Scouting in Greater London

Scouting in the region of Greater London is largely represented by The Scout Association of the United Kingdom and some Groups of traditional Scouting including the Baden-Powell Scouts' Association.

The Scout Association has defined Greater London as a Scout Region with a Regional Commissioner, Richard Williams.

The Greater London Scout Region web site is londonscouts.net

There is a single member of the national Student Scout and Guide Organisation (SSAGO) covering all the universities in Greater London.

History of Scouting in London

Boys from East London were amongst those invited to attend Lieutenant-General Robert Baden-Powell's experimental camp at Brownsea Island in August 1907, now regarded as the founding of the Scout Movement. Records exist of Scout Troops being started in London in late 1907, before the publication of the first installment of Baden-Powell's book, Scouting for Boys in the following January.

In March 1909, a Conference of London Scout Officials was held and at about the same time, Sir Francis Vane was appointed the first Commissioner for London of Baden-Powell Boy Scouts by Baden-Powell. Vane and Baden-Powell soon fell out over the former's antimilitarism, and he was dismissed in a dispute about renting an office for London Scouts. Vane later became the second President of the British Boy Scouts which had begun in Battersea, London. A further meeting of London Scouters in November 1909 agreed to the establishment of six Scout districts covering the County of London. Such was the size of these districts that Baden-Powell granted the commissioners in charge of them the rank of County Commissioner.