Robert Baden-Powell

Lord Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell de Gilwel III, 1st Baron Baden-Powell de Gilwell (22 February 1857 Paddington – 8 January 1941 Nyeri), known as Robert Baden-Powell, was a British soldier and writer who founded the World Scout Movement, participated in different military campaigns in Africa, in which he stood out and obtained great popularity among the British population, especially for his heroic leadership in the Mafeking defense. After returning to his native island, the publications of his books multiplied and he thus became a leading author on education and youth training. His ideas, embodied in Scouting for Boys and other works, inspired groups of British youths to form patrols, thus informally starting Scouting.^{[citation required]}

Following his resignation from the British Army on the advice of King Edward VII, he devoted himself fully to training the Scout movement. He participated in activities all over the world, propagating and laying the foundations of modern scouting. He wrote a large number of books adapted to the needs of the movement and to the different levels of participation of the scouts, allowing them, all over the world, to have the opportunity to learn through specialized texts for their age. After obtaining various awards and recognitions, he retired with his wife to Kenya, where he died. He was buried in Nyeri, Kenya. Baden-Powell's message, addressed to all scouts in the world: "Try to leave this world better than you found it", summarizes one of the goals to be achieved in young people through scouting.^{[quote required]}

Biography

Robert Stephenson Smith Baden Powell was born on February 22, 1857 in London, England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. His father was the Reverend Baden Powell, Ph.D. and Professor at Oxford University; his mother was Henrietta Grace Smyth, daughter of a renowned British colonizer. He had four half-siblings from his father's previous marriage as well as six brothers and two sisters. Robert was the third from last to be born. Three of his siblings (two boys and one girl) died very young before he was born. His father died when he was just 3 years old, leaving his mother a widow with many children and in a difficult financial situation.

On February 26, 1865, when he was eight years and four days old, he wrote a short composition entitled Laws for me when I am old:

I would like poor people to be as rich as we are, it is just that they are as happy as we are; when you walk in the way with a poor person and give him some money, you are acting with justice and you must thank God, for He has made poor people and rich. And now I tell you that you must be good; whenever you can ask God in your prayers to be good, but you will not be good at just praying, but striving to be good.

Robert Baden-Powell

Before he entered the school, John Ruskin, a renowned artist and writer who was a friend of the family, taught Baden Powell techniques of plastic arts, and especially developed in him the ability to paint with both hands. Robert began his studies formal at Rose Hill School in Tunbridge Wells. In 1870, despite not being an outstanding student, he obtained a scholarship to attend Charterhouse School, in the center of London, and another to Fettes School in Edinburgh. In the end he attended the London, where he entered the choir even before starting his studies. Two years later the school moved to Godalming, about 60 kilometers from London. He enrolled in soccer teams, where he held the position of goalkeeper and striker. He ventured into theatrical art and carried out his first explorations in Copse, a forest near the school. He went on his first rabbit hunts and experimented with tracking and stalking, hiding from his teachers.

In his sixth decade of life, during a transatlantic cruise in January 1912, he met Olave Saint Claire Soames, a 23-year-old young woman committed to the cause of Scouting. He would marry her on October 30 1912 at St Peter's Church, in Parkstone, Poole area, Dorset, very close to Brownsea. Their honeymoon was in December of that year in Algeria, while as a wedding gift, they received a car, bought with a world collection of one penny per scout. The couple had three children: Arthur Robert Peter Baden-Powell, born October 30, 1913, Heather Grace Baden-Powell, born June 10, 1915, and Betty St. Clair Baden-Powell, born April 16, 1917.

On the other hand, some biographers have suggested that Baden-Powell was a repressed homosexual, although this has not been corroborated by any significant evidence; in this regard, some historians take as a basis the intense emotional relationship with his friend Kenneth McLaren to argue that.

Military career

In September 1876, he enlisted in the army, placing second in his class in cavalry and fifth in infantry. He was commissioned an officer in the XIII Hussars, a historic regiment that participated in the Crimean War.In mid-December he landed in Lucknow, India, as a lieutenant in the XIII Hussars.

