The man of peace

The horrors of war

Longing for peace after three years of war, in 1917 B-P wrote "The roots of Scouting have grown among young people of all civilised countries and are developing more each day. It might be thought that if in years to come, a considerable proportion of the future citizens of each nation forms part of this brotherhood, they will be joined by a bond of personal friendship and mutual understanding such as has never existed before, which will help to find a solution to terrible international conflicts."

The lessons of war

After the war, Baden-Powell assigned a new mission to Scouting: to strive for and maintain peace. From that moment the Founder visited other countries continuously, encouraging National Scout Organisations to educate for peace and understanding between peoples.

Jamboree of Peace / Moisson - France / 1947

World expansion

After the publication of Scouting for Boys in 1908, Scout Patrols sprang up in many countries and on all five continents. Encouraged about Scouting’s future, B-P created an "international department" in the the Scout Association’s National Office in London.

B-P's Last Message

Key Dates :

1910 : Guiding is founded.
1911 : There are 500,000 Scouts throughout the world.
1914 : First World War breaks out. Baden-Powell begins writing the Scout Leader’s Guide, which would not be published until 1919.
1922 : 1st World Scout Conference in Paris. The World Scout Bureau is created.
1945 : Second World War ends. There are 4 million Scouts throughout the world.
1998 : 25 million scouts throughout the world.