Figure 1.--These English Scouts in 1958 look to be involved in an orienteering problem. They wear the khaki uniform with short pants and kneesocks. Notice the tabs on the kneesocks turn-over tops--almost certainly they would have been red.

The English Cub uniform continued to be the green and gold peaked cap with an green jumper and grey shorts. The Scout uniform was the khaki short pants uniform with kneesocks and a beret. Available images suggest that most Scout units gave considerable attention to the uniform and correct wearing of the uniform. We note letters from the Briish Scout magazine, The Scouter during the 1950s discussing the Scout uniform.

Activities

We note a wide range of Scout activities in the 1950s. Most seem to be the same traditional Scout activities we have noted in earlier years. Hiking, camping, an outdoor activities coninue to be the focus of the program. The Scouts here are engaged in an orienterring exercise (figure 1). There were also many traditioin events such as the St. George's Day parade.

The Uniform

The English Cub uniform continued to be the green and gold peaked cap with an green jumper and grey shorts. The Scout uniform was the khaki short pants uniform with kneesocks and a beret. Available images suggest that most Scout units gave considerable attention to the uniform and correct wearing of the uniform. English Scouts in the 1950s wore a khaki uniform with matching shirt and short trousers aklong with khaki kneesocks. The beret was the standard headwear. The English Scout program in the 1950s continued the traditional outdoors camping and hiking activities with few changes. The boys here look to be involved in an orienteeering or map reading exercize (figure 1). This is probably a staged photograph as their uniforms are a bit too perfect for an outing --especially the brightly shined shoes. The turn-over top socks (kneesocks) were often worn with cplored tabs. (Cubs normally had green tabs and Scouts red tabs.) Other photographs of English Scouts show similar if not quite so perfect uniforms.

Scouter Article: Long Trouser for Seniors

We note letters from the Briish Scout magazine, The Scouter during the 1950s discussing the Scout uniform. As I promised last month, I am going to tackle this business of long trousers. Now please let emphasise that I am not starting a crusade new fashions or proposing a yarn about the good days when men were men! I propose to treat the matter as objectively as I can and put before you Seniors the problems as I see them.

First of all, may I emphasise what an awful lot muddled thinking is prevalent about this whole business. It is a regular hotchpotch of medical warning emotional diehardism, logical rationalisation, please normality and sartorial super sensitiveness. (I hope you know what that lot means--if not, consult a dictionary and improve your mind.)

My second point is to say that it is up to the advocates of change to remember these points. There seem to be two main reasons put forward: (a) "medical" and (b) "appearance" And they clash, gentlemen, they clash! Let me try to explain.

The "Medical" Argument

The medical argument is that it is sheer stupidity to walk about in shorts in the wintertime--the greater the acreage exposed, the greater is the loss of heat sustained by the body. The result of this would be to all Senior Scouting in winter (except presumably football, cross country running and cycling) would required long trousers. The next question is "what long trousers ? "- If you are going to look posh you need decent longs and you just cannot wear decent longs on a wide game, while building bridges, taking part in resource training, and while enjoying Venturer Badge incidents. So you would have to wear old ones— old flannel bags or jeans! and bang goes your smart appearance. It is difficult to see how you can avoid this. In the hills in the wintertime you can wear old longs and it doesn't matter what you look like. But it does matter what you look like when you are out on the public highway on a hike. Do you see the difficulty? The " medical " argument clashes with the "appearance " argument. And it will be already obvious to you that this clash is not surmounted by the possession of differing categories of long trousers. It would, however, be surmounted if you could find a sufficiently tough and versatile type of long trousers. Find the solution to this one and you will be really getting somewhere.

Before we leave this plea from the medically minded, I think it has to be admitted that their case is scientifically quite weighty. Some may argue that in the old days we wore shorts in the coldest of cold days and survived and is the youth of today less tough than he was thirty years ago ? Some may counter this reflection by remembering that most people are now accustomed to central heating in both home and school--neither of which was common thirty years ago. Personally, I have spent many happy days in the hills when the snow lay deep and I know how stupid it is to wear shorts on such occasions--tropical kit in arctic conditions. All the same I prefer shorts to longs when wandering about the hills. I like to feel the wind on my knees and I hate wet longs. Thus I wear shorts or a kilt whenever I can. But mountain conditions are not normal and it is with normal conditions that we are fundamentally concerned.

The "Appearance" argument

Now let. us examine the appearance argument. It is said that hundreds of fellows leave our Movement rather than wear shorts and this is countered by the faithful with the retort that if a fellow has not got the courage to be proud of our traditional uniform we can well do without him. You must consider whether this is a valid rejoinder.

Many of you ray you hate being conspicuous and shorts do just that. You don't want to leave Scouting so you continue to wear shorts out of loyalty, under protest, and as little as possible--using longs to cover them up to and from Troop Meetings. Many of you say that because we wear shorts we are laughed at and are considered odd. Furthermore, you maintain that such condemnation by the general public does the Movement real harm. This view is held by many and is worthy of very close attention. Any Movement which unnecessarily-without practical or moral cause-- flaunts normality and tends to cater for "odd" types should most certainly examine what it is doing and why.

What kind of long trousers ?

Many Seniors, I know would argue rather reluctantly and superciliously perhaps that there is some validity to the above argument, but they come back with a mighty difficult rejoinder--what kind of long trousers do these other chaps propose Some would say that grey flannel trousers would be far too expensive and would vary hopelessly in shade. Others would maintain that Army battledress trousers crease with difficulty and would be too hot. Corduroys would wear well but as they cannot take a crease, would look just awful. Some say that khaki drill is the answer, but others point, out that they would be extremely expensive. The question is most difficult and it is quite essential that you Senior Scouts who clamour for a change should realise these problems and seek to solve them. What do you propose?

Longs for Boy Scouts

There is another problem if you take the medical objection to shorts to its logical conclusion. Most of the older Boy Scouts wear longs during the day. If Seniors wear longs in winter these young men and their fond mothers would clamour for longs for Boy Scouts. Are you Seniors and the Movement as a whole prepared for this development? Longs all the year round?

The "appearance argument bears no relation to time of year because it can be argued that a fellow looks just as ridiculous in shorts in town during the summer as in winter. This therefore implies that the argument would entail longs for all times and for nearly all occasions. Is this your real wish in the hot summer weather we sometimes experience, or are you going to have an alternative uniform? If so, are you Seniors to be trusted to obey majority rule?

What is your solution?

So it looks as though we are getting "nowhere fast" as our Canadian friends say. Now this is a Pity and no way to progress. Of our Movement really thinks it should have a change surely it is not beyond its intellectual capacity to frame a comprehensive and sensible solution. Therefore I am going to close this article by asking you or your Troop--to frame in exact and precise and comprehensive terms how you would alter P.O.R. Your proposals must state exactly that sort of longs are to be uniform and exactly when they are to be worn. Show this carefully prepared memorandum to Your S.M. and seek discussion there on at District and County level. I am sure that your labour will not be in vain. I am the A.C.C.(S) for Hertfordshire and if any Senior Scouts in that county think they have a good solution I shall be most interested to hear it. But you must be both precise and comprehensive. Good luck!

Source: Melville Balsillie, The Scout, October 24th, 1958. It appeared in the magazines Senior Scout Supplement.