Promotions

Baden Powell's parents.

In June 1878, he was promoted to lieutenant after completing an eight-month course, in which he earned an honors degree for outstanding skills such as tracking and scouting. The following year he returned to England for health reasons and took a shooting course in Hythe, Kent, again excelling.

Robert Baden-Powell's methods were revolutionary: he formed small units or patrols that worked together under a guide, awarding those who did well with badges reminiscent of the traditional model of the north point on a compass.

He resumed his duties in the XIII Regiment in November 1880, moving to Kandahar, Afghanistan, under the command of Colonel Baker Russel. He was commissioned to survey the field of the Battle of Maiwand.

The British Army was forced to evacuate Kandahar and moved to Quetta in April 1881. By the end of December it had covered 1,500 km. in northern India, as far as Muttra. The following year Baden-Powell was appointed regimental instructor, on the firing range. He took up polo and spear hunting as hobbies.

Baden-Powell family.

As a product of this pastime, in 1883 he won the Kadir's cup in the boar hunt in Muttra. He was promoted to captain and temporarily served on the Duke of Connaught's staff at Meerut. In 1887, B.P. he was in Africa taking part in the campaign against the Zulus and later against the Ashanti tribe. The natives gave it the name "Impeesa", which means "Wolf that never sleeps". He was promoted to Major in 1889. In April 1896 he led the expedition against the Matabele in Rhodesia, the Second Matabele War. This was a formative experience for him. Many of his ideas regarding Scouting took root here. It was while in this war that he began a friendship with the well-known American Scout Frederick Russell Burnham, who introduced Baden-Powell to the customs of the American West and the woodcraft (i.e. Scouting), and it was here that he first wore his Stetson hat.

That year, inclement weather caused the company's horses to disperse. All the soldiers undertook a search that resulted in the gathering of all the animals, except for the A44, the most valuable of all. Baden-Powell used his tracking techniques to find him, thus earning the respect and admiration of the senior officers.

In 1903 he was appointed Inspector General of the Cavalry, the highest rank to which a British soldier could aspire. From this position, he developed new training techniques, testing new methods that, in the end, would be inherited by scouting for the training of scouts.

Military missions and occupations

In 1893, after a period on special missions, Baden-Powell joined the 13th Hussars in Ireland. Commander-in-Chief Wolseley noted his cleverness in combat and recommended that he be sent to West Africa to fight the Ashanti. Once in that territory, B-P recruited and organized 200 natives to put aside their ethnic differences and fight together for the British crown. The natives prepared the arrival of the soldiers, building nearly 200 bridges with scouting techniques. During the battle, the native recruits captured the scouts sent by Prempeh, the Ashanti chief. Subsequently, Prempeh was taken prisoner. Upon his return to Europe, B.P. He settled in Belfast, where he received a telegram from General Frederick Carrington informing him that he had been assigned to serve as Chief of Staff in South Africa.

Baden-Powell in South Africa in 1896.

On his way to South Africa, he ordered the capture of the sorcerer Unwini, who was fomenting war among the natives. After a court martial, the sorcerer was sentenced to death and later shot. A British court arrested Baden-Powell for such an act; however, after investigations, the case was dismissed for lack of evidence. Jan Grootboom, one of the natives trained by Baden-Powell, managed to get the enemies to accept the negotiation to stop the war, a negotiation to which Baden-Powell could not attend as he was ill with dysentery.

Later, he captured a heavily protected fortification, tricking its occupants into believing that they were outnumbered by the British army, when in fact it was barely over a hundred strong. After this battle, the famous magnate and politician Cecil Rhodes took him to Cape Town.

Introduced the use of bicycles as a means of transportation for the regiment; It should be noted, as an anecdote, that when his bicycle was stolen, he used tracking techniques to recover it.

