 with John Thurman)
Richard Francis “John” Thurman (4 April 1911 – April 1985) was Camp Chief of Gilwell Park from 1943 to 1969.
In 1943, he introduced the Gilwell woggle awarded on the completion of basic training, and the Gilwell scarf and the Wood Badge beads were awarded on the completion of Advanced Training.
Thurman wrote a number of instructional booklets, many on Scout pioneering. The folks at The Dump have scanned many of Thurman’s works and created free PDF versions of them.
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Pioneering Principles | pionprinciples.pdf |
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Some Training Ideas for Scouts | sometraining.pdf |
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The Scout’s Book Of Gilwell | scoutsgilwell.pdf |
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Progressive Pioneering | progpioneering.pdf |
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Pioneering Projects | pionprojects.pdf |
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Fun With Ropes And Spars | funwithropes.pdf |
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Camp Fire Leader’s Book | C-F-Leader.pdf |
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Patrol Leaders Handbook | patrolleader.pdf |
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The Court of Honour | courtofhonour.pdf |
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The Scout and his Axe | scoutaxe.pdf |
About the Author
Thanks Clarke for posting these resources. Lots of great ideas. My personal favorite is Project #29 – A Catapult. SMJ
Jim, that’s something I’d definitely like to see! If you build one, or next time you do, let me know where and when and if it’s all right, I’d love to make the trip and be near the fun!
Hi Clarke,
Here’s an assemblage of some of my favorite John Thurman quotes I’d love to share related to the query, “Why Pioneering?” http://scoutpioneering.com/2012/12/28/favorite-quotes/
From reading his books, my impression is he was a humorous guy with a quick wit and a twinkle in his eye. He also has some very attractive views about Scouting, and certainly doesn’t mince his words!