Pack life

ASK any former Brownie or Scout and they will reel off their one-time promise, law or motto in an instant.

If you are lucky, they might even share knot-tying and fire-starting techniques, or lead a chorus of Ging Gang Goolie.

Many of us have been Cubs, Scouts, Brownies or Guides and still have the photos to prove it.

More than half of Britain's female population has been in the Brownies or the Guides, including Cherie Blair, Kate Moss, and Davina McCall, while former Scouts include Michael Barrymore, Ronnie Corbett and Cliff Richard.

Here in York, retired cub leader Jill Iveson has dedicated years to the Scout movement.

Although she was never a Brownie, Jill was a Guide, then a Cadet and became a Cub leader in Bishopthorpe in January 1961.

The boys would not always wear their uniform, she said, preferring to take it in a bag and get changed in the toilets when they arrived.

"They wore shorts and a sweater. Ours was navy blue but others were green and I think Acomb Cubs wore grey. In time, that changed and the uniform was all green and they wore a neckerchief and a woggle.

"They wore long socks too with green garter tags around the top.

"They were sometimes loathe to wear their uniforms outside so they wouldn't get picked on or mocked."

The main attraction for many boys was to be able to run about outside, get dirty and sleep in tents, she said.

They would often go camping, visiting spots such as Snowball Plantation and Dalby Forest.

On a night, recalled Jill, they would wrap potatoes in foil and bake them in the fire, or roast chickens, while singing Ging Gang Goolie or Campfire's Burning.

In the morning, they would learn about nature, how to navigate or cross country. Canoeing and boating were popular too.

Margaret Heddick, Brown Owl at 68th York St James the Deacon, remembers slightly different activities from her days as a Brownie.

She made her "Brownie Promise" in the late Fifties and gained a uniform a world apart from the brown and yellow T-shirts, trousers and hoodies worn by Brownies today.

"The uniform was a little brown dress with a brown tie you had to tie up yourself," she remembers. "You'd have a brown belt and a brown beret depending on which pack you were in as some wore a knitted hat."

Working towards badges was quite structured, she says.

You would have a card that would get marked off every time you achieved a component of your challenge, such as tying three knots.

Upon completion, you would be rewarded with a woven rectangular golden bar or golden ladder badge to sew on your dress.

"Then there was the fun element of Brownies.

"It has evolved to what children expect nowadays but I remember going to the dog racing track for a huge type of jamboree and all the Brownies went from all over and we all had ribbons to shake."

Margaret, 58, went on to be a Guide, before becoming a Brown Owl in 1967.

She has run packs all over the world, including in Oman.

By the Seventies, Brownies wore little brown purses on their belts, the berets had been replaced by bobble hats and they wore yellow ties that were made in a triangle.

Games and songs evolved over the years, she says, but action songs and rounders were always favourites.

"I think the Brownies is so popular because some girls just enjoy being with other girls," she said. "It's a rare opportunity you get."

Scouting facts

* The World Scout Movement began in the UK in 1907, inspired by the young messengers of the Siege of Mafeking, during the Boer War.

* Brownies emerged in 1914 under the guardianship of Agnes Baden-Powell and her brother, Scout founder Robert Baden-Powell. Agnes, the only girl in a large family of boys, spoke 14 languages, was a talented artist, never married and, unusual for the time, was a dedicated cyclist.

* Scouts became mixed sex in 1990 and today, there are more than 28 million scouts in at least 216 countries and territories. Two-thirds of the world's Scouts live in developing countries.

* Brownies were originally going to be called Rosebuds, but that proved unpopular. They also almost became Trees before they got their name from a story by Julia Horatia Ewing about small, magical creatures who crept into people's homes and did good turns.