He was secretly entrusted with exploring the Drakensburg Mountains. In order to confuse people, he grew a large beard, posing as a reporter. He rode approximately a thousand kilometers. In the midst of the enemy towns, Baden-Powell made his observations and drew maps that would later be used for the British attack. By way of anecdote, he met his eldest, whom he greeted. However, he took him for a beggar, thereby demonstrating that the disguise was infallible. At the end of said mission, he enjoyed a six-month leave; the fate of him as a & # 34; licensed military & # 34; were some Portuguese colonies in Africa. It coincided with his arrival, a great drought and famine in the region; Faced with this fact, Baden-Powell contributed to the collection of food and improvement of hunting techniques, winning friends and the respect of the locals.

In his free time in South Africa, with the help of Sir Hubert von Herkomer, he cultivated the art of sculpture.

The Battle of Mafeking

After returning on leave in June 1899, a month later he was ordered to return to South Africa on a special mission, to recruit a police contingent to patrol the northwest frontier. On 11 October the Boer war broke out and Baden-Powell defended the besieged town of Mafeking.

On October 13, 1899, Baden Powell led a group made up of a thousand newly organized and armed men, six hundred women and children, and seven thousand indigenous people who were not directly participating in the conflict; the arsenal he had was made up of 4 small cannons and 7 machine guns, having organized the defense in just three months. The besieging army consisted of eight thousand men well supplied with weapons. The siege was relentless and only with the cunning of B.P. they could hold out until May 17, 1900, when they were liberated by a joint British force under Colonels Plumer and Mahon.

Postal emitted in his honor after the success of Mafeking.

The guns used in the battle had been manufactured by the Bailey & Pegg in 1770, so curiously, they had the initials B.P. & Co.

Their first activity was to create a protection ring made up of 60 forts and an effective trench scheme. He set up various searchlights and snipers every night. For defense, they made grenades with canisters filled with dynamite, which were thrown up to a distance of one hundred meters by means of a fishing rod. One of his favorite tactics was to deceive the enemy into believing that he was facing an army larger than the real one, for which he made mannequin soldiers.

Based on the concept that the best defense is attack, B-P hit the enemy whenever he could, with the little material he had. In that environment, in which all men were necessary for the defense of the city, B-P assembled a corps of cadets which he uniformed, giving them the task of carrying messages and orders, acting as sentinels and helping in the distribution of food and medicine. (with this he was able to occupy the men who were in charge of fulfilling these functions in battle). In command of this cadet corps was a young officer named Goodyear. With great courage and responsibility, even under fire on their bicycles, they would get around the odds and do what was ordered. Baden-Powell realized that when a young man is given a responsibility, he puts a lot of effort into fulfilling it. This reasoning was the beginning of the Scout movement.

One of Baden-Powell's war proposals was that despite the warlike environment, life should continue in the most natural way possible; for this purpose, he issued notes so that the trade could continue. During the night, he used a megaphone to order a dummy attack, thereby drawing the Boer fire, not allowing them to rest. In a strong Boer offensive, the commander and one hundred of his men were captured; custody was assigned to the cadet boys.

Following the liberation of Mafeking (in which his brother participated), Baden-Powell was assigned to train the South African Police. By June 1901, he had recruited, assembled, equipped, and trained 8,000 policemen. The motto established by Baden-Powell for the police force was 'No ill will to none and charity to all'. He traveled thousands of miles by train and horseback to oversee the smooth running of the new corps charged with maintaining order in peacetime. Baden-Powell's work in the police force earned him praise from Secretary of State for the Colonies, Joseph Chamberlain.

Scouting Foundation

Baden-Powell with Olave and her children in 1917.

