The Group History pages chart what is known of the 150th since it began in 1925. Please enjoy reading these pages. If you are an former member and have extra information on the history of our Group, we would love to hear from you. Please use our contact form here.
The First 25 Years (1925 - 1950)
150th (Wadsley Church) Scout Group started in March 1925. One local family, the Bulls, played a big part in running the group during the early years.
Although records covering the first 25 years have mostly been lost, it is known that the 150th had a Scout Troop, Cub Pack and members of could also enjoy being part of the 150th Bugle Band!
Roy Hattersley
Much of what is known about our cubs and scouts in the 1940s comes from an autobiography written by one of our former members – Lord Hattersley, who was simply called Roy back then (A Yorkshire Boyhood, Abacus Books). Roy lived at 101 Airedale Rd from the age of 6 onwards.
As part of our centenary celebrations, we made a page about Roy Hattersley. It reminds our members to be ambitious for what they can achieve.
In 1942, aged 9, Roy joined 150th. This cub, destined for leadership on a national stage, never became a sixer in cubs. Roy's inability to do a forward roll stopped him from earning his star badge needed to move up the cub ranks. However, his gymnastic prowess is no help or hindrance to becoming deputy leader of the Labour Party.
The vicar of Wadsley Church, Canon George Weaver had been the vicar since 1917. His daughter was Akela of the Cubs, but young Miss Weaver answered the call for war volunteers & joined the women’s branch of the Royal Navy. This left cubs to be run by Peggy Stringfield. Peggy had been the Assistant Cub Leader (using the Jungle Book name Bagheera).
During the 1940s, favourite cub activities were games on Wadsley Common, Bonfire night and day outings to the pantomime. Back then, Cubs never ever went on camp then – it was decided that they were just too young.
Living just behind Wadsley Church, Roy and his friends spent some of the long months of World War 2 playing soldiers in the churchyard. One things that amused the young boys was finding old jam jars that had held flowers on the graves. The boys realised that the slime green water gave the jars just the perfect weight for lobbing it, like a hand grenade, at some gravestone or other. They were delighted when a jar exploded against a marble monument or granite gravestone.
By telling a little fib about his age, Roy moved up to scouts early and found he no longer needed to do forward rolls to make progress. Instead he was delighted to find that scouts involved much more worthwhile activities like learning morse code, building rope bridges across the ravines of Wadsley Common and recognising the difference between stoats and weasels.
At this time, scouts also helped youngsters to undertake ‘national service’. This was war work in the local hospital – Wadsley Asylum. The asylum has been emptied of all its patients and had become a military hospital for those injured in combat. Roy was allocated to a psychiatric ward where he posted patient’s letters, bought toothpaste, read newspapers aloud and listened to old soldiers stories. This continued until one day a doctor decided that “A ward crammed with mentally unstable soldiers was no place for a boy of 11 to spend his spare time.”
Roy enjoyed the knives that he was allowed to own as a scout. He covered the cases of two of them in fur from rabbits the family had eaten for dinner – these were soldier’s knives given to him by patients at the hospital. He remembers using them for their “proper purpose” – carving his initials on local silver birch trees.
The 1943 Scout Camp took place in Derbyshire. Scouts set off on tram from Middlewood tram stop. In these war years, it was led by a 16 year old named Geoffrey Kirkby. Despite a buoyant start to sleeping under canvas, digging their own toilets and running round newly mown fields capturing flags - the weather for the scouts turned wet – very wet.
Roy moved onto Senior Scouts around the age of 15. One of his older scouting friends was on a break from college in Loughborough. To celebrate, the group organised a campfire on Wadsley Common. This led to the suspension of scouting for a month: when arriving late to the campfire, the new Wadsley Church vicar and 150th Group Leader, Reverend Hughes, heard a campfire song written about him closing the church youth club. Reverand Hughes had suspended the Church Youth Club but only because after two of the participants (one who was Roy) had set the hall on fire!
The young man who exploded glass jars on gravestones, carved his initials in churchyard trees and set the WW1 youth club hut alight went on to hold senior positions in government, including in the Foreign Office, Ministry of Defence and Work and Pensions. He also became Shadow Chancellor, Shadow Home Secretary and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. Who’d have thought it!
In 1997, Roy became Lord Hattersley and served in the House of Lords for the next 20 years until he retired from the role at 84 years old. As well as being known as Baron Hattersley of Sparkbrook (his full Lordship title), Roy also achieved the honour of being a Patrol Leader in 150th (Wadsley Church) Scouts.
Peter Glossop
Peter was raised in Wadsley and sang along with other cubs and scouts at 150th campfires. Peter's mum, who worked as a secretary at the Lyceum Theatre, would smuggle him into see shows. By the age of 13 he was hooked on opera.
