Alan Pickles, one of the founders of modern Scouting in Luton, has died of a stroke at the age of 76. A Queen’s Scout, Alan spent his formative years in Towcester where he ran a Cub Scout Pack before moving to Luton in 1966 to join the Pathology Lab. at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital.

Within days of his arrival, Town Commissioner George Waller recruited Alan to run the 1000-strong Cub Scout section in Luton. The following year he was appointed District Commissioner of Chiltern District, now part of Lea Valley District, and helped to launch the 10-year plan for modern Scouting in Luton.

In 1968 Alan was asked to take on the role of County Secretary, a job he did on and off until he retired in 1997. He was also responsible for the management of the county camp site at Chalton and became County Archivist in 1991.

Apart from his Queen’s Scout Award, Alan received a Medal of Merit and the rarely awarded bar to his Silver Acorn for his outstanding contribution to Scouting.

Alan’s wife died two years ago and he leaves his daughter Anne Marie, his son Martin and four grandchildren. Lifetime friends and Scouting colleagues Frank Hamel, Rex Rothwell Jackson and Bob Lovesey paid tribute to Alan’s legacy for Bedfordshire. “He was an outstanding organiser, a hard working and patient supporter who was also very generous with his time,” they said. “He will be sadly missed”.

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