Memories of Stock - Jim Sargant
1st Stock Boy Scouts Group
I joined the 1st Stock Boy Scouts Group on June 3, 1946. How do I remember the date ? It was the day my brother John was born !
Our Scoutmaster was George Padwick (Skip), who was the gardener at Downham Grange, then the home of the Keddies family who owned the large department store in Southend. Skip was a lovely man, strict but very kind, and very good at getting through to and inspiring boys. Apart from my parents, he probably had more influence on my character and values than anyone.
The 1st Stock was a small Scout troop, at that time having no Cubs or Senior Scouts. There were no Stock Guides then either. We were part of the Billericay District Boy Scouts Association and met weekly in a room at the rear of the Congregational Church, although we were not linked to any specific denomination.
Being so small, we had no equipment and held no camps of our own. My first camp was with the 1st Runwell troop at Broadstone Warren, near Forest Row, Sussex. Three Stock lads went. the 1st Stock's first camp as a troop was at an Essex Jamboree at Danbury Park. By that time we had raised sufficient funds for some equipment but I think the tents were owned by individuals and we may have borrowed too.
Several of us had acquired our own hike tents and we were allowed to camp on the old 6-hole golf course at the bottom of of the extensive gardens at Downham Grange, which enabled Skip to keep an eye on us. Some of us spent most of our school summer holidays there, one or two returning to Stock each morning for 'paper round duties. The site was very high (for Essex) and I especially remember the view at night - thousands of stars twinkling in the sky and almost as many lights spread out below, from Rayleigh to Laindon and as far away as the Thames.
Our first full camp on our own was a week at Ely. We travelled by lorry as part of a scheduled empty run by Hallmark Hatcheries, of Wickford (another of Skip's contacts) to their premises in Norfolk. We were camped on a farm about a mile south of Ely, beside a railway line which was only used for freight during the fruit-picking season. It rained for most of the week and there was little to do, so we spent much of our time undercover in the magnificent Ely Cathedral - although I'm not sure that we really appreciated what a wonderfil building it is. One sunny day, we went swimming, but the Ely pool was not too pleasant, being situated between a glue factory and the gas works ! On another day, we went by Eastern Counties 'bus to Cambridge, the local office arranging an extra 'bus when they learned of our trip.
Scouting was increasing in Stock. A Cub pack was formed by Mrs Davies, who lived in Swan Lane, and a Guides Company started too. When the West Ham Central Mission acquired Greenwoods following the death of Mr R. A. Ellis, in charge was Fred Beagles, who was also a District Commissioner for Scouts in East London. He took considerable interest in local scouting and we were allowed to use the fields and woods forming part of the Greenwoods estate for wide games and camping.
I gained my Tenderfoot badge and was enrolled soon after joining and went on to pass the Second Class tests, but never managed to reach First Class status, although the troop did boast the only King's Scout ( this was before the accession of Queen Elizabeth II) in the Billericay District in John Watson.
took part in several Marathons. These were annual events, teams of three from troops all over Essex being given a list of three places to be visited, together with a log book to be completed. Travel was by bicycle and the event had to include one night's camping, all competing teams finishing at a named venue. The teams were marked on their choice of route, roadworthiness and condition of their bikes, individual smartness and, of course, the standard of the log book. We never came near to winning, but it was a very enjoyable event.
In several years of teenage scouting, one the most notable events was the first National Soapbox Derby to be held after the war, at Crystal Palace. John Watson and I designed and built our car, which consisted of a wooden chassis, into which was mounted a cut-down cycle frame, complete with pedal-driven chain transmission and rear forks. The rear pram-type wheels were mounted on a rotating axle fitted with a Sturmey-Archer three-speed hub gear. A car steering wheel actuated two front wheels in cut-down cycle forks. The driver sat in the open on a cycle saddle and the entire contraption was covered in barrage balloon fabric.
The Stock Comet, as it was named, was entered in the Scouts and Cubs events, with Bill Hewitt and David Elliott the respective drivers. We travelled to Crystal Palace, with parents and other supporters, in my father's coach, our car being strapped onto the roof. Unfortunately, the course was facing a considerable head wind and our car was over-geared to cope with it, so it was very hard for the drivers. However, Dave Elliott managed a creditable runner-up position in the Cubs section.
Probably in 1950, we held a joint summer camp with 1st Downham and Billericay Sea Scouts at Telham, the Sussex County Scout campsite between Battle and Hastings. Deciding on an evening out, some attended a water polo match at the White Rock baths in Hastings, while the rest watched a speedway match at A Group party on February 7 1953 included a going-up ceremony (Cubs to Scouts) and presentation of various badges and my warrant as Scoutmaster by Assistant County Commissioner Rev. Bill Hickson. A presentation was made to George Padwick from the Group Committe in thanks for the many years he had spent with the 1st Stock.the Hastings Pilot Field
At 15, I became a Senior Scout and eventually Assistant Scoutmaster, my warrant as ASM being dated March 8, 1951. The troop shared a summer camp with the 1st Downham in summer 1951, at Kingsdown, near Deal, Kent.
My notes from the time of Stock's Coronation celebrations read :1st Stock got a special prize for Boadicea & The Ancient Britons (trek cart and boys in sacks covered in blue 'woad'. Bless Mrs Curtis for providing an 'open door' afterwards. What a memory - five Scouts clad only in shorts, sitting round the bath chatting, their faces still painted blue.
George Padwick having resigned, the troop was re-started on May 5 1952 with Fred Reed as Group Scoutmaster. Ben Curtis and Dave Elliott represented the troop at the Essex Jamboree at Belchamps, Hawkwell. We had several troop camps at Greenwods. Christmas 1952 saw a troop good turn - a dozen food parcels collected by the boys were distributed to selected old, lonely folk in the village.
A Group party on February 7 1953 included a going-up ceremony (Cubs to Scouts) and presentation of various badges and my warrant as Scoutmaster by Assistant County Commissioner Rev. Bill Hickson. A presentation was made to George Padwick from the Group Committe in thanks for the many years he had spent with the 1st Stock.
Summer camp 1954 was again at Kingsdown (an official Kent Scout campsite), with 1st Downham. Dave Elliott, Ben Curtis, Laurie Simpson and Brian Wall were the Stock representatives. Arriving in pouring rain, they experienced the friendly spirit of the Scout Movement, a troop for Airdrie, Lanarkshire, let them sleep in their spare tents to avoid having to erect tents in the rain on the first night. Our neighbours were the 12th Epping Forest troop and Ben challenged them at cricket. We won by 12 runs. One day when there was slight drizzle, we took the boys to see The Malta Story at a local cinema. On another day, we walked along the cliffs to Dover, returning by 'bus.
Finding it increasingly difficult to fit everything in, having moved to Wickford and working in Southend, I reverted to Assistant Scoutmaster and started a Senior Scout section, meeting in a disused pig sty at the rear of Millthorp. Alan Bond became Scoutmaster and Phylis Hickson, Assistant District Commissioner for Cubs, looked after the Stock Cubs.
Towards the end of the 1950s, the ever-increasing problems of getting to Stock in time for evening meetings, coupled with the demands of other activities, forced me to resign my warrant and terminate my association with the Scouting movement, although it may be significant that for over 40 years I have lived just 100 yards from the Belchamps Scout campsite at Hawkwell
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