In the summer this year we gave a fond farewell to Roger and Val Beck. They have been involved in Scouting for 60 years, and set up 84th Littlethorpe in 1984, hence the name! Residents of Littlethorpe will remember sending their children to Littlethorpe Hall to attend Cubs, Scouts and then Beavers when that section started.
They met in Leicester as children attending the local church and have 2 children who were also involved in the Scout movement as Cub leaders. Roger and Val started their Scout career in the late 1960s at 23rd St. Peter’s with St Helen’s church in Highfields, Leicester. They moved to Littlethorpe in 1966 and then to 38th Enderby from 1979 until they started the 84th Littethorpe Group. As said previously the three sections met on one night at Littlethorpe Hall. This was getting crowded and new premises needed to be found; in 1993 the search began.
The Group found some land near the village and Mr Durance (who owned the land Riverside Way is built on), agreed to sell the land to build the new premises. With fundraising £5,000 was raised to buy the land. As you will know a lot of issues with flooding along the riverside and this had to be factored in for design/planning etc. Hence the hut is built on stilts! And the land has flooded, but not the building. There were issues with access to the site and agreement had to be made from British Rail who owned the access; this was reported in the local press and access, as exists now, was agreed.
A further £10,000 was raised, with a loan from the Scout Organisation along with donations from local companies. The hut build started in 1994. Our long standing Treasurer, Paul Cooper (just stepped down this year) managed all the finances and organised grants to cover the costs of the build.
As in true Scouting tradition the land was cleared by the Scout Group, finding Victorian bottles and a hand grenade amongst the overgrown site. The group dug out the trench to the main road for service supply, and dug out the foundations, with support from parents and other community members. Bostick donated the steel frame, which was recycled from another building. Croft Quarry donated breeze blocks. The floor was laid by British Gypsum experimenting with a new floor technique. YTS scheme from South Fields College built the brick walls. A true community achievement.
In 1996 the 84th Scout Hut was opened by John Lane, and continues to house the 84th Scout Group. This is one of many achievements through their long Scouting career and they were awarded the Silver Acorn, Silver Wolf; happily during this award the 84th Venture Scouts were the flag bearers! The most important part of the role for both of them has been supporting children in the Scouting movement, and this is why they have given some much of their time to the Scout movement. They have supported the District Scout movement, and provided years of outdoor events for Scouts, travelling in mini buses full of excited young people enjoying camping, hiking, cooking, and district events. The list is too long.
Their legacy to the 84th Littlethorpe will continue along with the hut they built as we continue to be a very active group, continuing to support the local community with litter picks, local school and church events. So look out for us in our uniform around the village and remember it is all because of 2 committed people who have spent a lifetime in Scouting. Thank you Roger and Val.
If you are interested in continuing their legacy with the rest of the 84th please contact us via e-mail join84thleicester@gmail.com