5:00pm Saturday 31st July 2010
By Debbie Waite
Oxfordshire’s Scout Museum has a bright new look.
A year after its creator, John Kirby, died, the museum, at Youlbury Scout Camp, Boars Hill, outside Oxford, looked set to close.
But a team of volunteers, including former assistant and now museum curator Peter Slatter, and 10th Oxford Beaver and Cub leader, Roy Peach, spent weeks sorting through the Aladdin’s cave of Scouting history.
Mr Peach, 23, said: “When John Kirby died the museum just kind of sat there, gathering dust and collecting spiders, while everyone thought about what to do with it.
“Last April there was an open day and I popped in and was disappointed to hear talk that it might be closing.
“Youlbury is the oldest scout camp in the world and although lots of new money is being pumped into it at the moment, with massive renovations planned, people seemed to be saying there wasn’t enough interest in the museum, which I thought was wrong. Myself and the others then started off with a bit of a tidy up and it turned into a real overhaul and spruce up.”
Run entirely on donations, the museum charts all areas of Scouting history since its inception in 1907, and is open to everyone, Mr Peach added: “There is so much fabulous stuff in the museum, but it was all over the place and some of it was pretty difficult to find, so we looked at how to make it more child friendly.
“And we’ve also now got a proper ‘trail’ around the room, so youngsters can follow the history of the Scouting movement.
“We still don’t know what will happen to the museum in the future – it would be terrible if all this fabulous history were to end up in a skip one day – but it seems now that we could be safe here for at least a few more years. In the meantime we hope to attract even more visitors with even more fun activities.”
Mr Peach added: “John is still very much here, especially in ‘John’s corner’ where his beloved mannequin stands, surrounded by camouflage netting and the many uniforms that the children can try on for themselves. And we have also re-named the building The John Kirby Museum of Scouting and Guiding.”
The museum is open on Saturdays from 9am to 1pm and at other times by appointment. Anyone interested in helping with the museum should call Peter Slatter on 01865 769003.
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