1st Worldjamboree 1920

	England
8000 Scouts 34 Countries		Olympia London
	July 30 – August 8

The first Worldjamboree was a speciality. Never before there was such a large gathering. 8000 Scouts from 34 different countries gathered in the Olympia halls in the heart of London. 5000 Scouts camped in the Old Deer Park in Richmond, a suburb of London. The rest slept in the Olympia halls, a great glass covered building of 100.000 m2. The surface was covered with a layer of 20 cms of soil with a grass carpet on it, to make it possible to give demonstrations an to build the tents. The 1920 Jamboree is impossible to compare with Jamborees nowadays. This Jamboree was much more a exhibition and a demonstration than a combined camp. Towards the end of the camp, on August 6, Baden Powell was spontaneously appointed Chief Scout of the World by all scouts, a title he would keep till his death in 1941. The lessons learnt from this first Jamboree were that you are restricted in your activities and demonstrations by having a Jamboree indoors. Scouting is a outdoor-activity after all.

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The museum is always interested in "old" Dutch scouting stuff.
Are you considering removing your old stuff, please contact us.

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