In March 1896, the Matabele revolted again against the authority of the British South Africa Company and what is now known as Zimbabwe's “First War of Independence”. The defenses of Matabeleland were in disarray due to the ill-fated Jameson Expedition, and hundreds of white settlers died in the first months of the war alone. And an estimated 50,000 Matabele retreated to their stronghold in the Matopo Hills near Bulawayo, a region that would be the scene of the fiercest fighting against white settler patrols. With few troops to support them, the settlers soon built themselves a mobile fortification (with the wagons) in the center of Bulawayo, and established patrols under the command of such personalities as Baden-Powell and Frederick Russell Burnham. Burnham was already a famous explorer when he befriended Baden-Powell, during the siege of Bulawayo the two men rode together, patrolling the Matopo Hills many times, and it was in those African hills that Burnham taught Baden-Powell the customs and methods. of the American Indians, and taught him the skills and knowledge to function in the forest, the "woodcraft". So impressed was Baden-Powell by Burnham's exploratory spirit that he fondly told people that he had "squeezed" everything he could tell. It was there that Baden-Powell began wearing his signature Stetson campaign hat (the “four buns”) and bandanna, for the first time. Both realized that wars were dramatically changing and that the British Army had to adapt. Thus, during their joint scouting missions, Baden-Powell and Burnham discussed the concept of a comprehensive training program for young people in those skills, or woodcraft. A program rich in exploration, tracking, field work, and self-confidence.

In 1901, after the liberation of Mafeking, Baden-Powell was promoted to major general by Queen Victoria. As a hero of adults and young people who had returned to the UK from Africa, he was surprised that his personal popularity had spread thanks to his book Aids to Scouting, intended for the army, and that it was being used as a textbook in schools for boys.

As a book intended for adults had attracted young people, he set to work collecting his experiences in India and in Africa among the Zulus and other tribes, in order to write a book aimed directly at British youth. She collected texts that allowed her to study about youth education throughout history.

Also relevant is the influence of Ernest Thompson Seton and his work with the Woodcraft Indians, a youth organization based on the indigenous traditions of North America and the so-called Art of the Forests (Woodcraft). Baden-Powell maintained correspondence with Seton, requesting permission to use some of his ideas in the new British organization for young people.

While Baden-Powell continued to refine the concept of Scouting and would become the founder of International Scouting, Burnham has been called the "father of the movement". Burnham and Baden-Powell maintained that simple and intimate friendship throughout their long lives. In 1931, Burnham read the dedication speech on Mount Baden-Powell, California, to his old explorer friend. His friendship and equal status in the world of Scouting and conservation has been honored with the dedication of an adjacent peak, Mount Burnham, in his honor.

First Scout Camp

From August 1 to 9, 1907, the first Scout camp was held on Brownsea Island, in Poole Bay, (Dorset) United Kingdom.

He picked 20 boys between the ages of 12 and 17, some of whom were sons of British servicemen, and organized them into four patrols, called "wolves", "bulls", "plovers" and "ravens"; he gave them, as a badge, a blue, a green, a yellow and a red ribbon, respectively.

One of the camps in Brownsea.

The general itinerary was to get up early (to the sound of the Kudu horn, a Baden-Powell war trophy taken from the Matabel chief Siginyamatsche), exercise, cook one's own food, explore nature to observe animals and birds, make big games, build rustic constructions, learn to make knots and moorings.

In the evenings, everyone shared experiences around a bonfire, where Baden-Powell told a story in which a specific Scouting technique had worked for him; the next day, they exercised the technique explained during the campfire. Each day ended with a prayer.Baden-Powell described his method as follows:

"For example, let's take an aspect of the matter "Observation", for example, traces. In the nightlife, we will tell the boys some interesting examples of the value of having the ability to follow footprints. The next morning, we will teach you how to practice tracking by making tracks of different boys at different speeds and showing how to read and deduce their meaning, In the afternoon the game of deer tracing will be performed."

Baden Powell

The program was made like this:

Such was the boys' training success that Baden-Powell himself was captured in the night game of stalking, proving that it was possible to outmaneuver him through one's own scouting techniques. One of the nights, Mr. Ban Raalte, owner of the camp site, and some of his friends came to visit the island, and were "arrested"; by a routine surveillance patrol.

Memorial on Brownsea Island.

Baden-Powell, at Brownsea Camp in August 1907.

Camp attendees were:

Leaders:

• Robert Baden-Powell: 50 years, Camp Chief
• George Green: 48 years, assistant
• Kenneth McLaren: 47 years old, assistant
• Henry Robson: 51 years, assistant
• Donald Baden-Powell: 9 years, ordinance

Patrols:

Conclusions after the camp

At the end of this camp, Baden-Powell confirmed that scouting was capable of offering British youth a useful, inclusive and interesting field of educational activity. The creation of the uniform signified the brotherhood between the young people because it removed the social and political barriers.