After the war and national service he joined Sheffield Operatic Society. This led to many great things. Peter went on to sing songs by Verdi in Italy. This was seen as remarkable - so remarkable that it was compared to an Italian playing cricket for England. He became so successful that, in Italy, he was described as the second most popular Englishman after James Bond.
Peter was unusual because he excelled at singing both translated versions of opera songs, but also singing them in their original language. His success took him around the world - the stages of Italy but also the bright lights of New York.
So successful was Peter from Wadsley that, on his death in 2008, the Daily Telegraph, Guardian and Opera News wrote obituaries of him. As well as international success singing music by Mozart, Verdi and Britten; Peter also achieved the honour of being a Patrol Leader in 150th (Wadsley Church) Scouts.
Harold Woolhouse
Harold Woolhouse (born 1932) grew up in a house in Wadsley full of ferrets, whippets & racing pigeons. His interest in plants started from walks on Wadsley Common. A young Harold Woolhouse would find lizards on the common and take them home in his pocket. From his early days 'lizard rustling', Harold became a leading botanist at Universities in California (USA), Adelaide (Australia) and Leeds (UK).
As well as being a world expert on plant genes and having a Wikipedia entry, Harold was high achiever: he had also been a Patrol Leader at 150th (Wadsley Church) Scouts.
After World War II
After the end of World War Two, a soldier returning from combat was ill for some time. He was in hospital near Wadsley and, on his walks to build himself back up, came upon the scouts playing in the churchyard. He got talking to them and so began on of the most successful periods that the group has known.
The soldier’s name was 'Paddy' Bryan and he soon became an Assistant Scout Leader. He was noted for his technical ability and his training was excellent. This helped the Scout Troop to win many competitions and gain lots of badges.
The building that we now think of as the church hall was a junior school in the 1940s. A large bomb shelter stood in the yard as a reminder of the war. Where this stood can still be seen in the church yard and, whilst it was never hit during the war, the group bonfire takes place upon its foundations every November. Around the back of the Church Hall stood the outdoor toilets which were cold. This was normal in a time when most houses had outdoor toilets.
Click here for the second 25 years (1950 - 1975).
150th (Wadsley Church) Scout Group started in March 1925. One local family, the Bulls, played a big part in running the group during the early years.
Although records covering the first 25 years have mostly been lost, it is known that the 150th had a Scout Troop, Cub Pack and members of could also enjoy being part of the 150th Bugle Band!
Roy Hattersley
Much of what is known about our cubs and scouts in the 1940s comes from an autobiography written by one of our former members – Lord Hattersley, who was simply called Roy back then (A Yorkshire Boyhood, Abacus Books). Roy lived at 101 Airedale Rd from the age of 6 onwards.
As part of our centenary celebrations, we made a page about Roy Hattersley. It reminds our members to be ambitious for what they can achieve.
In 1942, aged 9, Roy joined 150th. This cub, destined for leadership on a national stage, never became a sixer in cubs. Roy's inability to do a forward roll stopped him from earning his star badge needed to move up the cub ranks. However, his gymnastic prowess is no help or hindrance to becoming deputy leader of the Labour Party.
The vicar of Wadsley Church, Canon George Weaver had been the vicar since 1917. His daughter was Akela of the Cubs, but young Miss Weaver answered the call for war volunteers & joined the women’s branch of the Royal Navy. This left cubs to be run by Peggy Stringfield. Peggy had been the Assistant Cub Leader (using the Jungle Book name Bagheera).
During the 1940s, favourite cub activities were games on Wadsley Common, Bonfire night and day outings to the pantomime. Back then, Cubs never ever went on camp then – it was decided that they were just too young.
Living just behind Wadsley Church, Roy and his friends spent some of the long months of World War 2 playing soldiers in the churchyard. One things that amused the young boys was finding old jam jars that had held flowers on the graves. The boys realised that the slime green water gave the jars just the perfect weight for lobbing it, like a hand grenade, at some gravestone or other. They were delighted when a jar exploded against a marble monument or granite gravestone.
By telling a little fib about his age, Roy moved up to scouts early and found he no longer needed to do forward rolls to make progress. Instead he was delighted to find that scouts involved much more worthwhile activities like learning morse code, building rope bridges across the ravines of Wadsley Common and recognising the difference between stoats and weasels.
