Our 60th year was celebrated in style with all sections strong in numbers and enthusiasm. A Group camp enabled families to be together and enjoy scouting under canvas. Our dinner/dance was held at the Osterley Hotel and a special commemorative badge was attached to the menu card. A super firework display followed the AGM where we were reminded,” That success was much due to our forebears for providing the HQ land and boats for us to use today”. The Group was presented with the fine knot board you see mounted on the main deck wall today by Mr. Mellon on behalf of the Mercury Venture Unit to commemorate our Diamond Jubilee.
Mr. D Franklin, a scout in the early days, took over as President following the death of Mr. Dunlop who had been an active supporter and benefactor of the Group for many years. A Hardship Fund was set up as a Memorial to Mr. Dunlop to help any member finding difficulty in funding scout activities.
With running costs increasing, the success of the car boot sales was welcome. Long term planning and careful budgeting was called for. Compensation for the loss of land and a new free slipway was anticipated when The River Crane was widened but the disruption was to be considerable and damaging to the site and to our fundraising.
In 1991 the 11th Hounslow closed and some of their members joined us. We are particularly fortunate that a number of their leaders are still with us and they have helped widen the scope of our activities with their experience. Three of their younger members went on to gain the Queen Scout Award in 1994 and are still giving service to us as leaders today. The Third is now the only Sea Scout Group in Heston and Isleworth District. We attended a publicity day at the Treaty Centre to advertise our Group in the Hounslow area and the Venture Unit gave us further publicity by constructing a successful assault course at the County Girl Guide Weekend at Syon Park.
The Charities Act came into force in 1993 demanding more positive planning and much tighter control of our finances. By 1994 our membership had peaked at 146.District Gang Shows were going strong with all sections taking part and the HQ being put to good use for rehearsals. The Beavers went to Chalfont Heights as “Knights of The Round Table”. Mercury VSU revamped their very individual newsletter “The Mercury Messenger” and also attempted the Three Peaks Climb in ten days. The following year they flexed their muscles on the locks of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Sadly we also recorded the loss of Assistant Scout Leader Clive Newing.
To meet higher standards the Galley was gutted and refitted. We also purchased marine radios and a CR for the transit for safety purposes. The Sea Rangers spent two weekends aboard “Pilot” a narrow boat owned by the Sea Ranger Association.
1993 saw us celebrate 50 years on the site, we were now the biggest group in the County and “Giving children in our care a taste for adventure”. The river works had left the field “Like a muddy battlefield” and much time and effort was given to restoration of the grounds and trying to rekindle interest in our boot sales. Because some of our land had been given up to widen the River Crane, we actually became the owner of a stretch of riverbed, a unique arrangement in the whole of the London Water Catchment area! Ideas were now mooted for further development of the HQ to improve facilities and modernise for a future with anticipated increased membership. The national lottery application was unsuccessful but detailed plans have been produced with the aim of securing funding and sponsors before proceeding further.
The Sea Scout Activity Day at Oxford was a great success with the GSL recording “More bums in boats than he had ever seen before”. All sections were now open to boys and girls and a Group camp with families was held “To help integration and understanding”. 36 members were trained in preparation for the County expedition to Kandersteg in Switzerland. In April 1995, GSL Brian Fall was awarded the Silver Acorn for his outstanding service to Scouting. Betty Porter also holds this high award. She has served in the cub section as a leader from the mid fifties to the eighties. Further responsibility for cubs was held with the district, and she still helps us today as well as being the district treasurer.
Our boathouse bursting with small craft was improved by the construction of a mezzanine floor. New safety rules regarding forward facing seat belts prompted a search for a replacement transit bus for activities away from base. The HQ was well used by all sections, also for fund raising, gang show preparations and training events like first aid and a drugs information evening. Scouting is not immune from this problem.
As our boys and girls get older the demands of study, college or university affect attendance and it is pleasing that the VSU and The Fellowship offer a base and friendship when they are home. It was sad therefore to see the closure of The Sea Rangers in 1997 when numbers dropped to an unworkable level. Gang Shows certainly encouraged members to forge links with other groups in the District making joint events more relaxed. Our contingent at the Kandersteg Expedition had obviously learned well from camping with The Third. They wisely looked hard at the sky and decided to pitch camp near to a railway bridge. Their time in Switzerland was very very wet and the bridge gave them a cooking area and refuge to cope with atrocious weather.
Alf Young died in 1997. He joined us from the Navy in 1948 and followed Roy Collier as Scout Master (Leader) for many years, finally taking on the job of District Commissioner. A memorial to him is in the HQ and it is hoped to name a safety boat after him. Roy Collier died early in 2000, both of these men and their families gave much to our Group.
The river works disruption on site had damaged our boot sale income and it is proving hard to regenerate interest to previous levels. The financial compensation however has been partly set aside for the improvements to our HQ, and the railings and slipway have enhanced the look of the grounds and made boating safer. A recent donation by the Sunley Trust boosted the Transport Fund.
Major administrative changes took place in January 1997 when Brian Fall stood down as GSL after 28 years in the post. His valuable experience and guidance over these years is evident in the successful and enthusiastic Group we see today, and in the plans to enhance and update the HQ. Mike Heath took the helm as only the 6th GSL in nearly 70 years. In his first AGM in 1998 he recorded “A general need for a tight organisation and a programme of activities to attract and hold members”. The 1999 expedition to the Czech Republic was just what was needed. The reports made by all sections on the varied and ambitious activities highlighted just how far we had come in 70 years. As we move into the New Millennium we are in good hands with trained and enthusiastic leaders, and the future looks ship shape for The Third.
1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The New Millennium
Key World Events of the 1990s
- Nelson Mandela freed
- Poll tax riots in London
- Gulf War
- Corn circles appear in fields
- Channel tunnel opened
- Princess Diana dies in car accident
