Click here for the online version of this newsletter. To join or general enquiries contact Simon on 07850 337903 or simontheobald@compuserve.com. Send this on to anyone you think might be interested in joining the group.

Dave Long

One of Batchworth Sea Scouts dearest friends and helpers, Dave Long, sadly passed away on 7th July 2011. Dave passed unexpectedly of heart failure, in his sleep, while on holiday so it would have been very peaceful for him.

So many people knew Dave, who had an association with Scouting dating back over 40 years and remained very involved not only with Batchworth Sea Scouts but also at Croxley Scouts and with the District explorer group. We currently knew Dave as our Quartermaster, others knew him as a recent explorer leader, however, it seems everyone knew him as Good Ol’ Dave. Good Ol’ Dave was a nickname that not only Dave embraced and many others used but it was also fitting, to so many people he really was Good Ol’ Dave.

On Sunday 17th July, at the Batchworth Family Sailing Day many of Dave’s friends gathered on shore and as a mark of respect to Dave, a man who was respected as a legend at Batchworth Sea Scouts, paid tribute with a minutes applause.

Dave Long went by many names, Quartermaster, Good Ol’ Dave, Explorer Scout Leader, Legend, etc. However, everyone that has spoke of his untimely passing also used a further name, that of friend.

Batchworth Sea Scouts, past and present, will miss our dear friend.

Simon Gowing awarded a Queens Scout and a gold DofE

Explorer leader, Simon Gowing, was awarded a Queens Scout award and Duke of Edinburgh's (D of E) Gold Award at a ceremony held during the annual Family Sailing day at Rickmansworth Aquadrome in July.

The Queen's Scout Award is the culmination of everything you can achieve in Scouting. Obtaining the top award in scouting required more effort then was needed for the Duke of Edinburgh's (D of E) Gold Award!

Many congratulations to Simon for a marvellous achievement.

Batchworth Sea Scouts link up with Northwood Headquarters

Northwood Headquarters is the UK’s principal military HQ site is home to 4 Operational HQs (Permanent Joint Headquarters (including the JFHQ), the Commander Naval Forces North (one of NATO's three major Commanders) and Headquarters of Commander in Chief Fleet) and was almost completely rebuilt between 2006-11, resulting in a purpose-built HQ site for 2000 personnel.

However, most people will just know it as the big base surrounded by razor wire. As part of an outreach programme Batchworth Sea Scouts are being given access to various tours of the base and use of certain recreational facilities at the base. Further information regarding the cooperation between Batchworth Sea Scouts and Northwood Headquarters, which is in its infancy, will be forthcoming throughout the coming year.

Batchworth Polo Shirts and Hoodies

We now have a great range of personalised polo shirts and hoodies available. In navy blue, they’re available in all sizes and personalised with the Batchworth Sea Scouts logo. To get hold of your shirt contact Mike Read on seascoutleader@hotmail.com.


Scout Jamboree

Tom and Judy Smith from Batchworth Sea Scouts are attending the fortnight long Scout Jamboree in Rinkabe, Sweden. They both had to raise about £2,000 for the whole trip, and part of the money helps people from poorer countries who otherwise would not be able to attend.

Tom's fundraising efforts included organising quiz nights, bag-packing at supermarkets, making cakes and selling them at a Swedish-themed coffee and cake session. He also made and sold greetings cards.

Tom said: “I enjoyed all the effort. It was great fun. I'm very much looking forward to the jamboree and the trips to Copenhagen and Croatia.

“I'm looking forward to seeing different sights, tasting different foods, learning different languages. It should be the experience of a lifetime.”

There’s an excellent article about the Jamboree in the Warford Observer here.

Family Sailing Day

A big thank you to everyone involved in the Family Sailing day. It was a great team effort and the whole day passed off smoothly. More than that, we achieved all our objectives in terms of delivering fun, adventurous and sociable activities to our members and their families. There were over 100 Batchworth related folks on-site.

Please also see the note below from BLYM endorsing our efforts. We’ve also had messages from the other groups on-site yesterday thanking us for our co-operation in working around their events.

Autumn Term

With the exception of the summer camps regular meetings have now ended for all the sections. Regular meetings for Beavers, Cubs and Scouts will resume in September.

Have a great holiday. See you all in September.

DATES FOR THE DIARY