The motto was Be Prepared —literally "be prepared"—, an English phrase contained in Baden-Powell's initials, which in Spanish became "Siempre listos" or "Siempre alerta" ». The world emblem of the scout movement has the fleur de lis —which in old maps was used to designate north—, surrounded by a bow tied at its ends in a flat knot —representing the scout brotherhood—; its three petals recall the three virtues —loyalty, self-sacrifice and purity—, the three Scout principles —duties to God, country and humanity— and the three parts of the Scout promise.

Messrs. Arthur Pearson and Charles Heald, national secretary of the YMCA, were involved in the project through sponsorship and logistical support.

Expansion of Scouting

Original cover of Phase 1 Sculpture for boys.

In 1908 he published Scouting for Boys in six fortnightly installments, founded The Scout magazine for scouts, organized Scouting in England and the rest of the British Empire.

Original cover of Phase 2 Sculpture for boys

Scouting for Boys had not yet finished appearing in the windows of bookstores and on magazine stands, when, spontaneously, groups of boys joined together to form scout patrols to implement Practice those ideas. What had been intended for the training of already existing organizations (fundamentally youth brigades and YMCAs) finally became the manual for a new world movement. Since then Scouting for Boys has been translated into more than 35 languages. Baden-Powell brought into the Scout and Girl Guide movement many traditions from the North American Indian nations. He held a second camp at Humbshaugh, Northumberland; In this, the Patrol System was perfected and new games were implemented, perfecting the organization and the educational model. Subsequently, Roland Philipps writes the book The Patrol System which presents this fundamental element of the Scout Method.

The following year he traveled to the countries of the Southern Cone of South America. He first visited Argentina, then crossed into Chile on the trans-Andean railway and finally returned to Argentina. Upon arriving in Buenos Aires on March 14, 1909, his surprise was great when the Lomas de Zamora Patrol (precursor of the current Juan Galo de Lavalle Scout Group 1 from Banfield, Province of Buenos Aires) was waiting for him. Aires). B-P was received as a guest of honor by the Argentine government, the army assigned him an aide-de-camp and he stayed at the Jockey Club in Buenos Aires. Until there he approached the secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), Mr. Cristian Russel, and invited him to give a lecture on Scouting in the hall of the YMCA Argentina.

On March 22, he gave a lecture to the Military Academy of Chile, there at the request of Dr. Alcibíades Vicencio he gave a talk about the scout movement. Enthusiastic, Dr. Vicencio organized the first scout brigade in Chile on May 21, 1909. Currently the name of this brigade is Grupo Alcibíades Vicencio del Instituto Nacional (G.A.V.I.N.), considered an extracurricular activity of the National Institute. In April 1909, at the end of the visit, he returned to the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In 1909 a scout exhibition was held at the Crystal Palace in London. When it was time for the delegations to parade, everyone was surprised because the phenomenon had spread to the 'women scouts'. In general, popular opinion at the time was against young girls performing the tests and skills performed by boys, which is why Agnes Baden-Powell decided to write a pamphlet promoting a suitable option for girls. In 1909, Agnes and Robert jointly published two books titled Pamphlet A: Baden-Powell Girl Guides, a Suggestion for Character Training for Girls and Pamphlet B: Baden-Powell Girl Guides, a Suggestion for Character Training for Girls. These publications are considered the forerunners of the women's youth movement, and were later expanded into a Manual for Leading Girls which was published in 1912.

The goal of the Girl Guides movement was to serve the female population of scout age. The same year, she resigned from the English army to dedicate herself fully to scouting, on the advice of King Edward VII, making a tour around the world to see the different scout movements; Upon arriving in Canada, she made a technical presentation in Winnipeg, Quebec and Toronto, before a congregation of 2,000 Canadian Scouts.

Scouting, in the United States, came through an unknown British scout, who got a prominent American interested in this movement and took it to North American lands, the incident being known as the "story of scouting. good deed". The tour was interrupted by World War I.

