Cubs go camping – 1951

It is August 16^th 1951 and the cubs are about to go camping at Monkton Combe.

Cubs off to camp in 1951

This is a newspaper photograph which came from the Wiltshire Gazette. Inevitably, it is the fairly large dot quality that news photos were almost 65 years ago. The caption gives us the names of the three cub leaders. We don’t know the names of the others but somebody out there might identify the lads who would be in their early 70s by now.

 

These enlargements have been softened a tad to reduce the dotty look.

Here’s hoping those cubs enjoyed the camp and we hope many are still enjoying life.

And do get in touch if you can name any of the people in the photo.

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Market Lavington Cubs

Today we have a delightful photo of a very smart looking set of cub scouts believed to date from around 1950. We don’t know the occasion, but there seems to be a ratio of one adult for each cub, so one hopes it was a well organised affair.

Market Lavington cubs and leaders in about 1950

We can name many of the people so let’s start with the adults from left to right.

Felix Travis, Percy Webb, Joan Ellis, Nan Pearce, Fran Francis, Jean Potter, not known and Don Baker.

The boys are, also from left to right, Brian Cook, not known, Roy Chapman, not known, Robin Tucker, Ray Pollard, Malcolm Little and Philip Francis.

You probably have enough to do in the run up to Christmas but if you happen to know any of the people in this photo that we haven’t identified then please spare a couple of minutes to let us know.

A wolf cub pelt

The local cub group recently visited Market Lavington Museum. They brought with them a gift. They had recently cleared out a cupboard which it is believed had been locked and out of use for at least thirty years. In it they found what is believed to be a wolf cub pelt, machine sown onto a piece of red felt.

A wolf cub pelt at Market Lavington Museum

None of the present cub team had any memory of it ever being used for anything. Our curator has asked former cubs and none of them have any memory of it ever being used.

At present, the pelt is in Chippenham at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre. It is in their deep freeze which will kill off any beasties in the pelt, or indeed in the felt.

But we are at a loss. Is this a wolf cub pelt? What did local cubs (or perhaps scouts) use it for?

Do get in touch if you have answers to these questions.

Of course, we do not condone the killing of animals without real purpose, but this clearly happened many years ago in this case.

Cubs at the Museum

It was very good to welcome the cub pack to the museum on 20^th May 2013. There was a lot of interest from the cubs in many aspects of life in the village past. They wanted to know about their houses and areas. Of course, they wanted to know about The Scout Hall. In particular, they loved items of old cub uniform we have. And here we have a cub of 2013 modelling cap, scarf and woggle of the late 1970s.

A cub of 2013 wears cap and scarf of a 1970s Market Lavington cub

These days the cubs do not wear caps – very much a thing of the past. Thirty five years ago the Market Lavington cubs had a red scarf. Now the cubs are just the Lavington pack and they wear white.

In the cabinet next to the cub we can see items from Ken Mundy’s shoe shop, including the much viewed Phillips Stick-a-sole man. The shelf below has items relating to John Baker and his family who were tin smiths and what we might now call hardware merchants in Market Lavington.