Boy Scouts and What They Do/Opening
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The opening ceremony at Bingley Hall
(Notice the "Daily Scout" reporter on the extreme left of the reporters’ table)
The Opening Ceremony.
Bingley Hall, Birmingham, was full of Scouts, and friends of Scouts, on Wednesday, July 2nd, when Her Royal Highness Princess Alexander of Teck, accompanied by His Serene Highness Prince Alexander, came to declare the Exhibition opened.
Punctually at 2.30, their Royal Highnesses mounted the platform, on which were many Scout officers, and other friends of the movement.
The Lord Mayor, in welcoming the Royal guests, said: "I want to draw your attention to the very hearty welcome we all give you."
Princess Alexander of Teck next declared the Exhibition open, and then, amid real Scout cheers and great applause, the Chief stood up to propose a vote of thanks to the Princess. ◇◇
What the Chief Scout Said.
Scouts, said Sir Robert, whatever their age and size, were always doing other people good turns, but they did not always have good turns done to them, especially when they began, and he thanked their Royal Highnesses for doing them a very big good turn by coming to the Exhibition.
Prince Alexander, he said, was the forerunner of the Boy Scouts; for, in the days of the Matabele War, the Prince wore out his leggings, and fought through the rest of the campaign with bare legs!
He said that the present was the first exhibition at which boys had received prizes for work done, not in school, but in time, and it showed England what the Boy Scouts could do if they tried.
In conclusion, the Chief Scout referred to the world-wide brotherhood of Scouts, "a brotherhood which knows no distinction of country, class, or creed."
The vote of thanks was seconded by colonel Wiggin, Commissioner for Warwick, who said he did not know whether Prince Alexander had tied a knot in his tie that morning, but, if so, he was certainly entitled to shake it out for having done such a good turn in coming to the Exhibition. ◇◇
Prince Alexander's Speech.
A hearty welcome was given to Prince Alexander, who referred to the pleasure it gave him to show his sympathy with the Scouts. That Exhibition, he thought, was a wonderful one, and it marked an important step in the development of the future usefulness of the Scout movement. It showed that it was of value in modern times by teaching boys handicrafts, doing what used to be done in the land when there was the apprenticeship system. No Scout ought to be numbered among the "Never Nevers."
Our Empire has been built up by individuals full of pluck and industry, using their talents on behalf of the nation, and he claimed that the Scout movement was training boys to be such individuals. It had been well said that a Briton was honest, clear in mind, self-reliant, courageous, considerate of the claims of all, and, above all, a lover of justice—and that was the ideal of the Boy Scouts.
Thanks Badges were then handed to their Royal Highnesses by the Chief Scout, and the party then proceeded to make a careful tour of inspection of all the Exhibition, guarded by a stalwart patrol of Scouts from the Scout Farm at Buckhurst. .jpg)