Sarah Panton with Bob Lovesey and Henlow Scouts

Almost 200 past and present members of the Henlow/Clifton Scout Group had a nostalgic trip down memory lane at their centenary celebration camp in late June. Formed in the summer of 1910, the group has had something of a chequered history over the last 100 years. Closed during the two World Wars, the Scouts re-formed in 1944 with Shefford and later combined with nearby Clifton.

In 1967 Lord Boyd of Merton donated 12 acres of meadow and woodland to Henlow District to form the Boyd Memorial Field Camp Site. In 1974, at a cost of £100, the present Group Headquarters was built on the site. At the camp, the group celebrated their anniversary with a refurbished site and a new headquarters building paid for by a £12,000 grant from Scout Headquarters and £28,000 of donations and fundraising. “It’s a dream come true,” said Group Scout Leader Sarah Panton.

Tom Vincent recalls his time at Henlow

Now 82, Tom Vincent was one of several ex-Group Scout Leaders who told stories about the fun, adventure and challenges they had over the years. A deep sea Scout from his time in the navy, Tom started as a Cub Scout in Henlow in 1936 and became Group leader in 1974.

Deputy Lord Lieutenant Bob Lovesey, who was acting Group Scout Leader at Henlow before being appointed County Commissioner in 1993, talked about the special place Henlow has in his memories. He said, “Youngsters learn valuable skills with this very successful group. They have a fantastic team and you see parents around the family camp today who would clearly like to be Cubs again.” He added, “Sarah tells me that she has enough on her waiting list to form another Cub Pack and a new Scout Troop taking her total to a small army of over 150 Scouts. That’s second only to Biggleswade in size.”

Bowry Grandchildren enjoy rafting

Bob Lovesey was specially invited to open the new headquarters named the Bowry Building in memory of two long serving and dedicated members Tony and Pauline Bowry. They came to Henlow from Southend in 1970 and provided the strong sense of direction the group has to this day. For many years they were Venture Scout Leaders and encouraged their four children to become Scouts. Daughter Caroline and her husband David carry on the tradition with their six children. All enjoy the outdoor activities they learned from their grandfather.

Tony was an all-round adventurer. In 1993 he was half way through a round Britain voyage in his yacht Antaeus when he took time off to go skiing in France. During a high speed descent he hit a ski lift support and died of a brain injury two weeks later. His wife Pauline passed away in 1999. Paying tribute to the outstanding contribution of Tony and Pauline, Bob Lovesey said, “I can think of no better tribute to the memory of these two than the new Bowry Building I have the pleasure of declaring open today.” Bob was also able to award Sarah Panton with the Scouts Wood Badge on the successful completion of her leadership training.

Tony & Pauline Bowry on their yacht

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