Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell scout Troop's

Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell was the founder of Scouting. He was Born on 22 Febuary 1857.B-P’s father died when he was three years old, and his early education was at home,

where his mother encouraged him to learn about animals, plants and birds. B-P soon

discovered he could draw very well using either hand, and he became expert at imitating bird calls.

B-P attended Rose Hill School, in Tunbridge Wells and then won a Scholarship to Charterhouse School in London. It was here that he explored his interest of wood-craft and learned lots of his scouting skills. Although officially off limits, he would sneak out into the wood surrounding his school where he learned to move silently to avoid detection. He also caught and cooked rabbits and other animals, being careful not to give his position away with smoke. After school, at the age of 19 B-P, joined the army and did so well in his entrance exams that he was immediately posted as an officer with the 13th Hussars in India. 

He gained rapid promotion and had many famous victories, making him a hero to the British public. During the Boer War in Africa, Colonel Baden-Powell decided to tie up large numbers of Boer Troops by holding the strategically important town of Mafeking in South Africa, and the Siege of Mafeking became one of the most important actions of the war. B-P’s book called 'Aids to Scouting' sold well both to the military and public at large, and particularly appealed to teenage boys. In 1907 B-P re-wrote 'Aids to Scouting', to aim it at a younger audience and called it 'Scouting for Boys.