It was back in the early summer of 1908 when a few lads from New Malden decided they wanted to start their own scout group in a new movement launched the previous year by war hero Robert Baden-Powell. On the 8th April 1909 the group was registered at Imperial Headquarters and has been running non-stop (including the war years) ever since.
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The group’s first HQ was a garden shed in Acacia Grove, this was followed in 1910 by a timber pavilion at the top of Alric Avenue by the railway line. The pavilion was owned by local businessman and group president Mr Paul Typke and he later moved the whole building in 1913 to his back garden in Sycamore Grove. Here the group stayed until 1934 when 1st Malden moved into a new purpose built HQ in Tadworth Avenue and despite a forced move due to a major fire in the 70’s has been home ever since. See below for how the fire nearly made the world press.
With the Troop and Rover sections proving popular it was time for the younger age group to join the group, this happened in 1914 when as trial a Wolf Cub Pack was set up. This was 2 years before Wolf Cubs were officially launched. 1st Malden can therefore claim to have one of the oldest scout troops and possibly the oldest cub pack still running today. It would be another 72 years before the Beaver Colony started. The first girls joined the group in the late 70’s when they were allowed to join the venture unit (the equivalent to today’s Explorers) and then in 1992 girls were finally allowed to join the troop and pack.
