A History of Scouting in the V.I. (PART I)

by Loh Kok Kin

(1) The Infant Years of a Pioneer Troop (1910 - 1923)

couting is a game for boys. It combines the romantic chivalry of knights rescuing damsels in distress with the ragamuffin resilience of an Oliver Twist wrestling a Huck Finn in the mud, coupled with the stoic courage of European soldiers plodding through predator-infested savannahs of Africa and the resourcefulness of a Thor Heyerdahl sailing the Pacific alone on his Kon Tiki. The V.I. visionary Mr Bennett Eyre Shaw must have envisaged something akin to this as an effective character-building programme for his boys for, one fine day in the year 1910, he rounded up a handful of pupils from the V.I. Scripture Class to form the first Scout Troop in Malaya.

It was a brave leap of faith for Mr Shaw because the Scout movement was then still in its infancy. Three years earlier, on 1 August 1907, on the shores of Brownsea Island, near the Isle of Wight in the south of England, 20 boys had been gathered for an experimental camp to trial a new method for training boys, one devised by Major-General (later Lord) Robert Stephenson Smythe Baden-Powell. That date is now considered the official birth date of the Scout movement. Baden-Powell (or BP as he is fondly called), had an enviable record of espionage during his campaign in Africa in the late 1800s. However, it was in the previously non-descript outpost of Mafeking when it dawned on him that such skills of survival, properly taught, could be highly beneficial for many. For 217 days in 1899, greatly outnumbered, he had commanded and successfully defended Mafeking against 9,000 besieging Boers. Remarkably, BP’s important ‘army’ of messenger corps had consisted mainly of youths and teenage boys, who executed his orders most efficiently. The story of Mafeking is the story of all Boy Scouts and to this day, in remembrance, a flame is kept burning in perpetuity in that town.

THE FOUNDING OF THE V.I. SCOUT MOVEMENT

The exact origins of the V.I. Scouting movement can only be guessed at. It could have been during the time Mr Shaw was on home leave in England, when fledgling Scout Troops mushrooming around England would have come to his notice and inspired him to do the same on his return to Malaya. The historical sources seem ambiguous. At any rate, on 16 September 1910, Mr Shaw wrote a letter to the Boy Scouts Headquarters (presumably in London, because there was as yet no headquarters in the Straits Settlements or the Malay States). In that letter he wrote that "we started patrols of Boy Scouts in connection with this School a few months ago", which might suggest that the genesis of the V.I. Scouts was in 1910. The names of the Scouts were submitted to London on Monday, 26 September 1910. Two days later, at 7 p.m. that evening, the first meeting of the Local Committee of the Selangor Boy Scouts was held at the Selangor Club. According to the minutes, "Mr Shaw reported that at the Victoria Institution they formed early in the year a troop of three patrols". This seems to confirm the contents of Mr Shaw’s earlier letter. Likewise, in the first edition of The Victorian (October 1923), the Scout Notes, written by the Scout Master Mr M.A. Akbar (who had been involved in V.I. Scouting since 1910), mentioned that "the First Selangor Troop was founded in the year 1910 by Mr B.E. Shaw".

But there is a fly in this historical ointment, and it comes from Mr Akbar himself! Two years later, in the magazine Scouting In Malaya (Volume 1, Number 1, May 1925), Mr Akbar reported that the V.I. had the oldest Troop in Selangor, "having been formed in 1909". This same Scout Master, who only two years before had reported that 1910 was the founding date of the V.I. Scouts, was now saying something different! And fast forwarding to almost two decades later, we find the Scout Report penned by S. Sivanason in the 1940 Victorian, telling its readers that "...It is interesting to record that the First Selangor Troop which was founded on 15 March 1909...". This 'date of birth' was re-stated in an article on Scouting history in the 1946 Victorian and in the 1969 Victorian, though it had never surfaced in any records before 1940.

So was it 1909 or 1910?

Arguments can be pitched for either side. One could argue that the earlier sources are more reliable since they are closer to the actual event, thus justifying 1910 as the founding date. Moreover, it is questionable where this S. Sivanason had sourced his 'fact' from, especially given that stalwarts like Mr Shaw and Mr Akbar were no longer in the School by 1940. No details of Sivanason's actual or even possible sources of information are available. Perhaps it was a passing comment heard in an earshot or maybe an obscure memory of an Old Scout which was never meant to be taken as gospel. Hence, it is tenuous to pin full faith on the credibility of this statement.

