Historical
Background of Leadership Development:
Brownsea Double-Two, 1976
With major changes in the Scouting program in the early 1970’s, concern developed among many volunteer and professional leaders about the quality of the new program and a lack of emphasis on the traditional Scoutcraft skills. At the same time, Scouting experienced a decline in membership.
In direct response, the National Council developed a "back to basics" approach, and in 1976 rolled out "All Out for Scouting" a series of council-wide activities focusing on basics. After adult leader orientation and training, the program was to be launched with a special course for Senior Patrol Leaders. This was "Brownsea Double-Two."
After attendance at "Brownsea," Senior Patrol Leaders were to return to their troops fired up with the spirit of Scouting, with a wealth of program ideas, and a renewed focus on Scoutcraft. To take advantage of this enthusiasm, troops were to launch the new program year with "Operation Flying Start." The overall program of "All Out for Scouting," Brownsea Double-Two," and "Operation Flying Start" was quite successful in many councils across the country. This was particularly true in larger councils with the resources to support such a major initiative.
The program was supported with a new edition of the Boy Scout Handbook, revised to reemphasize basic skills and traditional Scout activities.
Many councils ran both Brownsea and Troop Leader Development. Some councils held only one or the other.
The materials developed for Brownsea Double-Two offer some interesting program ideas and include many traditions from Scouting’s earliest days. Some of them are still in use in Junior Leader Training Conferences and in troops across the country. You have to hear the Eengonyama Chant done by 50 or 60 Scouts around a campfire to really appreciate the magic B-P brought to Scouting. It is still with us after all these years.
 |
Introduction to Brownsea Double-Two |
Brownsea Double-Two takes its name from Baden-Powell’s first Boy Scout camp in 1907 with additional play on the numerals 2-2. It makes use of some of the traditions and a number of the activities of the original Brownsea camp.
Brownsea Double-Two is a camping experience, covering a week of strenuous program activities. It is completely program- and action-oriented The participants are senior patrol leaders, elected to serve as such for the following year by the members of their troops At Brownsea Double-Two they are trained for two purposes:
1. To give effective senior patrol leadership in their own troops, immediately afterward in troop camp, then for the rest of the year.
2. To give senior patrol leadership in the training troops of the fall’s Operation Flying Start for training all boy leaders of the council.
In Brownsea Double-Two it is taken for granted that the boys are all camp skilled Scouts. They are therefore thrown directly into performing the skills in vigorous games and patrol competitions. Every effort is made to make the training an enjoyable boy adventure under troy leadership, in order to inspire the boys to bring home and make use, in their own troops, of the exciting activities they have experienced, to the point of turning every troop and patrol event into "the best show in town " The agenda for each day is completely action oriented.
In Brownsea DOUBLE TWO it is also taken for granted that the boys have demonstrated certain leadership abilities, by the fact that they have followers who have elected them as their leaders. They are therefore given the challenge to perform by assuming leadership of the whole Brownsea troop They develop their own program in their own troop leaders’ council and execute their own activities in patrol challenges. They put on demonstrations of a "best-ever" troop meeting and "best-ever" troop campfire before their Scoutmasters, invited for the last night in camp. They wind up their training, the last day, by staging a major Scoutcraft event and throwing a "Brownsea feast" for their parents and their Scoutmasters.
Return to Brownsea Double-Two Contents
|
Agenda for Operation Brownsea Double-Two Training |
1st Day
Sunday
Arrival – Formation of patrols- Camp making Challenge –
Acceptance of Brownsea Double-Two principles
2nd Day
Monday
Campcraft skills: Games, practices, and competitions in
axmanship, Memory and deduction games and competitions
ropework, firebuilding, cooking
3rd Day
Tuesday
Nature expeditions by patrols – Patrol nature museums
Nature crafts – Nature -tames and competitions
4th Day
Wednesday
Hikecraft skills: Map and compass games – Orienteering
race Games and competitions in backpacking, shelter
building Depart on over-night picket expedition – Elect
boy leaders
5th Day
Thursday
Return from overnight picket expedition Games and
competitions in rope use and lashings – Pioneering
Ceremony turning troop leadership over to boy-elected boy
leaders Twilight event and campfire planned and run by
boy leaders
6th Day
Friday
Coup-stick patrol obstacle challenge run by boy leaders
Gameoree, boon meeting. campfire before invited
Scoutmasters
7th Day
Saturday
Scoutcraft demonstrations, patrol games and competitions,
run by boy leaders before invited parents and boys’
Scoutmasters. Brownsea banquet for guests and Scouts,
prepared by the patrol. Closing ceremony – Final
challenge – Departure.
