Scouts in Juniper Green
A group of the 31st Midlothian scouts outside St Margaret's Church at Juniper Green in 1926 about to leave on a camping trip. With scoutmaster Rev William Buchanan
The 31st Midlothian scouts from Juniper Green formed in 1924. They have since changed their name to the 31st Edinburgh.
In 2007 there are two scout troops in the village with the 172nd Merchiston troop forming in the 1970s.
The next section of this article relies heavily on the history of the 31st Edinburgh Juniper Green scouts as prepared by Hamish Leal.
The foundation of one of the troops - then the 31st Midlothian Scout Group - was laid in 1924 when the Scout Troop was started in St Margaret's Parish Church hall. The Scoutmaster was William Steven Junior of the Police Station, Juniper Green and there were 21 Scouts. Later on W J D Graham of St Anne's Mount became Assistant Scoutmaster.
In 1926 the minister of St Margaret's Church, W B Buchanan, took over as Scoutmaster followed by J A Muirhead and the Troop membership rose to 32.
Cubs were started the same year, 1926, by the Cub Leader, Miss H M Clark, of Hillegarth, Juniper Green and the Assistant Cubmistress was Miss D Clark of Heath Cottage, Juniper Green.
First Camp for the 31st at Bole o'Bere Farm at the foot of Dalmahoy Hill probably in 1926 with:
Behind - W Stevens ASM
Front (left to right) Tom Montgomery, Alec Scott, Alec McCaw, Edwin Lucas
The first trek in 1926 was the subject of a postcard when 10 Scouts and a leader left from St Margaret's Church for a camp at Cockburnhill (see the image above).
Scout camp at Stoneypath, West Linton 1928 or 1929 with the front row of Jack Bruen, John Traill, Jim Kedslie and Tom Montgomery, with Edwin Lucas behind.
St Boswells was chosen for the 1927 Scout camp. In April 1928, as quoted from the Troop log, "the great 1928 Scout Display took place. The village and all inhabited places for miles around were dragged to the place of entertainment. The hall was packed by hundreds upon hundreds of old and young". The concert, in the Parish Church hall, raised nearly £20 which constituted a substantial donation to the Manse Fund. The weekend following the concert six of the Scouts and Assistant Scoutmaster Bogie went to camp at Stoneypath, West Linton.
The following weekend the Troop was at camp again at Burnwynd, along with the Colinton and Currie Troops. This was the first time the three Troops had camped together.
The next significant event in the Troop's history was the 3rd World Jamboree at Arrowe Park, Birkenhead, Liverpool in 1929. Six 31st Scouts attended: Patrol Leaders Dea and Montgomery, Seconds Bruin and Traill, and Scouts Campbell and Brown.
The Group started Rover Scouts in 1929. The following year the Rover Scouts and Scouts went on "The German Trip" to Hamburg from Leith in July/August and according to the logbook had a fantastic time. There were 21 in the party.
The Group continued to grow in numbers and the Rover Scouts took over a joiner's building on the present site on Lanark Road West and worked hard altering and cleaning the premises.
The concert Party at a camp of the 31st in Strathaven In the early 1930s with: Back (left to right) - E Lucas, J Bruen, A Scott, J Potts, W Dea, R Fordyce Front - Jim Armstrong, J Traill, A Traill, ?, W Traill, Matthew Hutchison
In 1939 the Second World War saw many of the Rover Scouts volunteer for the forces and leave within the next few months. During the war years the Cubs and Scouts kept going but, with leaders leaving, numbers declined and at one time the Troop consisted of only five Scouts. By this time, the Group had moved from the Parish Church hall up to the Rover Den in Lanark Road West.
The Group eventually built up and early in 1950 there were 29 Scouts, 28 Cubs and five Rover Scouts. Members of the Troop began to gain many badges and in 1951 John Black became the Group's first King's Scout. The Cubs had their first camp at Boghall and the Scouts camped at Biggar.
The first Queen's Scout Award was presented to Donald Woodburn in 1956 and he was followed by Robert Fordyce and Ronnie Nicol.
In 1954 the pageant, "A Midlothian Story", was performed at Laurieston Castle in the presence of the Chief Scout, Lord Rowallan. The 31st Cubs opened the pageant and the Scouts took part in the Battle of Rullion Green, with others involved in a model camp.
In 1957 the 50th anniversary of Scouting was celebrated with a Searchlight Cavalcade at Edinburgh Castle and again the Group played a prominent part in the proceedings. The same year the Troop visited Holland and the neckerchief was changed from khaki with a black border to maroon for the trip. The addition of the Juniper Bush to the neckerchief was made the same year.
The next to become a Queen's Scout was Mike Barrie in 1959.
Those shown at this diamond scout reunion in 1984 are (left to right) Tom Montgomery (74), Jack Bruen (73), Edwin Lucas (73), Willie Dea (71) and James Mitchell (75) pictured with the newest Cub Scout, Douglas Mitchell (8)
The current hall, built on the site of the old joiner's premises, was opened in 1971 after a huge amount of work by a small group of parents. In 1984 a diamond jubilee reunion was held and some of the old troop met up again after many years' absence.
Trips abroad have continued to be a feature of the 31st programme including visits to Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and Arizona in the USA. Leaders and young people have also represented the 31st at World Jamborees in Australia, the Netherlands, South Korea, Chile and England in 2007 - the centenary of Scouting.
Among the Silver Acorns awarded to leaders for especially distinguished service to Scouting, two were presented to Vi Goodall and Muriel Mitchell.
The group currently has a Beaver Colony, a Cub pack and a Scout troop.
In November 2007 Alan Lucas sent a letter to the webmaster of this site written by his father Edwin Lucas on 24th October 1984 to Angus Mitchell near the time of the 60th anniversary of the 31st Edinburgh scout troop. Hamish Leal also forwarded a letter from Tom Montgomery who was to attend the jubilee reunion and from the image taken at the event in 1984 and shown above it is clear that Edwin and Tom met up again. It is possible and even likely that both Tom and Edwin appear in the 1926 image at the top of this article as they would be about 15 or 16 years old at the time but this has not been verified at the time of writing. However, the two letters from Edwin and Tom are available as PDF documents below.
Scouting continues to flourish in Juniper Green 83 years on from its start in 1924. On Saturday 24th November 2007, a group of Beavers, Cubs, Leaders and parents of the 31st Edinburgh scout troop joined together in Bloomiehall Park in Juniper Green to celebrate 300 years of Juniper Green and 100 years of Scouting, worldwide. Sixty-seven trees of varying maturity were planted within the new 31st Wood. The event was an excellent way for the young people of this area to feel involved in their community. The scout leaders are grateful to Craig Dunlop of the local council for donating the land and the support they received from the Woodland trust and Riccarton Garden Centre. Beavers and Cubs will maintain the wood for years to come. Every Beaver and Cub left having selected the tree they planted which they will visit in decades to come!