was more than just Captain Hogg’s home. It became the base for his school and for the Scout troop he had brought from Chesham Bois. For the boys, the move meant that Scouting was now rooted in Chalfont St Giles.
The estate gave the troop access to space, countryside and outdoor activity, fitting naturally with Captain Hogg’s educational approach and the wider aims of Scouting at the time.
Captain Michael George Hogg MC was the driving force behind the troop’s move and re-registration. A decorated Royal Garrison Artillery officer, schoolmaster and Scoutmaster, he connected the early Chesham Bois story with the later Chalfont St Giles story.
The early troop was closely linked to Captain Hogg’s preparatory school. This makes it different from the later community-based Scout Group that developed in Chalfont St Giles.
The name 1st Chalfont St Giles was used by this original Shortenills troop before later records suggest that the troop had ceased to exist. The modern Group appears to descend from the later 2nd Chalfont St Giles, which subsequently became the 1st.
This means the Group’s history has two linked strands: the original school troop brought from Chesham Bois, and the later community Scout Group that carried the 1st Chalfont St Giles name forward.
A historical puzzle
One of the most interesting discoveries in the archive is that the earliest troop called 1st Chalfont St Giles was not necessarily the direct continuous predecessor of today’s Group.
The records show that Captain Hogg’s troop was re-registered as 1st Chalfont St Giles in 1927. However, later District records suggest that this original troop no longer seemed to exist, and that the 2nd Chalfont St Giles later became the 1st Chalfont St Giles.
Rather than weakening the Group’s history, this makes it richer. It shows that Scouting in Chalfont St Giles grew through more than one early troop, with names, leadership and headquarters changing over time.
Timeline
Captain Hogg purchased Shortenills in Chalfont St Giles and prepared to move his school from Chesham Bois.
On 13 September 1927, the troop was officially re-registered as 1st Chalfont St Giles, late 3rd Chesham Bois.
The troop continued as a school-based Scout troop connected with Captain Hogg’s preparatory school and the Shortenills estate.
Later District records indicate that the original 1st Chalfont St Giles no longer appeared to be active.
The later community Scout Group, originally known as 2nd Chalfont St Giles, went on to become the 1st Chalfont St Giles known today.
Archive evidence
The early history of Scouting in Chalfont St Giles is being reconstructed from Scout Association registration records, District minutes, newspaper reports and surviving local memories.
The story of Scouting in Chalfont St Giles did not end with the original Shortenills troop. A later community troop, originally known as 2nd Chalfont St Giles, carried Scouting forward and eventually became the 1st Chalfont St Giles Scout Group known today.
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