Return to Brownsea Double-Two Contents
|
Brownsea Double-Two: Spirit—Method—Program—Activities |
The SPIRIT of Brownsea Double-Two and the success of the training is assured, from the very beginning, by the staff’s adherence to the "Principles of Brownsea Double-Two Training." This involves the following:
High Expectation: performance, precision, uniforming, etc.
Strong Motivation: desire to learn, desire to give leadership
True Education: learning by doing, "drawing out" instead of "’pouring in"
Total Involvement: leadership and fellowship
The METHOD used in training the senior patrol leaders at Brownsea Double-Two is right out of Baden-Powell’s experience during the original Brownsea camp: "Scout training," he said, "is done through games, practices, and competitions, such as interests them (the boys)." A subject is introduced, whereupon the patrol immediately swings into action in activities involving the skills required.
Because of the intensity of many of the activities, the Brownsea troop consists of eight-boy patrols. This number provides a full complement of Scouts for effective camp routine (see "Rotation of Patrol Duties); it makes possible the use of strong half-patrol teams in certain games (see "Gamefile" cards); it furnishes a sufficient number of buddy teams for specific activities (nature expedition, family banquet).
The PROGRAM of Brownsea follows the formula for a good troop program in the Scoutmaster’s Handbook which specifies for its criterion that:
"1. There is a program, written down, and understood by those who are responsible for it.
"2. The program is paced properly; that is, there are no dead spots with nothing to do.
"3. The program involves everyone. It is not a spectator sport, but a series of activities in which everyone takes part."
For the first days in camp it is assumed, as in the case of a real troop, that the program has been planned in advance, at home, by the troop leaders’ council and that leadership responsibilities have been assigned. During the early days at Brownsea, it then becomes the function of the troop leaders’ council each day to discuss the program for the day and the best way of carrying it out. On the Thursday, the Brownsea Scouts take over the leadership of the Brownsea troop and plan the activities themselves for the remaining days.
The ACTIVITIES of the Brownsea camp are listed in the daily outlines. The way of putting them over is discussed in "Notes" on the program for each day. The specific activities for each day are described on a series of Gamefile cards. The activities are based on requirements from the skill awards in hiking, camping, cooking, environment, physical fitness, citizenship, and on the requirements from the merit badges in camping, cooking, nature, pioneering.
Note: Much of the material in the Gamefile is now included in Woods Wisdom.
Return to Brownsea Double-Two Contents
|
Traditions of Brownsea Double-Two |
Name of Brownsea Double-Two
The reason for using the name of Brownsea Double-Two is, of course, to associate this experience with the world’s first Boy Scout camp conducted by Baden-Powell on the isle of Brownsea, in Poole Harbor, England, July 31 to August 8, 1907
The "Two" of the name suggests that this is the 2nd time such a novel training experience is held, in a 2nd part of the world. The "Double-Two" represents the number of boys at Brownsea as well as Baden-Powell’s birthday: February 22.
Patrol Names and Patrol Colors
The patrol names and patrol colors used at Brownsea Double-Two are the same that Baden-Powell used at the first Brownsea camp:
The "BIRDS": Ravens (red) The "BEASTS": Wolves (blue) Curlews (yellow) Bulls (green)
The use of these names permit a continuation of challenges of the original Brownsea camp where the "Birds" and the "Beasts" were often pitted together–in tug-o-war, for instance, and in many patrol games and competitions.
Why did Baden-Powell pick these particular birds and beasts? Because, for thousands of years, they have connoted special traits and abilities.
The Raven stands for WISDOM. A raven looks like a crow but is much larger. The reason it is considered wise goes back to the days when people of northern Europe believed in a god called Odin. He had two ravens. Every morning he sent them out in the world, and every night they returned to tell him everything that had happened.
