This history has been long in the making, and its development is thanks to spare time enabled by the Covid lockdown, the editor’s wish to see it as part of the Royal High School digital history, and as its potential contributors are getting old! It is probable that several thousand individuals have been involved with the Group since its inception, so a history should be beneficial both in recording the evolution of the Group, and in providing content to stir the memories of those individuals. Several individuals have provided excellent input to this history, including many photographs (some of which are shown here), and other inputs, including personal accounts of their scout life which will be included.
The Group was established in 1931, and we learned that the RHS suffix was removed in July 1978, (the change to comprehensive education in 1973 having been a trigger to dilute the percentage of RHS pupils), so we agreed that those two dates would be limits of this history. The best record of the early decades are to be found in Schola Regia reports – as an example click here to see the 1930-1939 content. Commentaries will be provided for each decade – see the 1930 version and the 1940 version as examples.
Timeline – decade by decade – see the 1930’s and 1940’s as a tasters, or click the Timeline link to see all five decades.
The History is a Work In Progress, with several topics yet to be populated, and the following list provides links (where the text is dark red) to populated ones.
- Personal Histories and Anecdotes. Fascinating personal memories from some of the key members of the Group
- The Twelfth magazine/newsletter. Issued between 1964 and 1998, with a one-issue precursor from 1947.
- The Camps – from European trips, through our many fine excursions to nearby locations in the Lothians, and idyllic spots in Dumfriesshire and Perthshire
- Photographs, by year and by function through the years. Click here for a taster.
- Awards, from the first Cub badge through Queen’s Scout and Chief Scout Awards; inter-group competitions such as District Shields, swimming, athletic and football competitions
- The People – the Cubs and Scouts, the Cub, Scout, Sea Scout, Venture and Rover leaders, and many other supporters, e.g. parents and other scouting groups. One particular individual who came to light recently (via Alan Buchan), is David Cowan, who was a cub and scout between 1936 and 1945. Now (in 2022) aged 93, he has recounted his story to Alan Buchan and Alan Symon, and Alan Buchan’s account of David’s life can be read here.
- The Places – the meeting rooms in Edinburgh.
- The Activities, from badge-winning in the scout hall through the multitude of outdoor activities
- The Alternate meeting locations, including Bonaly and Lauder cottage. The cottage recently sold after conversion – see what it looks like now
- Acknowledgements
Photographs
This short introduction to the history would not be complete without a slideshow to demonstrate the people, activities and places which combined to make the ’12th Portobello (RHS)’ the extraordinary ‘Club’ which was so special to many of those involved. The slideshow is split into three roughly equal chronological sections.
Click any of the photos in the gallery below to enable a full screen slideshow
12th Portobello, 1931-1960
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12th Portobello, 1961-1969
Click any of the photos in the gallery below to enable a full screen slideshow
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12th Portobello, 1970-1978
Click any of the photos in the gallery below to enable a full screen slideshow
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Personal histories and Anecdotes
The editor asked several of the key members of the Group to provide an account of their experiences of 12th Portobello scouting, and as at November 2022 we have four very fine accounts – from Eric Sprigg, Rob Lawrie, Jim Dallas, and Douglas Henderson on behalf of the ‘Henderson’ clan. We hope these forerunners will encourage others. Each story will include a short summary extract, a link to a PDF, and a photo gallery
Eric Sprigg
Eric recounts how his scouting career nearly came to a sticky end, but was realigned fairly quickly as his Queen’s Scout Award testifies. His scouting (Scout, Cub and Venture) career lasted only from 1958 to 1970, but is well remembered for the variety of activities he organised.
The descriptions of his experiences include Camps, the Seagull patrol, Adventure training, The Cubs, Lauder cottage, Scout shows and the Caprice/Jolly. Click here for the PDF version.
