Peterborough History
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Peterborough District HistoryScouting in Peterborough first began in June 1910, when three troops were registered to the district 'The Soke of Peterborough.' These groups were located at The Kings School, Walton and Barnack, Ufford & Bainton. On 8th November 1912, The Soke of Peterborough was divided into two districts - 'West Soke Association' and 'Peterborough Association.' By 1914/15 the two districts had re-joined again, this time incorporating the Norman Cross association too and known only as 'The Soke'. Scouting continued throughout the First World War and a total of 203 members served in the forces, with all but 25 returning home safely. During the Second World War, Scouting in Peterborough was still active, but the number of groups across the city varied due to leaders going on war service. In 1946 those leaders returned and the number of groups in 'The Soke' district stood at 17. In 1965, a new Scout county was formed, known as 'Huntingdon and Peterborough,' and alongside this 'The Soke' became 'The District of Peterborough.' As Scouting continued to grow in popularity, Peterborough then split in to two districts - 'Peterborough North' and 'Peterborough South.' Again, in June 1977 the decision was made to further split the districts in Peterborough, forming three separate districts known as 'Fitzwilliam,' 'Hereward' and 'Nene.' There districts were then in place for over 20 years, until further changes were made to the structure on 1st April 1999. At this time, the decision was made to merge 'Fitzwilliam' and 'Hereward' districts which became 'Medehamstede.' Finally, in 2017 the decision was made that to make a more effective and collaborative Scouting provision across the city it should be returned to work as one unified district and the 'Peterborough' district was officially formed on 1st October. |
Civic HonoursOn the 11th October 2006, the 17th Nene (The Hamptons) Scout Group along with all the other Scout Groups from Peterborough, within Medehamstede and Nene District, were given the highest honour from the City when we were given the Freedom of the City of Peterborough. This is the first time that any Scouting Group/District/County has been so honoured in this way.
The Freedom of the City was presented to Martin Hall (Divisional Commissioner - Medehamstede & Nene District 2005-2007) on behalf of Peterborough Scouting at the Annual St. George's Day Parade and Service on the 22nd April 2007 by Councillor M. Todd (Mayor of the City of Peterborough 2007-2008).
To mark this historic event a tree was planted in Peterborough City Park and each District added the freedom of the City to their District Badges. Since 1st October 2017 members of the Peterborough Scout District hold the Freedom of the City of Peterborough after the merger of the two Districts.
Chief Scouts - UK
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A History of Our Peterborough District Commissioners
Each Scout District is headed up by a District Commissioner, over the Peterborough Scouting history has had different people volunteering in this role;
Soke of Peterborough District
(1911 - 1966)
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1911 / 1912 J. A. Dane Esq
1912 / 1919 Appointment Vacant
Soke of Peterborough District
1922 / 1923 P. C. Clarke 1923 / 1924 Appointment Vacant 1924 / 1928 R. English 1928 / 1938 Appointment Vacant 1939 / 1966 J. Todd |
Peterborough District
(1966 - 1977)
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Peterborough District (1966 / 1968)
1966 / 1968 N. Wright
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| Hereward District
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1977 / 1988
R. D. Ward 1988 / 1996 A. C. B. Packer 1996 / 2000 M. Hall |
Medehamstede District
(2000 - 2017)
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2000 / 2007 M. Hall (Divisional Commissioner 2005 / 2007)
2007 / 2008 T. K. Watson (Acting DC) 2008 / 2012 C. Pallister 2013 / 2014 A. Moore 2014 / 2015 M. Hall (Acting) 2015 / 2016 R. Fullicks 2016 / 2017 J. Smith
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Nene District
(1977 - 2017)
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1977 / 1984
D. A. V. Cook 1984 / 1987 Rev. P. Gilding 1987 / 1995 T. K. Watson 1995 / 1996 S. Russell 1997 / 2004 T. K. Watson 2004 / 2004 J. Hogg (Acting) 2005 / 2007 M. Hall (Division) 2007 / 2012 T. K. Watson 2012 / 2013 Vacant 2013 / 2016 A. Sadler 2016 / 2017 Vacant |
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Peterborough District
(2017 - present)
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2017 / 2019 J. Smith
2019 / 2022 J. Smith & L.Spencer (Joint DC’s) 2022 / T. Law |