Re: WoodBadge Patrols
Ben Parker (bparker@HOME.INTERACCESS.COM)
Wed, 16 Mar 1994 12:14:34 -0600
I believe the 4 original patrols from Brownsea Island campout were Raven,
Wolf, Bull, and (another bird, Grouse maybe?) Suposedly there were only
20 boys (not enough for 8 patrols) and B-P (no Youth Protection worries
in those days!).
Suggested patrol names and colors from "Scouting For Boys" (the original
Scout Handbook) is surprisingly long:
Alligator green/brown Merlin dk blue/maroon
Antelope navy/white Mongoose brown/orange
Badger mauve/white Nightjar black/buff
Bat black/lt. blue Otter brown/white
Bear brown/black Owl lt blue
Beaver Lt blue/yellow Panther yellow
Bittern grey/green Peacock green/blue
Blackbird black/khaki Peewit green/white
Buffalo red/brown Pelican grey/violet
Bull red Penguin white/orange
Bulldog lt blue/brown Pheasant brown/yellow
Capercaille brown/grey Pochard chestnut/grey
Cat grey/brown Puffin grey/yellow
Cough black/red Raccoon brown/orange
Cobra orange/black Ram brown
Cockerel red/brown Rattlesnake white/pink
Cormorant black/grey Raven black
Corncrake purple/grey Rhino dk blue/orange
Cuckoo grey Seagull lt blue/red
Curlew green Seal red/black
Dove grey/white Skua dk blue/khaki
Eagle green/black Snipe dk blue/scarlet
Elephant purple/white Springbok scarlet/yellow
Falcon red/orange Squirrel orange/brown
Fox yellow/green Stag purple/black
Gannet yellow/dk blue Starling black/yellow
Garganey brown/green Stonechat chestnut/black
Golden Plover orange/grey Stork blue/white
Grouse dk brown/lt brown Stormy Petrel dk blue/grey
Hawk pink Swan grey/scarlet
Heron grey Swift dk blue
Hippo pink/black Tiger black/orange
Horse black/white Walrus white/khaki
Hound orange Whippoorwill yellow/brown
Hyena yellow/white Widgeon khaki
Jackal grey/black Wild Boar grey/pink
Kangaroo red/grey Wolf yellow/black
Kestrel dk blue/green Woodcock chestnut/mauve
Kingfisher kingfisher blue Woodpecker red/white
Lion yellow/red Wood Pigeon blue/grey
The Handbook says "Each Troop is named after the place to which it
belongs. Each Patrol in the Troop is named after an animal. It is a
good plan to choose only animals and birds found in your district."
Obviously the list includes quite a number of unfamiliar (to many of us)
birds native to Great Britain/Europe as well a a smattering of usual and
unusual animals from around the world.
The Wood Badge patrol names as currently used in Boy Scout Wood Badge in
the USA are (in this order!) Beaver, Bob White, Eagle, Fox, Owl, Bear,
Buffalo, Antelope. Depending on the number of participants, not all
patrols will be used in a course, but there will be at least 4.
More Trivia:
The patrol names used at the first American Scout Wood Badge course (May
24-June 3, 1936) were Owl, Woodpecker, and Wood Pigeon. The Scoutmaster
was John Skinner Wilson (then camp chief of Gilwell) and the troop SPL
was William Hillcourt (a name that should be familiar to all US Scouters!)
The BSA publication "A History of Wood Badge in the US" is recommended as
an excellent resource in this and other trivia.
Ben Parker bparker@home.interaccess.com 71450.2735@compuserve.com
ASM T-16 (In our 79th year....), I used to be a Beaver... C-22W-93
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
