Girlguiding in the 1940s

1940

With the war having started, the country was beginning to appreciate the Girl Guides in all they were doing. With the 1940s in full swing, Guides began helping the country in many ways, from singing songs to keep spirits high, building emergency ovens, growing food, raising money, painting kerbs white to be able to be seen in the dark, collecting supplies and even helping children evacuate to the country. Later in the 40s Winston Churchill himself is said to have taken off his hat to salute the Guides as they paraded past.

Photo from the BBC

A new scheme for the rangers was set up called the 'Home Emergency Scheme', which allowed Rangers to train in skills for emergency's, such as first aid and air raid precautions. After they had trained the girls were presented with a badge.

In the same year WAGGGS formed a region in the Western Hemisphere.

Guide Gift Week was also set up throughout the British Empire, it was a fundraising appeal by the Girl Guides, this appeal helped those in the Armed Forces, by April of 1940 the girls had raised £20,000, this money was used for 2 air ambulances, a lifeboat, 2 mobile canteens for the YMCA to run, equipment for the rest huts for the British Army, equipment for the Trefoil Hut in Iceland for the Merchant Navy and 20 new motor ambulances for the Royal Navy.

1941

1941 saw the dead of Robert Baden-Powell. Robert and Olave had evacuated out of England and traveled to Kenya, which is where Robert passed away. Following his death Lady Baden Powell (Olave) returned to England to oversee what the Guides were doing with their war work. One final letter from the Baden-Powells was written the Christmas before his death reading;

"This is to offer you our hearty wishes for as Happy a Christmas as War will allow and a New Year bright with Promise. Out of evil good will come. we owe a statue to Hitler. He has done more than any man ever to consolidate out nation, at Home and Overseas and has given us friends in America and in ALL the countries he has ravaged. Such wide friendship will help to world Peace so soon as he and his war clouds are swept away.

My wife and I, as evacuees, have settled here in Kenya, in the Africa we love, and in the same continent with Peter and Betty and their respective contingents of grand-children, where we hope that Heather and her husband may join us after their War Service. As to you Scouts and Guides we are geographically more in the centre of things than before, nearer to N.Zealand, Australia, India and the East and not much further from Canada and West Indies than from England. So from close up, we can watch you all at your various War Services, what you have done you have done well. Stick it out! Play up to the Scouts’ slogan “SLEEVES UP! and with TAILS UP GO TO IT TO WIN THE WAR”

And after that to bring about Peace and goodwill, and happiness for all."

Within the same year the need for rangers in the Home Emergency service grew, which called for the age for Rangers to be lowered from 16 to 14, with the government encouraging young girls to join.

As well as this Guides were beginning to enquire about what they could do for their fellow guiding communities in other countries, and the Girl Guiding Association began to prepare an army of volunteers to be sent into Europe for when the war finished to help.

1942

A call for new uniform had once again been talked about and were brought into place for Rangers, this included being able to wear knitted jumpers to help with clothing rations, especially with the amount of new Rangers signing up for the program.

1943

Following the call for an army of volunteers to be sent into Europe for when the war finished, preparations began for training volunteers for the Guide International Service. These Guides were trained to help refugees, diagnose and treat diseases, set up temporary hospital and so much more, including helping them prep for life in a new country, one of which they had most likely never travelled to before. When the war finally did end in 1945, the Guide International Service was sent out to help, with the last troops coming home from the program in 1950.

1945

Agnes Baden Powell passed away in the U.K.

The same year saw the Air Rangers be founded. The units never took off in popularity and in the 1950s there was only 8 left in the country. The units were typically formed where airports around the country were allowing the girls to learn navigation, astrology, gliding and more.

1946

A new programme was introduced named the Queens Guide Programme, this offered new challenges to the Guides, and was later introduced into the interest badges, with girls having to gain a large number of interest badges in order to complete, a lot of work was needed to complete the programme.

Today the programme still runs but in 1993 the programme changed its name and was only available for rangers. It is now known as the Queens Guide Award and is the highest honour in Girlguiding.

1948

Empire Ranger Week was introduced and celebrated with events being held across the British Empire, now being known as the Commonwealth Countries. The event celebrated the links between the U.K. and the countries with historic associations to Britain.

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Countries who joined the Girl Guides and Girl Scouting movement in the 1940s;

1940s

Cambodia

Nicaragua

1941

Aruba

Madagascar

1942

Haiti

Togo

1943

Cameroon

1945

El Salvador

1946

South Korea

1947

Suriname

1949

Solomon Islands