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Andy joined the Troop when it started back in
1979 and after 5 years as a Scout stayed on as a young leader,
eventually taking over as Scout Leader. After 40 years
Andy's last night with the Troop was 23rd July 2019. At
the end of that meeting Andy was presented with a cake and champagne
as a thank you from the current parents, leaders and Scouts.
Here's what Group Scout Leader John Mann said:
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"As Scouts, most
of you will be in this troop for four, maybe five years. Andy
Green has been a member of this Scout Troop since 1979, that's
40 years. Following his time as an Adderbury Scout, Andy became
the Scout Leader at an age not much older than many of you here.
Early on in the troop's history, a
mission statement was adopted to: “be the best scout troop in
Oxfordshire”. That aim was readily achieved and has been
maintained since then.
Inspecting a patrol at
Summer Camp 2001
Andy the Scout
Over the years Adderbury has entered
scouting contests for football, camping and cooking, but has
inevitably had to retire gracefully because we always won and
others had to be given a chance!
Summer Camps have been the highlight of
the year, camping at what became favourite spots such as Nantmor
in Snowdonia and Lake Llangorse. |
Andy with his fellow Patrol
Leaders in 1982
I'd just like to reflect on some of the
things Adderbury Scouts have done during those years.
There was international travel with holidays in to
Austria and Florida and the French Connection treasure hunts
which saw the scouts cross the channel in search of clues and
then travelling on to Lille to find the birthplace of General de
Gaulle. Survival camps
challenged the scouts to to survive several days in remote
countryside with only water, a chicken and a bag of flour.
The Yorkshire Mountain Biking camps saw the scouts
cycling one thousand six hundred feet up mountains – the Tan
Hill and the Apedale Head – and then rapidly descending the
other side. When one scout fell off his bike and broke his wrist
before the ride had even started, his only concern was that he
would still be able to do the ride.
At the Troop's 10th
birthday cake cutting |
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Inspection in 1991 |
With the PLs in 1993 |
PLs' Narrowboating in 2014 |
But even ordinary Tuesday nights in Adderbury
were memorable. Activities such as the Meal Machine, Hot T Hunt,
the Maze (with its monster) and the Patrol Meeting Challenges – all
have become part of the legend that is Adderbury Scouts.
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The Leaders become the
Spice Girls in 1997 |
One person made all of this happen – ANDY
GREEN.
By chance, a very appropriate quote by
Baden Powell, the founder of Scouting, appeared on my Facebook
feed this morning: “The most worth
while thing is to try to put happiness into the lives of
others”. Andy Green achieved
that with Adderbury Scouts.
In 1st Adderbury, Andy Green
created a scout troop that would have been recognised and
approved by the founder of scouting, Baden Powell, yet at the
same time was always up to date and relevant to its young
members. That is a legacy that we must continue." |
Andy with Group Scout Leader
John Mann and leaders Matt Mann and Ady Mann.
Writing
in Adderbury's Village Magazine earlier in the year Andy said:
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"The 1st
Adderbury Scout Troop reached it’s 40th birthday in January.
It was back on 23rd January 1979 that Mike Lidster called the
first 1st Adderbury Scouts to “fall in” and start their Scouting
adventure. Today we may use modern methods to achieve the
Scouting aim, but the core values and ideas we use today are the
same as those Mr Lidster introduced us to forty years ago.
Mr Lidster, a physics teacher at Warriner
School, stood down as Scout Leader in 1982 and swapped roles
with his assistant Ken Baker. Ken continued to develop the
Troop building on the training Mike had given him. I was one
of those first Adderbury Scouts (although sadly I missed the
very first meeting and my introduction to the Troop was at the
second meeting). Mike and Ken were both my Scout Leader; I
highly respected both of them and still value today their
guidance given back then. As adults they (and their assistants
and helpers) made a huge contribution to my development and that
of those other Scouts of the late 70s and 1980s.
When I finished my time as a Scout in 1983
I wanted to stay on and give back some of what I had learned to
the next age group. Guided by Ken, and with Mike’s core values
clear in my mind, I learned how to prepare an exciting and
engaging programme for the village’s young people so they would
leave us with hundreds of great memories and skills that would
enable them to take a self-reliant constructive place in
society. I officially became Scout leader in the late 80s. |
Presenting the Lidster
trophy in 2008
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Sadly Mike passed away in 1984 but I hope he
would be proud that the Troop he and Ken set up is still such a huge
success today. For me it is always wonderful to bump into
ex-Scouts who love to regale their tales and memories of their time
with 1st Adderbury.
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A
messy Christmas game in 1982, pancake training in 2012, and
Mountain Expedition in 2009
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Celebrating 30 years of
Adderbury Scouts in 2009
Andy's leaving cake |
As the Troop reaches its
milestone 40th birthday I also reach my 40th year of involvement
with 1st Adderbury, firstly as a Scout, then a young leader and
since the late 80s as the Scout Leader. I have absolutely
loved my time running the Troop; we have had some tremendous
successes and have been the envy of others. However I feel now
is the time that I need to start taking a step back and allow
someone else to guide the Troop into its next chapter. We used
to have a steady flow of young leaders in the Troop who, like
me, wanted to stay on and give something back. However in
recent years attitudes have changed and the young volunteers
have disappeared. So in 2019 I can’t handover to my assistant
as Mike did to Ken, and Ken did to me.
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So the quest begins
to recruit someone to take on the role of Scout Leader. I
have told our Executive Committee that I am willing to
complete as long or short a handover as any new person would
like. I am happy to stay on as an assistant to any new
leader, or step away completely if the new person would
prefer.
Scouting in 2019
probably has a bigger role to play in young people’s lives
than ever before. There is a danger that the computer game
mentality that pervades young people’s lives is severely
restricting their ability to communicate effectively. More
worrying is the 'no fear'
attitude that some of these games create which can put a
young person in serious danger in real life. Scouting has
the ability to re-introduce a bit of reality, a bit of life
that relies on effective communication and self-reliance and
the ability to demonstrate the old adage that hard work pays
off. For the village’s young people to get that benefit it
is therefore essential we find the next person to carry on
the 1st Adderbury legacy. It would be a huge shame to lose
the Troop at a time when, arguably, it is more needed for
the development of village young people than ever." |
Never wanting to be
beaten at karting
Helping host the 30th
anniversary reunion |
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Over seeing flagbreak at Summer
Camp 2015
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