Malta's connection to scouts' origins

The Times has once again given its support to the scout movement with its editorial and reportage of the commemoration ceremony of the centenary of this unique world-embracing youth movement to which Malta and Gozo owe a great debt. Next year the Scout Association of Malta will celebrate its own centenary. There will be more to say about scouting in Malta which is why I am writing this to make a few remarks about a few points, for future reference, that were not quite accurately recorded.

Lord Baden-Powell served in Malta as assistant military secretary to his uncle, General Sir Heny Smyth, who was governor (not lieutenant-governor) of Malta between 1889-93, during which time he noticed that the soldiers during their free time would go to the grog shops and get drunk and involved in fights with the Maltese so that he organised a number of activities to keep them busy and out of mischief. This had nothing to do, as The Times quotes the Chief Scout, with being "idle between wars or between one exercise and another".

When he wrote the book Aids To Scouting for the soldiers, which led indirectly to the formation of the first scout troops by the boys themselves, he incorporated a few of his experiences in Malta, as he did in the handbook Scouting For Boys, although he did not mention the connection with the island which he continued to visit, including for his honeymoon in 1912.

The first Maltese scout troop was formed at Valletta-Floriana and was fittingly made up of English, Maltese and Italian boys.