The Curlew stands for LOYALTY. It is a bird of lake and seashore, with long legs and a long, curved bill. When a curlew is wounded by an animal or a hunter, other curlews fly screaming over it to protect it and to warn off other curlews.
The Bull stands for STRENGTH and DETERMINATION. When a bull has made up its mind to do certain things, it moves ahead to do them against all obstacles.
The Wolf stands for the SKILLS OF GOOD SCOUTING. The Indians used to call their best scouts by the name of "wolf" because a wolf can roam through the countryside seeing everything yet is seldom seen.
Patrol Identification
Patrol identification in Brownsea Double-Two is by multicolored patrol flags carried by the patrol leaders and "shoulder knots" worn by the individual Scouts, as in the original Brownsea camp. And then, of course, patrol songs and cheers.
Patrol Flags. For Brownsea One, Baden-Powell himself designed and painted patrol flags with a silhouette of the patrol animal in the patrol color on white cloth, with tapes for tying onto patrol leaders’ staves.
Recommended method for the patrol flags for Brownsea Double-Two is to cut out the patrol animal silhouette, from Baden-Powell’s design, of felt in the patrol colors. These silhouettes are then appliquéd onto pennants of white felt. The pennants are next provided with the letters B and A–representing the first and last letters of BROWNSEA. Then add tapes for tying.
Patrol Shoulder Knots. The shoulder knots for personal patrol identification consists of two strips of woven tape (such as interfacing tape), 1 inch wide, 16 inches long, doubled over a safety pin and sewn or stapled. This will produce four 8 inch long ribbons streaming from the safety pin which is then pinned to the left shoulder seam, above council patch and BROWNSEA strip.
Patrol Songs and Yells or Cheers. Each patrol develops its own yell or cheer and song. They will prove to be highly effective in building patrol spirit and teamwork.
Brownsea Troop Strip and Numeral
The Brownsea shoulder strip has a yellow border and lettering in gold thread, with the background color the same as the regular Scout uniform.
Brownsea Patrol Leader Badge
The badge to indicate the patrol leaders of Brownsea One Baden-Powell cut out of white felt. For his design he used the trefoil that marks the north point of the mariner’s compass.
The patrol leader of the day pins the white felt badge onto the front of his broad-brimmed hat.
Brownsea Commitment Symbol
The Brownsea Commitment Symbol is a replica of the eyetooth–or cornertooth–of a young wolf. Just as a young wolf grasps its prey and holds it fast with its eyeteeth, in the same way the Brownsea Scout catches the Scouting Spirit and does not let it go.
The Brownsea "wolf’s” eyetooth is made of white plastic and provided with a cord of black leather shoestring, round type. One end of the shoestring is tied into a loop that fits over a shirt button, with a square knot. The tooth-retaining knot on the other end of the shoestring is tied with a figure-eight knot. The length of the tooth is approximately 1 1/2 inch. The length of the shoestring is 6 inches.
The Brownsea Commitment Symbol is presented to every senior patrol leader and staff member at the Brownsea closing. It is not an award or a reward for good service already performed: it is a commitment symbol, a symbol of EXPECTANCY that the Scouts having taken the Brownsea Double-Two training will go on living up to the ideals of Brownsea Double-Two and will enthusiastically help train their fellow boy leaders at Operation Flying Start.
To wear the Brownsea Commitment Symbol, open the flap of the right uniform shirt pocket. Slip the loop of the symbol over the button and rebutton the flap.
The Scout Staff
The Scout staff, introduced by Baden-Powell in the early days of Scouting, is a special feature of the Brownsea Double-Two training experience–as well as of Operation Flying Start.
The Scout staff is used at Brownsea Double-Two in a great number of games and competitions and as an important feature of the ceremonial campfire of the last night in camp.
The Broad-Brimmed Hat
Baden-Powell, in part of his military career in Africa, was known as "Kantanyeka"–"He of the Broad-Brimmed Hat." His broad-brimmed hat was an American Stetson eminently suitable for protection against the sun of the African veldt
Wherever feasible, the broad-brimmed Scout hat is the official hat of the Brownsea Double-Two experience. It adds a special distinction to its wearer, particularly when it comes to standing out as a senior patrol leader of a training troop at Operation Flying Start.