Click any of the photos in the gallery below to enable a full screen slideshow
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Rob Lawrie
The Editor doesn’t really recall any time that Rob was not involved with the Group. Rob’s personal reminiscence records 1952 as his first camp, and he was still active in 1976, as can be seen from his photo gallery. His story includes Camp sites, the 1957 Jubilee Jamboree, taking over the Sea Scouts with Walter Thomson, Boat-building with the Sea Scouts and Sailing activities. Rob is remembered as the gymnastic scouter, always up for aerial runway building and other daring escapades..
His description of building Twelfth Knight goes into great detail about Mr McInven’s boat-building night classes at ‘Ramsay Tech’, and all the technical boatbuilding buzzwords. Click here for the PDF version of his reminiscences.
Click any of the photos in the gallery below to enable a full screen slideshow
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Jim Dallas
Jim took over the Sea Scouts from Rob Lawrie and Walter Thomson around 1969, and soldiered on until, in his own words “until the run from Balerno to Northfield Broadway and back and family commitments became too much”. Jim’s article mentions a Jamborette in Denmark, Twelfth Knight, manly, then the construction and launch of ‘Winnie the Pooh’. Also a variety of camps with excellent sailing facilities and weekends at Drummonds Hall. Click here for a PDF version of his reminiscences
Click any of the photos in the gallery below to enable a full screen slideshow
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The Hendersons
Stuart, Graham and Douglas are all included in Douglas’s splendid account of the family’s involvement in the Group from the late 1930’s through the 1978 curtain call. Stuart was a scout then a scout leader at least until 1949, Graham (a.k.a. ‘Willie’ or Prince William of Orange) a cub, scout and leader from around 1966 until 1978 at least, and Douglas, six years younger than Graham from 1970 onwards.
Click on any of the images shown below to enable a full-screen slideshow – at least one of the Hendersons is shown in each image.
Click any of the photos in the gallery below to enable a full screen slideshow
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The Twelfth Magazine and Newsletter
The magazine substantially dates from 1964, continuing until 1996, although a single edition exists for July 1947. This article concludes with the 1978 editions, after which the ‘RHS’ suffix was no longer associated with the Group.
The 1947 edition, described as the ‘first number’, and edited by J P Small, reported a group strength of no less than 185, comprised of 72 Cubs, 53 Scouts, 38 Sea Scouts, 7 Air Scouts, 6 Rovers and 9 Scouters.
If proactive parents are added, the Group number must have exceeded 250! The content was a somewhat rambling collection of anecdotes and essays, lightened by a song about the 12th Portobello, and also containing the names of many of those involved in the running of the Group. Click here for an extract from the 1947 edition.
The 1964-1978 magazine editions generally comprised the following sections:
- Editorial, initially by Gordon McConnachie, and later by a succession of others
- A message from the Group Scoutmaster, initially John Small, entitled ‘Small Talk’, later Peter Blythe
- The Scouts report
- The Sea Scouts report
- The Cubs report
- The Rover Scouts report
- The Venture Scouts report
- The Parent’s Committee report
- Any other seasonal stuff, e.g., Rallies, Sports, Sales of Work and Summer Fairs
Click here for a PDF of all pages of the 1964 first edition. The other editions are available for inspection on request.
High-level summaries of all editions are intended to give just a general flavour of the magazines. More detailed descriptions of Personnel, Camps and other topics of interest will be contained elsewhere in the website. Click here to see the PDF which summarises the 1964 to 1978 editions.
The slideshow which follows contains a variety of illustrations from the magazine, all of which demonstrate the wide variety of Scouting activities experienced by those in the Group.
Click any of the photos in the gallery below to enable a full screen slideshow
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Timeline – decade by decade
This section of the history analyses and presents five decades of the 12th Portobello (RHS), presenting the output in PDF format with embedded photographs. Those photos will be shown in individual galleries. The source of the material from the 1930’s to the 1950’s is largely from Schola Regia, while the 1960’s and 1970’s are partly from that source, but increasingly from the ‘Twelfth‘ magazine. The photographs are a blend of those provided by the individuals mentioned in the Acknowledgements section.