At this time, scouts also helped youngsters to undertake ‘national service’. This was war work in the local hospital – Wadsley Asylum. The asylum has been emptied of all its patients and had become a military hospital for those injured in combat. Roy was allocated to a psychiatric ward where he posted patient’s letters, bought toothpaste, read newspapers aloud and listened to old soldiers stories. This continued until one day a doctor decided that “A ward crammed with mentally unstable soldiers was no place for a boy of 11 to spend his spare time.”
Roy enjoyed the knives that he was allowed to own as a scout. He covered the cases of two of them in fur from rabbits the family had eaten for dinner – these were soldier’s knives given to him by patients at the hospital. He remembers using them for their “proper purpose” – carving his initials on local silver birch trees.
The 1943 Scout Camp took place in Derbyshire. Scouts set off on tram from Middlewood tram stop. In these war years, it was led by a 16 year old named Geoffrey Kirkby. Despite a buoyant start to sleeping under canvas, digging their own toilets and running round newly mown fields capturing flags - the weather for the scouts turned wet – very wet.
Roy moved onto Senior Scouts around the age of 15. One of his older scouting friends was on a break from college in Loughborough. To celebrate, the group organised a campfire on Wadsley Common. This led to the suspension of scouting for a month: when arriving late to the campfire, the new Wadsley Church vicar and 150th Group Leader, Reverend Hughes, heard a campfire song written about him closing the church youth club. Reverand Hughes had suspended the Church Youth Club but only because after two of the participants (one who was Roy) had set the hall on fire!
The young man who exploded glass jars on gravestones, carved his initials in churchyard trees and set the WW1 youth club hut alight went on to hold senior positions in government, including in the Foreign Office, Ministry of Defence and Work and Pensions. He also became Shadow Chancellor, Shadow Home Secretary and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. Who’d have thought it!
In 1997, Roy became Lord Hattersley and served in the House of Lords for the next 20 years until he retired from the role at 84 years old. As well as being known as Baron Hattersley of Sparkbrook (his full Lordship title), Roy also achieved the honour of being a Patrol Leader in 150th (Wadsley Church) Scouts.
Peter Glossop
Peter was raised in Wadsley and sang along with other cubs and scouts at 150th campfires. Peter's mum, who worked as a secretary at the Lyceum Theatre, would smuggle him into see shows. By the age of 13 he was hooked on opera.
After the war and national service he joined Sheffield Operatic Society. This led to many great things. Peter went on to sing songs by Verdi in Italy. This was seen as remarkable - so remarkable that it was compared to an Italian playing cricket for England. He became so successful that, in Italy, he was described as the second most popular Englishman after James Bond.
Peter was unusual because he excelled at singing both translated versions of opera songs, but also singing them in their original language. His success took him around the world - the stages of Italy but also the bright lights of New York.
So successful was Peter from Wadsley that, on his death in 2008, the Daily Telegraph, Guardian and Opera News wrote obituaries of him. As well as international success singing music by Mozart, Verdi and Britten; Peter also achieved the honour of being a Patrol Leader in 150th (Wadsley Church) Scouts.
Harold Woolhouse
Harold Woolhouse (born 1932) grew up in a house in Wadsley full of ferrets, whippets & racing pigeons. His interest in plants started from walks on Wadsley Common. A young Harold Woolhouse would find lizards on the common and take them home in his pocket. From his early days 'lizard rustling', Harold became a leading botanist at Universities in California (USA), Adelaide (Australia) and Leeds (UK).
As well as being a world expert on plant genes and having a Wikipedia entry, Harold was high achiever: he had also been a Patrol Leader at 150th (Wadsley Church) Scouts.
After World War II
After the end of World War Two, a soldier returning from combat was ill for some time. He was in hospital near Wadsley and, on his walks to build himself back up, came upon the scouts playing in the churchyard. He got talking to them and so began on of the most successful periods that the group has known.
The soldier’s name was 'Paddy' Bryan and he soon became an Assistant Scout Leader. He was noted for his technical ability and his training was excellent. This helped the Scout Troop to win many competitions and gain lots of badges.
The building that we now think of as the church hall was a junior school in the 1940s. A large bomb shelter stood in the yard as a reminder of the war. Where this stood can still be seen in the church yard and, whilst it was never hit during the war, the group bonfire takes place upon its foundations every November. Around the back of the Church Hall stood the outdoor toilets which were cold. This was normal in a time when most houses had outdoor toilets.
Click here for the second 25 years (1950 - 1975).
1 - 2: currently unknown.
3: Peggy Stringfield, acting cub leader during WW2 who stayed on as cub leader until the 1960s.
4: Mrs Robson, who lived on Langsett Avenue.
3: Peggy Stringfield, acting cub leader during WW2 who stayed on as cub leader until the 1960s.
4: Mrs Robson, who lived on Langsett Avenue.
