Figure 1.--This photograph is undayed, but we think that it ws taken in the 1960s, probably the late 60s. The boys seem to be wearing the green jumpers and grey shorts that became standard.

The flannel grey short pants worn for decades by British boys for both Cubs and school gradually went out of style in the 1960s. The often baggy flannel was replaced with Tereylene worsted fabric which was easier to wash and often looked much smarter as it held a crease without ironing. There appear to have been some variations among Cub packs in England. One Scouter in Bristol tells that there Cubs in 1964 wore green sweaters and neckerchief (blue and gold) with grey knee-length shorts and dark green knee-length socks with black garters. The green socks seems to have been unusual at the time and changed over the years to more traditional grey socks. In the 1960s scouting in Britain underwent a great transformation and the uniform changed along with this. Older boys were wearing shorts less and less and the scouts were getting fed up of being teased about their uniform. The British Scout Association in 1969 radically changed the English Scout uniform. A new uniform of a tan shirt and darker colored long trousers worn with a beret was chosen for the Scouts. The Cub uniform, however, was maintained unchanged. Changes were made in Cubbing as well. The Wolf Cubs changed their name to Cub Scouts in 1966, but retained most of their traditional uniform. Green jerseys became standard and cubs stayed in shorts - boys still largely wore shorts at primary school. For many years boys had worn shoes rather than boots; sandals (typically Clarks 'T-bar' leather sandals) became common now, especially in summer. The decission to allow Scouts to wear longs, but to insist on the Cubs wearing shorts mean that many Cubs would want to wear long pants. The Cubs would see the older boys in longs and then they didn't want to wear short pants because they thought it made them look like little boys. This of course was precisely what occurred--although English Cubs did mostly wore shorts in the 1970s and some still do. The America approach was to have a summer uniform with shorts so more American Cubs were to wear short pants after the 1960s than before. The cub training scheme progressed significantly - many of the overly juvenile elements of B-P's scheme were abandoned, and the arrow scheme replaced the old system of stars that were sewn on the cap to show stages completed successfully. Arrow badges were sewn on the front of the jersey and proficiency badges were sewn down the left sleeve, with group, district and county badges sewn on the right sleeve. Seniority within the pack (boys were known as 'sixers' or 'seconds' if they held responsibility), had been shown by broad yellow stripes (again a military link) sewn on the arms. These were replaced by much smaller badges which kept the traditional two stripes for sixer and one stripe for second.

Changing Styles

The flannel grey short pants worn for decades by British boys for school gradually went out of style in the 1960s. This reflected the changing styles of shorts being worn by British boys and no specific change on the part of the Scout Association. Many Cubs wore their school shorts for Cubs. An English Scouter tells us, " The cub pack that I ran in the 1950s and 60s wore blue jerseys and shorts with black socks which had green rings on the turnovers. We had a green scarf, ie neckerchief." We believe this uniform was common in the arly 60s."

Material

The often baggy flannel was replaced with Tereylene worsted fabric which was easier to wash and often looked much smarter as it held a crease without ironing.

Variation

There appear to have been some variations among Cub packs in England. One Scouter in Bristol tells that there Cubs in 1964 wore green sweaters and neckerchief (blue and gold) with grey knee-length shorts and dark green knee-length socks with black garters. The green socks seems to have been unusual at the time and changed over the years to more traditional grey socks.

New Scout Uniforms

In the 1960s scouting in Britain underwent a great transformation and the uniform changed along with this. Older boys were wearing shorts less and less and the Scouts were getting fed up of being teased about their uniform. The British Scout Association in 1969 radically changed the English Scout uniform. A new uniform of a tan shirt and darker colored long trousers worn with a beret was chosen for the Scouts. The Cub uniform also changed. A Scouter tells us, "In 1966 the Scout movement in the UK revised its image, and from that date all Cubs wore grey shorts and socks and if my memory is correct, also green jerseys."

Traditional Uniform Retained

While the Scout uniform was changed in 1966, the Cub uniform was less drastically changed. Green jerseys became standard and cubs stayed in shorts - boys still largely wore shorts at primary school. The blue shirts dusappeared and the boys wore grey shorts. This allowed them to wear the same shorts they wore for school. For many years boys had worn shoes rather than boots; sandals (typically Clarks 'T-bar' leather sandals) became common now, especially in summer. The decission to allow Scouts to wear longs, but to insist on the Cubs wearing shorts mean that many Cubs would want to wear long pants. The Cubs would see the older boys in longs and then they didn't want to wear short pants because they thought it made them look like little boys. This of course was precisely what occurred--although English Cubs did mostly wore shorts in the 1970s and some still do. The America approach was to have a summer uniform with shorts so more American Cubs were to wear short pants after the 1960s than before.

Changes in Cubbing

Changes were made in Cubbing even though the uniform was retained. The Wolf Cubs changed their name to Cub Scouts, dropping Wolf and adoopting the American name of Cub Scouting. I am not sure why this change was made. The Cub training scheme progressed significantly - many of the overly juvenile elements of B-P's scheme were abandoned, and the arrow scheme replaced the old system of stars that were sewn on the cap to show stages completed successfully. Arrow badges were sewn on the front of the jersey and proficiency badges were sewn down the left sleeve, with group, district and county badges sewn on the right sleeve. Seniority within the pack (boys were known as 'sixers' or 'seconds' if they held responsibility), had been shown by broad yellow stripes (again a military link) sewn on the arms. These were replaced by much smaller badges which kept the traditional two stripes for sixer and one stripe for second.

Glimpses

An English reader has provided us a glimse of English Cubbing in the 1960s. " I have attached picture of the boys in my Sub Scout pack in 1966 dressed in their uniforms. From your remarks, it could be that the colours have not travelled well, so I will explain. Anthony, the boy in the first picture, is wearing a the traditional green Cub peaked cap with gold piping, green jersey, blue corduroy shorts & black socks with green rings. Peter is wearing cap and jersey as per Anthony, but has grey shorts & socks, you will also note that I have referred to him as a Cub Scout, for in 1966 the cubs in the UK adopted the American nomenclature. These boys belonged to a Scout Group named 1st Bagshot which was one of the first Scout groups to be formed. Bagshot is a village 30 miles SW of London on the road to Exeter and was the first overnight stop for horse drawn coaches. Queen Victoria's youngest son, Arthur, Duke of Connaught, lived at Bagshot and was the then president of the Boy Scouts Association, so, until his death during World War II (1942), the 1st Bagshot Scout Group was known as Duke of Connaught's Own and had part of Bagshot Park dedicated to they're activities. Anthony is wearing the uniform chosen when Cubs were first introduced to the group and which they wore until the chnges in 1966. Before 1966 there was quite a variety of colours that cubs could adopt for they're uniforms. It was quite common for cubs attached to Sea Scout Groups to wear uniforms that were completely navy blue, and also, cubs attached to the few Air Scout groups that existed tended to be dressed in grey jerseys."