Although the Centenary celebrations for the Scout Troop finished in November 2022, we decided we couldn’t sit back as there’s lots still to be done with our extensive archive and add to it, particularly as the Centenary for the Cubs and Explorers is in December 2024.

Why is work ongoing?

The answer is that over the Centenary year we were given an enormous amount of photographs which, added to the ones we already have, create a very large photo archive with pictures from 1921 to 2021.  It’s the early ones which are creating the work at the moment.

What was the first task?    Answer:  Photo Identification

On Sunday, 26 February 2022, twelve of our former ‘senior’ members (sorry about the senior reference, gents) got together for an afternoon to identify those in some of the photographs.  They were asked to review scanned and printed photographs so that names could be handwritten, then typed and retained with the pictures.  The pictures were also available on a large screen, which was very helpful to enlarge for finer details.  To help with the identification, the pictures were grouped by decade and/or subject.  That way the appropriate decade could be reviewed by the correct participants.

Were there lots of photographs?  

Yes, there were loads – 172 to be precise.  That’s a lot of photos and, despite everyone’s best efforts, we didn’t manage to get through them all, plus some were just too old to be identified.

The group rose to the challenge by working hard through the majority of the pictures, but it should be borne in mind that the 172 reviewed on 26 February are the tip of the iceberg, so there will be more identification afternoons to get through those we didn’t manage, all accompanied of course by tea/coffee and cake.   After that, there will be events for younger generations to identify their photos.

The afternoon was interesting, not only in identifying those in the photographs, but it brought back lots of memories and plenty chat about everyone’s time in the Cubs, Scouts and Rover/Venture Scouts.  Although it was a great afternoon to help our archive it also let the attendees catch-up.  All this was done with assistance of tea/coffee, cakes, scones and some sweet treats, so don’t let anyone tell you it was all hard graft!  Here are some of the gents,  hard at work:

We’re very proud of our history and, as you’ll see here and in Our History on the website, we take it all very seriously.

Why take this approach? 

It’s because what we do now is for our current and future members, families and all website visitors, so that they have the benefit of knowing the full story of 2nd Renfrew.

We send our sincere thanks to all who attended on 26 February 2023, not only for giving up their time, but in ensuring the memories of those in the photographs live on.

The next task was for …

Former Lady Cub Leaders

Not to be outdone by the gents, we organised an afternoon tea for our current and former Lady Cub Leaders as we realised there had not been this type of event before.  Apart from getting everyone together in a relaxed setting, we wanted to obtain as much as we could to help our Cubs (and Explorers) and prepare for our Cub and Explorer Centenary in December 2024.

Who attended and what format did the event take?

We were delighted that almost everyone we invited to the afternoon tea on Sunday, 6 March 2023 was able to come along, and particularly pleased to track down a former leader who was Assistant Cub Mistress from 1952 to 1959.  The ages of those present ranged from mid-30s to over 90, but ages made no difference, as everyone chatted, drank tea, ate sandwiches and cake and continued to chat.  What was especially pleasing was that when the afternoon started some former leaders didn’t know the others, but we can safely say that by the end of the afternoon everyone was well acquainted.

It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon, in good company, with everyone having Cubs in common.

As mentioned before, the purpose of the afternoon was to allow everyone to get together in a relaxed setting and share stories for the archive.  We certainly managed the relaxed setting, but such was the chatter and hilarity, we didn’t build up as much archive material as we were looking for.  “Not a problem” said all the attendees “we’ll happily do this afternoon all over again, providing more for the archive”.  Well ladies, you said it, so look out for the next afternoon tea invitation coming your way.

As we often noted in our Centenary reporting we’re delighted with the support we received over the Centenary year.  In the case of this update, it was especially pleasing to see senior former members sharing their stories and beavering away over photographs.  For the ladies, their afternoon had a different format and, although they did reminisce, an occasion where former lady Cub leaders were together at one event was unique.  Here are some pictures of the day:

	Our Lady Cub Leaders from 1951 to 2023

The last bit for the February and March 2023 events

In closing, our Centenary badge has the words “Adventure, Challenge, Memories, Friendship”.  As we have done so many times over the Centenary year, these words came in to play at the above events.  Everyone talked about their adventures and challenges either as members of the Group or leaders, memories flowed and friendships were renewed.  That’s exactly what 2nd Renfrew, our Centenary, and our future, are all about.