Leander Sea Scouts

Headquarters: 92 Lower Ham Road, Kingston upon Thames, KT2 5BB.
Tel: 020 8549 6286

These pages are being developed.
For the moment, as well as the basic information on this page, you can look at:

A Photo Gallery from the Great River Race, Spetember 8th, 2007
The on-line Water Rat newsletter, in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Normally, these open in your browser and you can print them. You may need to download the free Acrobat Reader - look on the left for the 'Get Adobe Reader' button).

Latest issue - March 2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997

Some (as yet) incompletely identified photographs from the Group archives
An Outline of Leander History (written for the 75th Anniversary in 1984)

The Group was originally founded in 1908, the year after Baden-Powell started Scouting. It registered as the 2nd Kingston Scout Troop in 1909, becoming Sea Scouts a few years later. Boathouses on the current site were first rented in 1921 and gradually three boathouses were purchased. Following a fire in two of the boathouses in 1981, the decision was taken to rebuild a brand-new two-storey Headquarters. The building was officially opened by the Chief Scout in 1987.

Leander is one of only a hundred ‘Royal Navy Recognised’ groups in the country and owns an enviable fleet of canoes, dinghies and gigs, allowing a full range of boating activities.

Sections of the Group

Beavers	The Beaver Colony is for boys and girls aged 6 to 8 years old. The Beaver motto is "Fun and Friends", which describes their aims. Swimming instruction forms a part of the programme, as they prepare to be able to swim 50m by the time they are 10½.
Cubs	The Cub Pack is for boys and girls aged 8 to 10½. They follow a more structured programme, working towards proficiency badges, and they have the opportunity to sample river and camping activities as they get older.
Scouts	The Scout Troop is for boys and girls aged 10½ to 14½. As well as the normal Scout training programme, including outdoor activities and camping, they become proficient in canoeing, rowing, sailing and all areas of seamanship.
Explorer Scouts	The Explorer Scout Unit is for young men and women aged 14½ to 18. They are self-motivating and governing, carrying out an adventurous programme under the guidance of their adult leaders. They also assist with other sections in the Group.

There is a waiting list for the Beaver, Cub and Scout Sections.

Meetings

Beavers	Monday 6.00 - 7.00
Cubs	Wednesday 6.30 - 8.00
Scouts	Tuesday 7.15 - 9.15 (9.30 in Summer) and Saturday/Sunday as arranged
Explorer Scouts	Thursday 7.30 - 9.30 (10.00 in Summer)

Subscriptions

All leaders in Scouting give their services entirely freely and without any form of payment. Subscriptions go towards the upkeep and insurance of the Headquarters, boats and equipment. Subscriptions are paid quarterly by standing order. We ask all parents to sign a Gift Aid declaration, so that the Group can reclaim tax paid on subscriptions.

Parent Help

In addition, parents are expected to give help by assisting at meetings on a rota basis, offering special skills, fund raising, etc. Some have gone on to become leaders.

Leander B.P. Guild

The Leander B.P. Guild was formed in 1957 when the old Leander Rover Crews were disbanded and then became an official part of the Scout Movement.

The Guild now consists of approximately 40 members with about 20-25 attending monthly meetings and functions arranged by a working committee elected annually.

Within the Leander (Kingston) Sea Scouts Group, Guild members also hold a number of the official and executive positions and although running their own lives, families and businesses, freely give of their time to keep the various activities of the group afloat by fund raising, maintenance of the buildings, boats and equipment and other miscellaneous and various assistance.

These pages are maintained by Nigel Duffin and any comments will be welcomed. N.B. change 'at' to '@' and 'dot' to '.' (spam avoidance!)

This page updated 29 March 2008