Then, the scout movement was founded in Peru, by Professor Juan Luis Rospigliosi and Gómez Sánchez, on May 25, 1911 at the English School of the Barranco District, in the City of Lima.

In 1912, Baden-Powell toured Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, meeting his future wife on a ship. The following year, a national Scout craft exhibition was held in Birmingham which included sculpture, weaving, engineering, shoemaking, plumbing and first aid work.

In the structure of the scout movement, Baden-Powell identified a problem: what to do with the little brothers of the scouts, who accompanied them with great enthusiasm in many of their operations and activities? The answer to this question was the creation, in 1916, of the branch of Cubs, set in the Book of Virgin Lands, by Rudyard Kipling, and the publication of the Cub Handbook.

Gilwell Park's white house.

In 1919, he acquired Gilwell Park as a donation from the MacLaren family, where training courses for chief scouts were held since that same year.

First World Jamboree badge.

Later, Baden-Powell observed that some boys had to leave the scout troop when they turned seventeen, so he created, in 1922, a special stage for young people called roverism, writing for them his work Roverism towards success.

He visited the Spanish Explorers in Madrid on October 31, 1918, in 1929 he visited Cádiz, Palma de Mallorca and Tenerife; he stopped at Gibraltar in 1934 and the following year he revisited Tenerife.

In 1928, Baden-Powell gathered the survivors of the first scout camp at his home on Pax Hill, a moment of high emotion and nostalgia, as described by the retired military man.

World Jamboree

From July 30 to August 8, 1920, the first world Jamboree was held in London. The event was organized by Hubert Martin, who sent invitations to 32 countries with 18 different languages, bringing together 8,000 scouts at the Crystal Palace, near Olympia. On the night of August 7, Baden-Powell was proclaimed World Chief Scout.

In 1924 a Jamboree was held in Denmark, in 1929 in England, in 1933 in Hungary and in 1937 in Holland; at each of these Jamborees, Baden Powell was the central figure, greeted by "his boys from him"; wherever they saw it. Baden Powell traveled incessantly in support of Scouting, corresponding with Scout leaders in numerous countries and writing on Scouting topics.

Scouting during wars

During World War I, the movement could have stopped, but the training received through the Patrol System was put to the test. Patrol leaders took over when the adults left for active duty. The Scouts contributed in many ways to the war effort: most notable perhaps were the services the Sea Scouts rendered as Coast Guardsmen.

Between the two world wars Scouting continued to flourish everywhere, except in totalitarian countries, where it was banned, since Scouting is essentially democratic and voluntary.

At the beginning of World War II, the scouts continued in the hands of the patrol leaders, carrying out various activities such as messengers, firefighters, stretcher-bearers and rescue brigades. In the occupied countries, Scouting continued clandestinely. After the end of the war, it was seen that the number of scouts, in some countries that had been occupied, had increased.

Titles and awards

Statue in Rio de Janeiro.

In 1909, King Edward VII knighted him, giving him the title of Sir. At the Third World Jamboree, King George V granted Baden-Powell a peerage, making him Lord Baden-Powell, 1.er Baron of Gilwell.

Guns from the Baden-Powell Baron.

On the other hand, the face of Baden-Powell was immortalized in 1929 by the oil painting by David Jagger, in which the face of a serene person is reflected. His work was widely recognized during his lifetime: he was awarded 19 international scout prizes and 28 orders and decorations were awarded to him, including, in 1919, the Order of Alfonso XIII of Spain.

In 1934 he was received by Pope Pius XI in the Vatican, showing his great interest in the scout movement and its possible applications in Catholicism.

In 1937, he was awarded the Order of Merit by George VI; Likewise, in The Hague, he received the Wateler Peace Prize. The same year, he was a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, but it was not awarded due to his involvement with one of the participating armies in the world conflict situation. The same year, at the V World Jamboree, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands awarded him the Cross of the Order of Nassau. It is there that he said goodbye to the scout movement.The same year, the King confirmed him as Peer of England under the name of Lord Baden-Powell de Gilwell.