On the other hand, why did Mr M.A. Akbar change his story between 1923 and 1925; stating, in 1923, that the V.I. Scouting movement was formed in 1910 while stating, two years later, that the movement was founded in 1909? One could argue that Mr Akbar might have been aware that the V.I. scout movement was ‘informally’ initiated in 1909, before the ‘formal’ genesis in 1910. This would then justify the claim of 1909 being the year of formation. More importantly, it must be noted that Mr Akbar’s 1923 report (which supports 1910 as the founding date) is not free from error. Mr Akbar had reported that Mr G. Ambler became V.I. Scout Master in 1911, whereas in fact he was already so in 1910, as evidenced by a letter written by him (and approved by Mr Shaw) to the Boy Scouts Headquarters in London, dated 26 September 1910. So maybe Mr Akbar recorded early events as happening one year later than they actually did.

Another argument can also be made to support the 1946 Victorian report that claimed 1909 as the first year for V.I. Scouting. In 1946, in a belated celebration of the School's 1943 Golden Jubilee, the School magazine published articles on the history of various institutions of the V.I., including that of the Scouts. Mr Chan Hung Chin, an Old Boy and former V.I. Scoutmaster was probably the author of the unsigned article that claimed March 1909 as the founding date. And Mr Chan of all people should certainly have known his facts. A Victorian and a Scout himself (probably among the first), he had joined the School as a teacher in 1914, retiring in 1940; he was a Scout Master from 1914 to 1920. He also founded the first, second and third packs of Wolf Cubs in Selangor and later rose to be the first District Cub Master.

But one fact is clear: The V.I. scouts were first officially recognised as the First Selangor Scout Troop in 1910. Whether Mr Shaw had informally experimented with the idea in 1909 remains a moot point. On one hand, it is arguable that one should only support the early evidence - which does not mention 1909 at all - for obvious reasons of credibility of chronological precedence. As well, in terms of persuasive detail, the early sources (supporting 1910) seem more convincing than later sources (supporting 1909). The early sources supply details like names of scouts in 1910, while the later sources mention nothing other than that the Scouts were founded in 1909.

On the other hand, the later sources can also be regarded as credible because they have the backing of old Scout Masters who were already teaching at the V.I. some time in the decade of the 1910’s. In addition, there could have been a later recognition by these Scout Masters that though 1910 was the official year of formation, 1909 could not be dismissed because an ‘informal trial’ still counts as the beginning, leading them to recognise 1909 as the first year for the V.I. Scouts. But to support this theory, we must answer two factual questions: Was there a trial or was there merely an attempt at forming the V.I. Scouts in 1909? What happened in 1909 to lead Mr Akbar and Mr Chan to assert that the V.I. Scouts were formed in that year? These may never be answered, and arguably, it would be dishonest to celebrate the Centenary of the V.I. Scouts in 2009 on the basis of a conjecture. Perhaps then it is wise to view 1910 as the founding year for the V.I. Scouts, until convincing evidence to the contrary is found.

THE INAUGURAL TROOP

So back to 1910 then. Armed with the guidelines and tips from "Scouting For Boys", the bible of scouting authored by BP himself, Mr Shaw briefed that first motley crew of V.I. boys about the ideals of scouting. Soon, after a few tests, the boys were invested with the Tenderfoot Badge, the first step into the brotherhood of Boy Scouting. They were organised into three patrols, with Mr W.C.A. Dainton as the Scout Master. He was an expert at signalling and his charges gained much from his expertise. Apart from his Scouting expertise, Mr Dainton was also reputed to be an excellent goalkeeper. During the First World War, Mr Dainton served in the West Riding Regiment of the British army.

The names of the first Scouts of the V.I. and of Malaya are listed below. They constituted the First Selangor Scout Group as of Friday, 23 September, and were submitted to the Boy Scouts Headquarters in London for registration. It must be noted that according to the minutes of the first Local Committee meeting, there were in fact three patrols that were formed in early 1910, while the list that follows contains four patrols. This is probably because this list includes additional Scouts who had been recruited after the success of the early three patrols. In other words, this list probably contains the names of not just the original Scouts but also those who joined a few months later. Notwithstanding that, this is an important list because it is the earliest known record of the names of the first Scouts of Malaya.

   WILD BOAR PATROL

C. Koch (probably G.C.S. Koch) - Leader
N Appathuray - Corporal
H.B. Chinnadurai
N. Seenderajah
Wong Fook Han
A. Carroll
R. Kugathasan
A. Sivasanibo

   WOLF PATROL

Ng Bow Huah - Leader
Chiew Sze Chan - Corporal
P. Nadarajah
Yong Shook Lin
Tay Lian Hee
K. Muttiah
John Hugh
G. Krishnasamy

   TIGER PATROL

G. Foenander - Leader
Mohamed Ameen Akbar - Corporal
D.M. Wasagam
P. Tambimuttu
K. Sabapathy
K.S. Arumugam
L.P.Koch
E.H. Cowan

   EAGLE PATROL

A.K. Rajendra - Leader
L. Robert - Corporal
Yap Kon Fah
S.V. Siva Kuru
Tay Lian Teck
S. Thiliampalam
Hiram
Edward