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3rd World Jamboree
Arrowe Park, Birkenhead, England, 1929

Baden-Powell Photo Gallery: 3rd World Jamboree, 1929

The 3rd World Jamboree was held at Arrowe Park, Birkenhead, England in 1929. It was known as the "Coming of Age" Jamboree as it celebrated 21 years since the foundation of the Scouting Movement.

COMING OF AGE, 1929
From R. H. Kiernan, Baden-Powell, 1939

The great movement which Baden-Powell had founded and nurtured came of age in 1929, when the occasion was celebrated by a World Jamboree held at Arrowe Park, near Birkenhead, where a campsite of 450 acres was provided free of charge by the Corporation. Birkenhead possessed the added advantages of good facilities for river-, road-, and rail-transport. For months before the Jamboree, committees were busy in Merseyside, and sections of the Boy Scouts’ Association were fully occupied in arranging the transport, shelter, feeding, and medical welfare of the Scouts, arranging the programmes, and advertising the Jamboree. From the International Bureau the call went out to the world.

By ship, rail, aeroplane, and road the Scouts moved towards Arrowe Park. Indians walked a hundred miles through mountain and jungle to reach rail-heads; Germans hiked from Grimsby ; poor English Scouts reached Birkenhead on foot from great distances; and some Americans arrived from Plymouth by a trek in a covered wagon.

The camp was a mile long by half a mile broad, and 56,000 Scouts of all nationalities camped together. Enormous interest was aroused merely by the nature of such a rally, and the public was treated to splendid Scout displays. It was a pageant of nations. 1,500 Americans marched with the Stars and Stripes, accompanied by contingents from the Dominions and Colonies, black, brown, and yellow, under the Union Jack; red fezzes, kafiyeh, turbans, and the varied head-dresses of the European countries mingled together. The different nations acted scenes from their history—Sioux war-dances, Irish battles of heroes, Caractacus and the Druids of Wales, and the Belgians’ play of St George and the Dragon. There was again the wonderful dancing of the Scots, a Wolf Cub display, and all the demonstrations of handicraft, bridge-building, first-aid, and physical training. Camp-fire sing-songs, concerts, and cinema shows were organized, as at Wembley, and the Prince of Wales again slept under canvas in the Scout camp. At Arrowe Park there was a Press camp, so that the British public and the world were kept informed daily of programmes and incidents at this colourful Jamboree. The camp newspaper, the Daily Arrow, sold 38,000 copies daily.

The Jamboree ended with a Farewell March Past to the Chief Scout, the Scouts of all nations, arm in arm in lines of twenty-five, marching with their flags, hats on staves, and cheering wildly. Then the Scouts formed a great wheel—the "Wheel of Friendship"—round Baden-Powell.

"Here is the hatchet of war, of enmity, of bad feeling, which I now bury in Arrowe," said Baden-Powell, and drove a hatchet into a barrel of arrows. Then he continued:

From all corners of the earth you have journeyed to this great gathering of world fellowship and brotherhood. To-day I send you out from Arrowe to all the World, bearing my symbol of peace and fellowship, each one of you my ambassador bearing my message of love and fellowship on the wings of sacrifice and service, to the ends of the earth. From now on, the Scout symbol of Peace is the Golden Arrow. Carry it fast and far, so that all men may know the brotherhood of man.

Then B.-P. sent four golden arrows to the four points of the compass, and they were passed from hand to hand through the nations of the world. His final message was then given:

I want you all to take back to your countries a good account of Great Britain and all the boys you have met here, and the people who have tried to be good to you. Of course, any ass can see the bad points in people or a country, but a good Scout will look out for the good points in other people. I want you to remember the good points in us and forget the bad ones. Tell your friends in your own countries all the good you can about us, so that we can all think better of one another. Go forth from here as ambassadors of goodwill and friendship. Each one of you Scouts, no matter how young or small, can spread a good word about this country and those you have met here. I can only say now "Good-bye to you. Farewell." . . . Try to carry on your Scout work in the meantime. Try to make yourselves better Scouts than ever. Try to help other boys, especially the poorer boys, to come and be happy, healthy, and helpful citizens like yourselves. And now, farewell, good-bye, and God bless you all.