The 1930’s
This decade starts with the founding of the group in 1931, describing both cubs and Scouts, and naming Jessie P Brown (later the famous Jessie P Young) as the first Akela. The end of the decade sadly ended in wartime, with all activities suspended. Read the article here
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The 1940’s
Despite wartime restrictions (including meetings being held in blackout conditions), the troop managed to keep running. Summer camps were held from 1941 onwards, and by 1944, the Group strength was 120. In October 1949, the new Group HQ was opened in Tower Street…… Read the article here
Click any of the photos in the gallery below to enable a full screen slideshow
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The 1950’s
A significant early event this decade was the 21st Anniversary Ball in March 1952, a black tie event in the Assembly Rooms. The Rover crew restarted after a ten year absence, and the Group activities were well in evidence during the Queen’s visit in July 1958 ……….. Read the article here
Click any of the photos in the gallery below to enable a full screen slideshow
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The 1960’s
The 1960’s started in much the same way as the previous decades, with much emphasis on outdoor scouting, but finished on a sad note in 1968 as the school relocated to Barnton, announcing the start of the dislocation between school and Portobello Scouts. New activities included skiing and canoeing, and the use of Drummonds Hall cottage at Lauder for a wealth of activities. Sadly, Tower Street hall was relinquished…..Read the article here.
Note – navigation issues. If you are using a Microsoft PC, a recent glitch means that the only means of exiting the galleries is by pressing ‘ESC’ — Use the left and right arrow keys to move back and forward through the gallery
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The 1970’s
Modern activities, often water based were expanded, with Land and Sea scouts tending to merge for the Summer camps. J P (Johnnie) Small retired in 1973 after 40 years service, and in 1976 a lockup was purchased in Bath Street. The ‘RHS’ connection to the 12th Portobello was severed in July 1978, but the 12th Portobello continued until 2007….Read the article here
Click any of the photos in the gallery below to enable a full screen slideshow
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Awards
This topic seeks to cover Awards from the first Cub badge through Queen’s Scout and Chief Scout Awards; inter-group competitions such as District Shields, swimming, athletic and football competitions. It also includes retirement awards to departing Scouters. Click here for a PDF list. A short gallery has been assembled; click on any of the images to enable a full screen slideshow (the forward and back arrows present as dark squares).
1960 – Eric Sprigg, Walter Thomson and Gordon McConnachie – Queen’s Scouts with admiring parents 
1973 Chief Scouts award – Ivor Roy, Gavin Halcrow, Colin Watson 
1965 July – Miss Hamilton Retiral presentation 
1972 County Flag Winners – Colin Watson (PL), Malcolm “Monkey” McLean, Donald “Vicar” Johnstone, Alan Wardrop, Douglas Henderson and Scott Murray 
1973 Chief Scouts – Gavin Halcrow, Ivor Roy and Colin Watson 
1973 June 6th – J P Small 40th anniversary – J Radin, PHR Blythe, JPS, Evelyn Small 
1974 Cubs District Sports winners trophy 
1974 Douglas Henderson – Chief Scouts Award certificate 
1974 May – Douglas Henderson Chief Scout Award 
1978 Loch Lomond – G L McC affixing a scout badge
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Links
You might like to check out some of the following links…
- Scouts UK
- Scouts Scotland
- The 2nd Mortlake Group (founded 1919)
- The 46th Fife (founded 1909)
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Acknowledgements
This page (the first of the 12th Portobello history) has been created with input from Gordon McConnachie, Gordon Symon, Michael Halcrow, Eric Sprigg, Rob Lawrie, Alan Symon, Alan Buchan, Jim Dallas, Douglas Henderson and Alastair Allanach, and countless others, e.g. those who wrote the Schola Regia and ‘Twelfth’ Articles, those behind the cameras, and those in the photos. A recent addition is Alan Willoughby of Scouts Scotland who determined the date the ‘RHS’ suffix was lost
The Royal High School Club 