A statue in Dorset of Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scout Movement, has been the focus of controversy after the local council vowed to take it down, only to then backtrack and say it would remain for now.
Across the country campaigns are gaining support to remove controversial statues in the wake of the global Black Lives Matter Movement.
Supporters of Lord Powell rushed to Dorset and vowed to protect his statue.
Here, we take a closer look at Robert Baden-Powell’s life, and why some might want to remove his statue.
Who was Robert Baden-Powell?
Baden-Powell was born in London in 1857. His father was an Oxford professor, and the young Baden-Powell won a scholarship to Charterhouse School. As a young boy he gained an appreciation for the great outdoors, and enjoyed adventuring and learning new skills and crafts.
Upon leaving school, Baden-Powell joined the Army, and came second in the entrance exam out of hundreds of applicants. He was commissioned into the 13th Hussars.
In the late 19th century, Baden-Powell was a lieutenant general in the British Army. Alongside traditional army drills, he trained his men with games and competitions.
His military career highlight was defending the town of Mafeking in South Africa during the Boer War, with only a few soldiers. He used local boys to carry messages, run errands, and help with first aid.
After returning home from South Africa, Baden-Powell decided to help give UK boys the training for the same kind of activities. In August 1907, he organised an experimental camp at Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, Dorset.
The next year he published a book called Scouting For Boys, full of his ideas about the benefits of such activities. They persuaded adults to become their leaders. In this way Scouting began, initially only for boys who were more than 10 years old.
In 1910 Baden-Powell retired from the Army to focus on the Scouts.
However, Baden-Powell’s record in the army was not free from controversy.
Documents relating to an inquiry into his conduct during the execution of an African leader of the 1896 Matabeleland rebellion, which were sold at auction in 2009, suggest Baden-Powell ignored a pledge to spare the man’s life.
Baden-Powell had been tasked with protecting 3,000 farming settlers in what is now Zimbabwe, and came under attack from rebels hiding in caves. He was eventually cleared by the inquiry.
When the papers were sold at the auction, auctioneer Chris Albury said the "black and white certainty of British Imperial Justice" and Baden-Powell's "Boy's Own sense of adventure" were striking.
He added that because the Uwini, the African leader, had surrendered, he was a prisoner of war, and Baden-Powell "should not have tried and executed prisoners of war".
“The character witness statements give a strong sense of the old school tie network banding together and making Baden-Powell a hero rather than a villain,” he said.
That incident is not the only blot on Baden-Powell’s memory.
He held friendly talks with Hartmann Lauterbacher, chief of staff of the Hitler Youth, about forming closer ties with the organisation, and was even invited to meet Adolf Hitler, according to MI5 files declassified in 2010.
A hand-written note on the MI5 file states: “Lauterbacher’s visit was a success, especially his interviews with Baden-Powell leading to removal on bar on wearing uniforms in Germany for English groups.”
However, no evidence confirms that Baden-Powell ever did meet with Hitler.
But it is these controversies that have led Baden-Powell’s statue in Poole Harbour, Dorset, where the Scout movement was started, to be targeted by activists.
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council leader Vikki Slade said: “Whilst famed for the creation of the Scouts, we also recognise that there are some aspects of Robert Baden-Powell’s life that are considered less worthy of commemoration.”
