Scouting in Malta (1) : my friends the Maltese

Abstract

"My friends the Maltese'' was a favourite expression of the founder of the Boy Scouts Movement, Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell, Chief Scout of the World. His close connections with Malta dated back to the years 1890-1893 when he served in the rank of Captain as military secretary and A.D.C. to the Governor, Sir Henry Smyth, who was his uncle. Even then Baden-Powell, at 23, was a young man of many parts, destined to become a hero to the peoples of the British Empire by his valiant defence in 1899-1900 of the town of Mafeking, in the heart of South Africa, which withstood a siege of 217 days. His motley force of 800 men held out, until relieved, against an attacking force of 9,000 Boers. During the siege he formed patrols of boys to run errands and it was from this experience with young people - that if you give them trust and responsibility they would rise to the occasion - that he later conceived the scheme of training boys in scouting as he had learnt it in the army in his own inimitable way.