VIDEO An Ipswich Guides group celebrated a historic occasion with a party to mark their 90th birthday.Past and present members of the 8th Ipswich group met at Christ Church in Ipswich on Friday.
AN Ipswich Guides group celebrated a historic occasion with a party to mark their 90th birthday.
Past and present members of the 8th Ipswich group met at Christ Church in Ipswich on Friday.
It was a reunion for many of them, as members from as far back as the 1930s gathered to mark the occasion.
Guider Ruth Strudwick, the current leader of the group, said: “It is a really special event - we were one of the earliest groups established, just seven years after the Guiding movement took off.
“It is really good to see so many past members back tonight.
“We are celebrating all that is good about guiding - we have about 36 guides in the company and they are all here tonight and about 50 guests - it should be good fun.
“There are a lot of people here I haven't seen for a while - I have been involved with this guide group for 15 years.”
Two of the group's first ever members attended - Olive Dawson and Gwyneth Lewis, both 84 and both now of Kesgrave.
They met when they joined the group in 1936 and have been friends ever since.
Olive said: “We used to go camping back then, just like they do now.
“I remember camping at Lower Abbey Farm in Leiston - there were about 24 girls in the group back then and we worked towards badges, and learned first aid skills as well as morse code and semaphore.
“There was a real sense of camaraderie”
Gwyneth said: “There was a lovely friendly feeling - I remember we very much looked up to our leaders and thought of them as an inspiration.”
Current members of the group, Katherine Addison, 13, and Sophie Tulloch, 14, said they enjoyed the chance to speak to past members and hear about what guiding was like almost a century ago.
“It was different back then, they met in the same hall but the activities and the uniform were very different.”
Were you involved with Scouting or Guiding in Ipswich in the past? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here