In posthumous homage, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George in 1927. The Grand Cross of the Victorian Order was awarded in 1923. For this I refer to his autobiographical book & #34;Adventures and Accidents" where he signs as Lord Robert Baden-Powell, OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB; published in 1934, the initials refer to these titles.

Relationship with Freemasonry

Historically, Baden-Powell has been linked to Freemasonry, although it has been shown that there are no documents proving his initiation into any lodge in England or in the world, and his family knew it. Although various similarities between Freemasonry and the principles and customs of Scouting can be identified, such as initiation and the oath or promise, they are nothing more than coincidences that exist in this and other "initiatory". In any case, there is clear evidence that he had a good opinion of Freemasonry. During the siege of Mafeking, in the Anglo-Boer Wars, he allowed the local lodge 'Austral no. 2534" could continue to meet. Likewise, he authorized a lodge to be founded in Melbourne (Australia) with his name, the & # 34; Baden Powell Lodge no. 488".

However, there are well-known Freemasons who have belonged to Scouting, such as the Duke of Connaught, Cecil Rhodes, Rudyard Kipling and Alcibíades Vicencio, who were faithful collaborators of Baden-Powell.

Despite such coincidences and the similarities that exist between Scouting and Freemasonry, we can affirm that these links and similarities exist in other initiation groups, so it is possible to completely rule out Baden-Powell as a Freemason. However, in no case can Scouting be separated from Freemasonry in terms of its philosophical principles, its organization and its rites, especially due to its consistency with Freemasonry in its humanist, liberal and social essence, which makes Scouting, albeit like Freemasonry, a movement aimed at the betterment of humanity and its societies. Throughout the history of Scouting, various organizations have criticized the movement, especially in Chile, where the Catholic Church issued a temporary ban, which would later be withdrawn.^{[citation required]}

Old age and death

Monument in front of B-P House, South Kensington, London.

As he turned 80, his strength began to decline. He returned to Africa in the company of his wife; by then, there were more than two million scouts spread all over the world.

They settled in Nyeri, Kenya, where Baden Powell died on January 8, 1941 (just over a month short of his eighty-fourth birthday); a group of soldiers and scouts took him to Mount Kenya.

Baden-Powell's tomb next to his wife.

Sign of "Fin de Pista".

Homenaje a Baden Powell en el Parque Ecológico Paso Coyol de Córdoba, Ver. Mexico.

His wife Olave, who died on June 25, 1977, was buried next to him. The following inscription can be read on her tombstone:

"Robert Baden-Powell Chief Scout of the World February 22, 1857 January 8, 1941".

"Olave Baden-Powell Boss World Guide February 22, 1889 June 25, 1977".

And under this epitaph the sign of the end of the track, as a signature of a mission accomplished in favor of the youth of the whole world.

The last message

His "scout will" is considered a letter found among his personal belongings, which was addressed to all the scouts in the world.

Dear Scouts: If you have ever seen the work Peter PanYou will remember how the head of the pirates was always giving his farewell speech, for fear that when his time came, he would not have time to share it. Something like that happens to me, and even though I'm not dying right now, I'll do it one of these days and I want to send you a farewell message. Remember, this is the last thing you will hear from me; therefore, meditate. I've had a very happy life, and I want each of you to have it too. I think God put us in this wonderful world so that we would be happy and enjoy life. Happiness does not come from being rich, even from success in one's own career, nor from giving oneself all tastes. A step towards happiness is to become healthy and strong when a child, in order to be useful and thus enjoy life when he is a man. The study of nature will show you how God has filled the world of beauty and wonderful things for them to enjoy. Be content with what you've touched them and get the best game out of it. Look at the joyful side of things, instead of the sad side. But the real way to achieve happiness is to make others happy. Try to leave this world a little better than they found it, and when it comes time to die, they will be able to die happy, feeling that in no way they will have lost their time, but they will have done everything possible. So, always be ready to live happy and die happy: always hold on to your scout promise, even though you have ceased to be boys, and God help you do so.

Books published