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New Handbooks Come to Harwich District

The new handbooks are delivered by boat to Harwich quay, where Guide Leaders supervise the off-loading of the valuable cargo.

Amateur film 1968 12 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for East Anglian Film Archive

Overview

On receiving a parcel of new handbooks from a Guide Leader, the girls give the Guide Sign, a salute with three fingers which represent the three elements of the Guide Promise – to be an active citizen, to be kind to others, and to respect the beliefs of others. The sign is usually given when pledging the Promise, when greeting other Guides, when presented with a Guide badge and at the close of meetings.

In 1910, Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts movement asked his sister, Agnes Baden-Powell to form a separate Girl Guides organisation after a poor reception to the idea of girls and boys scouting together. Baden-Powell used the term β€˜Guides’ from British Indian Army regiment, the Corps of Guides, which was well-known for tracking and survival skills in the Northwest Frontier, though some groups around the world use the term β€˜Girl Scouts’ to link more directly with the boys. Younger girls aged between seven and ten are able to join the Brownies as their introduction to girl-guiding.