About Us

Scouting & 17th Harrow

Our Scout Group – 17th Harrow – is part of the Harrow District in which there are 33 groups comprising in approx. 2,000 Scouts. Our District is in the Scout County of Greater London Middlesex West with 12 districts, and a 120 or so Groups Initially located in the Parish of St. Joseph in Wealdstone, the Group was formed in May 1925 to provide Scouting for Catholic boys in Harrow, but within a couple of years was transferred to the Parish of Our Lady & St. Thomas of Canterbury. The founder was Bernard Brickell (b 1904, d 1998), always known as “Skip”.

For most of the time since 1925 we have operated continuously on the site we now occupy.

Our “New” Headquarters was opened by the then Mayor of Harrow in February 1980, replacing the old wooden building which previously did duty as the Parish Hall, and St. Anselm’s School (pre 1932).

The land we occupy is on lease from the Diocese of Westminster. The buildings comprise the main Headquarters and to the rear, what was known as the Venture Scout Building.

We were fortunate in having an Architect who had two boys in the Troop and he guided us through the labyrinth of various planning permissions necessary for this project. He advised and designed the HQ interior, insisting we had a sprung floor in the main hall. Secondly, a Builder (also with two boys in the Troop), undertook to build our HQ starting with the rather substantial foundations. The pine panelled interior came by courtesy of yet another parent (with four boys in the Group) , and was, we believe, from the film set “Raise the Titanic”.

The Venture Scout building (now renamed as the “Upper House”) was added later on, after vandals had burnt the previous hut.

Both are wholly owned by the Group having been paid for by a partial grant from the Local Authority and strenuous fund raising efforts by Leaders and parents.

What we need from the parents…

Once a year the Scout Group holds an Annual General Meeting, where annual reports and accounts are presented, officers are elected, and the achievements of the Scouts in all our sections are recognised. We do request that parents should attend this – it’s a chance to meet the team of leaders at 17th Harrow, and the “business part” of the AGM is kept very brief.

We also try to have an annual Family Camp which is a great social event, and gives parents the opportunity to join in the fun and see the type of activities their children get involved in (and even get the change to take part!). In order to attend, all parents/guardians are required to complete a DBS application, this helps to ensure the safety of all the children involved with the Group.

Weekly volunteers – we are always in need of parent help and support for our weekly meetings in all sections. Please see your section leader for more information. You also sign up via Online Scout Manager.