"Be Prepared"

Although Lichtenburg is not very far from Rustenburg, it has not been my practice to visit my old stamping grounds. However, a month or two ago I did run over to Rustenburg to see a friend, and drove around the town which is now enormously big and about twenty times the size I knew it as a kid.

Here and there I found some of the old landmarks, but most of them, to my great sorrow, had disappeared. An exception thereto was the old wood and iron building which was our Scout Hall and which, I was elated to see, still stands exactly as it was more than 50 years ago.

Scouting played an important part in our young lives in Rustenburg. My earliest recollections go back to the days when I was a Cub. My first Cub Mistress was a Miss Essev, later married to Dr McQueen. I was approximately 5 years old and I remember saying with the other little cubs: "Akela - we will do our best, we'll dirb, dirb, dirb".

After Miss Essev, my Cub Master was none other than the renowned artist, W.W. (Walter) Batiss.  He was a clerk in the Magistrate's Court in those days.

I always remember a concert which he organised in the Methodist Church Hall. When I have occasion at an Art exhibition to see his works of art displayed, especially the futuristic art, it is so difficult to associate him with the goings-on of an ordinary, sane Cub Master.

On occasion of the visit of Prince Edward,  the Prince of Wales, I think it was in 1925, to South Africa, the Cub Pack accompanied the Scouts to Johannesburg. We went up by train and it was a most exciting occasion.

It nearly ended in disaster as far as I was concerned.  We arrived in the evening and slept on the ground and the next morning when we got up to prepare ourselves for  the parade, a distress signal went up. I had lost my pants. It was duly announced over the communication system: " Jackie Taylor of the Rustenburg Pack has lost his pants. Will anybody finding please do the needful."

Of course this was a great source of amusement. Eventually my pants were found in somebody's kitbag and I could attend the parade. For many months it was a standing joke and even when I became a Scout and grew up a little bit, some of the old hands recalled the incident and used to ask me jokingly whether I had found my pants.

In due course I graduated to the Scouting ranks and enjoyed it immensely. Our Meetings were on Friday evenings. Our first Scout Master was a Mr Thurley. After him came Brian Pullen.

Years afterward when I was a grown-up man, I still had my old Scout shirt with a brilliant array of badges. Unfortunately the shirt was stolen.

I had also been a very keen philatelist - stamp collector, and had really excellent stamps, some of which were given to me by my late father who in turn had received them from his father, namely my grandfather.

I kept my album for years and afterward when I started out in practice, I kept it in my safe. Unfortunately the safe was stolen and the stamp album was never seen again.

The badges on my Scout shirt and the stamps in my album represented so many hours and days of joy, sweat and toil, that even to this day, when I think of it, I cannot do so without a tinge of sadness.

As Scouters we often camped at the Kloof. I remember the McGrabies, namely Solly and Joe, who were prominent Scouts. Solly afterwards became a Scout Master and Joe was one of the leading patrol leaders.

We also had boxing tournaments in which I remember once our Scout master, Brian Pullen, being a contender, knocking out his opponent. Another boxer of merit was Solly McGrabie who was also known for the weight of his right hand.

Other prominent Scouts of that time were Harold Johnson, Des Grimes, the Van Veldens, Rooi Dawid van der Merwe, Lionel Wilson, my own brother, Billy, Stanley and Voysey Gritten.

To read about Jack's war service and his later life, go to http://jackatwar.blogspot.com.au/