Aids to Scouting: For N.-C.Os. & Men

by Robert Baden-Powell

In 1899 while serving in the 2nd Boer War, Robert Baden-Powell penned his sixth military book, Aids To Scouting. It was a non-typical training manual filled with personal stories of intrigue and even games. Its goal was to encourage the development of light reconnaissance scouting skills within the British Army. The book was well received by various armies of its time, including the French Army. His successful defense of Mafeking (1899-1900) in South Africa made Baden-Powell a well-known national hero in Britain. But what completely surprised Baden-Powell was that his book was eagerly taken up by teachers and youth groups to help organize outdoor activities and sport. He eventually embraced the idea of adapting his work into a new youth-oriented book, Scouting for Boys (1908) which went on to sell approx. 150 million copies to date. It was that follow-on book that firmly launched the international Boy Scouts movement. Aids to Scouting contains sections on the characters of a scout, as well as practical advice on observation, stealth/camouflage, map reading, sketching, tracking, reporting and care of horses. It presents these topics is a simple conversational style that makes it easy to read, and is illustrated with personal anecdotes of military adventures by the author. It gives scholars clear insights into his mindset and beliefs that served him well in the siege of Mafeking and shows a clear lineage to the formation of the tenets of his formation of the Boy Scouts. Anyone interested in the history of Boy Scouting will definitely want to read this interesting and formative book. The interior of this new edition from Ropesend Creek Press is a perfect replica of the original. Page numbering, illustrations, layout, table of contents, index and any footnotes are exactly as they appeared when the original book was published. With this new edition, the book is ready for a new lease of life through a modern readership.

202 pages, Paperback

First published February 9, 2015

About the author

Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell , British general and first baron Baden-Powell, founded the Boy Scouts in 1908 and with his sister Agnes Baden-Powell founded the Girl Guides in 1910.

This also known lord and lieutenant in the Army wrote of the movement.

Charterhouse school educated Baden-Powell, who afterward from 1876 served in the Army in India and Africa until 1910. In 1899 during the second Boer War in South Africa, Baden-Powell successfully defended the besieged city of Mafeking. He wrote several also read military books for reconnaissance and training in his African years. Based on those earlier books, he wrote Scouting for Boys , which Pearson published in 1908 for youth readership. During writing, he tested his ideas on Brownsea island through a camping trip that began on 1 August 1907, now seen as the beginning.

Baden-Powell and notably Olave Saint Clair Soames, his wife, after their marriage actively gave the movement. Baden-Powell lived his last years in Nyeri, Kenya, where he died.

Reviews

[Bexan]

Obviously one of the most important books in the history of youth movements, but Lord Baden Powell definitely has read way too much Sherlock Holmes since he has the kind of "hmmm quite" where he'll notice a small detail and build a profile based around it which only works in extremely specific scenarios.

Also really funny because he specifies that at no point should troops ever engage in the activity of crossdressing when it comes to gathering intel because it's ungentlemanly, but we know that he cross dressed while in the British Military during plays he put on to entertain others. (Also starring with a man he was so close to his wife felt threatened by their relationship but hey!)

[George]

Interesting Read

Powell shares some interesting stories along the way. Not meant for boys, but there are things they might enjoy reading and games that can be adapted.

[Darik Horn]

Modern militaries still teach everything in this book to new soldiers, but Scouting has diverged from it.

Baden-Powell's wisecrack about crossdressing aged particularly well.