The worldwide Scouting Movement has long been associated with South Africa as founder Robert Baden-Powell spent most of his time in Southern Africa between 1884 and 1905 as a soldier. According to history, South Africa’s most prominent role in the origin of Scouting was the Siege of Mafeking in 1899–1900.
During the siege, Baden-Powell was inspired by the Mafeking Cadet Corps who he later referred to in his handbook Scouting for Boys.
Scouting was later born in 1907 on Brownsea Island in Britain when Baden-Powell led a camp which in the end sparked a global phenomenon that has today grown into the world’s biggest youth movement.
In South Africa, the earliest Scout Troops were formed in Cape Town and Johannesburg in 1908.
In Johannesburg, one of the oldest troops is the 1st Kengray BK group – tracing their history back to 1st Belgravia which was founded in 1908.
According to 1st Bryanston Scouts Group leader Gary Pienaar, because Bryanston was originally farmland and infrastructure development did not begin until the late 1940s, it was a natural progression to start a Scout Group in the area. “The 1st Bryanston Scout Group was formally registered on 26 March 1958, has been an active part of the local Bryanston community ever since,” he said.