Return to Brownsea Double-Two Contents
|
The Eengonyama Chant |
From the program notes for the ceremonial campfire closing the course:
Scoutmaster: "Now I would like you all to stand up, because we are now coming to a very special part of the ceremony.
Many, many years ago when Baden-Powell was on military service in South Africa, there were enemy tribes and there were friendly tribes and Baden-Powell had a way of making friends with most of the tribes. But there were certain tribes that couldn’t be managed and in order to save the country Baden-Powell called in some of his friends among the friendly tribes, and they Promised to come to his assistance.
And one day, on the day that they were scheduled to arrive, Baden-Powell heard from the great distance a peculiar sound. It sounded first like a dull roar, and then it sounded like the kind of church music he had heard coming out of organs at home. And as the sound came closer and closer, Baden-Powell saw a regiment of two thousand Zulus coming to his aid to help him stop the enemy tribes. They sung a special kind of chant, and that was what Baden-Powell had heard. Now we will sing that chant. It goes like this:
EEN-GON-YAMA
GON-YAMAIN-VOO-BOO!YA-BOHYA-BOHIN-VOO-BOO.
Baden-Powell asked what the words meant and he was told they meant:
"He is a Lion. Yes, he is more than a Lion: He is a Hippopotamus."
"Baden-Powell brought the song home with him and printed it in the very first Scout handbook, SCOUTING FOR BOYS. But before he did this, he tried it out on British boys during the world’s first Boy Scout camp at Brownsea.
He taught the boys to sing the Zulu chant and to join him in dance around the fire. But it was more than a dance because from time to time a boy would jump into the circle and while all the others were singing and stomping their staves, the boy in the center would stalk the big hippopotamus or the rhinoceros or the lion and finally kill the wild animal he was stalking. So we want a few of you fellows to jump into the circle and do the stalking.
Let’s make a large circle now and the Senior Patrol Leader will lead us."
Scouts’ Hunting Dance
(From Baden-Powell’s Scouting for Boys, adapted for use at Brownsea 2-2)
Scouts form up in a wide circle, each Scout holding his staff in the right hand and placing his left hand on the next man’s shoulder.
Leader intones the Eengonyama Chant. Scouts join him, and move forward slowly, stamping their feet and stomping their staves in unison.
Suddenly one Scout (or a couple of Scouts) Breaks out of the circle, jumps into the ring and carries out a hunting dance, representing how he tracked and fought a wild lion. He goes through the whole fight in dumb show, until he finally kills the lion with his spear. The Scouts meantime still singing the Eengonayama Chant, and dancing on their own ground. As soon as the Scout finished the fight, he gives off a "Tarzan yell" and rejoins the circle.
The Scouts continue the chant and the circle dance, and another Scout (or a couple) jump into the ring, and describes in dumb show how he stalked and killed a wild buffalo. While he does the creeping up and stalking the animal, the Scouts all crouch and sing their chant very softly, and as he gets more into the fight with the beast, they similarly spring up and dance and shout the chant loudly. When he has slain the beast, he gives the "Tarzan yell" while the Scouts go on banging their staves against the ground.
The circle then close together, turn to their left, grasping shoulders with the left hand, and move off, singing the Eengonyama Chant, or, if it is not desired to move away, they break up after the final "Tarzan Yell."
Return to Brownsea Double-Two Contents
 |
"Learning About Leadership" is adapted from Patrol and Troop Leadership, the handbook on leadership development written for Patrol Leaders and published by the Boy Scouts of America in 1972. It provides some excellent background and insight into the BSA’s approach to the subject of leadership. | |
 |
The Troop Leader Development Staff Guide (1974) presented a short history of leadership development and how elements of the White Stag program were incorporated into the leadership development efforts of the BSA in The Historical Background of Leadership Development | |
 |
Since the first experimental leadership development courses at Schiff and Philmont in the 1960’s, the National Junior Leader Instructor Camp has set the standards for Junior Leader Training courses in councils across the country. A unique experience in leadership and learning, NJLIC leads the way by providing the most up-to-date training for those junior leaders selected to lead their local council courses. |
Return
to the Pine Tree Web Home Page
Your feedback, comments and suggestions are
appreciated.
Please write to: Lewis P. Orans
Copyright © Lewis P. Orans, 1997
Last Modified: 6:38 PM on July 25, 1997