From R. H. Kiernan, Baden-Powell, 1939. Reprinted: Argosy-Antiquarian Ltd., 1970

PICTURES FROM THE 3rd WORLD JAMBOREE
From the Baden-Powell Photo Gallery

	Baden-Powell and the Duke of Connaught open the Third World Jamboree at Arrowe Park
	Scouts March Past the Reviewing Stand at the Opening Ceremony
	Hungarian Scouts March Past the Reviewing Stand at the Opening Ceremony
	B-P addresses the Jamboree at Arrowe Park
	Baden-Powell with three South African Wolf Cubs and a group of South African Scouts at the Third World Jamboree in 1929.
	Baden-Powell on Horseback visits Scouts at the Third World Jamboree at Arrowe Park, 1929.
	The March Past, 3rd World Jamboree, Arrowe Park, 1929
	American Scouts March Past, 3rd World Jamboree, Arrowe Park, 1929

PICTURES FROM THE 3rd WORLD JAMBOREE
From the Frank Donahoe Collection

		H. R. H. The Duke of Connaught, President of the British Scout Association greeting the Connaught Scouts of the Canadian contingent at the Third World Jamboree, Arrowe Park, 1929
		H. R. H. The Duke of Connaught, President of the British Scout Association inspects the Connaught Scouts of the Canadian contingent at the Third World Jamboree, Arrowe Park, 1929
		H. R. H. The Duke of Connaught, President of the British Scout Association and the Chief Scout, Sir Robert Baden-Powell at the Third World Jamboree, Arrowe Park, 1929
		H. R. H. Edward, Prince of Wales and Baden-Powell at a Scout Rally
		Baden-Powell sounds the kudu horn at Gilwell Park
		An aerial view of the Opening Ceremony at the Third World Jamboree, Arrowe Park, 1929

OTHER LINKS TO THE 3RD WORLD JAMBOREE

		The World Jamboree of Boy Scouts, 1929 From the pages of The Times of London
		The Jamboree Book: American Scouts at the Third World Jamboree. Written by 15 American Scouts. Edited with a forward by James E. West, Chief Scout Executive.
		Canada’s Scouts at the World Jamboree 1929. The story of the Canadian Contingent’s experiences at Arrowe Park from the Report to the Governor-General and Chief Scout for Canada (Courtesy of Kevin Snair, Nova Scotia, Canada)
		King George V’s Message delivered by the Prince of Wales, August 2nd, 1929 "THE KING’S MESSAGE"
		The Duke of Connaught’s address, Wednesday, July 31st, 1929 "THE HOPE AND PROMISE OF A BETTER WORLD"
		The Prince of Wales’ address, Friday, August 2nd, 1929 "STICK TO YOUR SCOUTING: PLAY THE GAME"
		The Archbishop of Canterbury’s address at the Service of Thanksgiving, Sunday, August 4th, 1929, "A SOLDIER’S DREAM"
		The Chief Scout’s Closing Address, August 12, 1929 "BURYING THE HATCHET"
		Baden-Powell Photo Gallery 3rd World Jamboree, Arrowe Park, England, 1929 Words and Pictures
		Baden-Powell Photo Gallery: The Frank Donahoe Collection Photos from the 3rd World Jamboree
		Peter Lenahan has assembled a unique collection of words and pictures documenting the experience of the Bronx Valley Council Contingent, BSA at the World Jamboree at Arrowe Park, England, 1929.
		Kevin Snair’s Scouting with Staves and Stetsons is an important archive of old photos and stories from Canadian Scouting History. Kevin is a commercial photographer in Halifax, Nova Scotia He is also an avid Scouter with a keen interest in Scouting history. The material in the Frank Donohoe Collection is presented courtesy of Kevin Snair.

		Baden-Powell Photo Gallery Baden-Powell at the World Jamborees Links to the World Jamborees, 1920-1937
		The Baden-Powell Home Page

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Peter Lenahan has assembled a unique collection of words and pictures documenting the experience of the Bronx Valley Council Contingent, BSA at the World Jamboree at Arrowe Park, England, 1929.