Fairly interesting but somewhat dry and repetitive.

The Scouting movement had its origins in a book, Scouting for Boys, written by Robert Baden-Powell; his ideas for the book were tested during an experimental one-week boys' camping event on Brownsea Island in 1907, just seven years before war was declared. Freelance writer Craig Armstrong explores the wide variety of duties undertaken by Boy Scouts during WWI, brought to life by copious illustrations and quotations from newspapers and local leaders.

The book is divided into five chapters, one for each year of the war, each chapter being divided into two sections covering the Home Front and Military Service. The author describes the types of work undertaken by the Boy Scouts at each stage of the war, and how they were perceived by the general public. Specific examples of activities undertaken by Scout troops from around the country are given.

I found this a fairly interesting book, well-researched and packed with information about the Scouting movement during the Great War, although my interest had begun to wane by the time I reached the final chapter as the writing did seem to be somewhat dry and repetitive. I was surprised to learn about the range of tasks undertaken by the Scouts, previously knowing only that a few boys had volunteered to peel vegetables for our local Red Cross hospital; some of the Scouts were entrusted with surprisingly important and complex tasks with major responsibilities.

I recommend the book to anyone with an interest in the history of Boy Scouts, or the social history of the Great War.

I would like to thank Pen & Sword and NetGalley for giving me a free advance reader copy of this book to review. This review is my own honest and independent opinion of the book.

I was expecting more and, even if it seems well researched, it was confusing and dry.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

At the start of the Great War, the Boy Scouts was a six year old organization. Much of what Scouting was based on was tied to Lord Baden-Powell's experience with boys of Scouting age during the siege of Mafeking. In this new war the question could be rightly asked, "What role, if any. did the Boy Scouts have?"

Unfortunately, Craig Armstrong never really asks or even attempts to address this question. The unfortunate result is a book that seems more a list of Scouts who died in service at the front rather than an look at the larger questions of Scouting as a movement in Great Britain and its role both in society at the time and in the war effort.

This is unfortunate because the author seems to be intrigued by the question of whether or not the Boy Scouts are a para-military organization and how the Scouts were seen be anti-war groups. But these issues are never explored in detail.

This book is a summary of many of “the largely unremarked but nevertheless incredibly useful duties which were performed by scouts throughout the war”
The Scouts had existed for less than 10 years at the time of WW1, and they certainly stepped up – though in many ways their enthusiasm was not matched by their age/experience and it was soon realised that 12 year olds were probably better completing their education in school than standing guard over railway tunnels! I did appreciate the acknowledgement that many of the scouts/former scout who joined the Army soon proved their worth. They knew how to listen, to look after their kit, to work with others and the skills learnt in Scouts such as signalling, first aid, teamwork and leadership translated easily to the ones needed as a soldier so scouts were soon finding themselves with specialist roles, promotions and in some cases being offered commissions or taking charge when officers were killed.
Whilst there is evidence of significant & thorough research (which I always appreciate in a historical book) and there are moments of real interest, the book feels dry & repetitive compared to the delightful “How the Girl Guides won the War” by Janie Hampton. Where we could have had real narrative, we get fact after fact, and many of the examples actually are just about “Private Joe Bloggs, a former scout …” well that’s lovely, but much of the middle of the book does feel like filler & it would perhaps have been a more interesting read if the timeline had been wider, perhaps focussing on both wars. The lack of reference to the ways that the Boy Scouts & Girl Guides worked together was also notable, it was almost as if the author was deliberately ignoring any mention of the girls!
I was not aware of the Scout Defence Corps and found that interesting to read about, particularly BP’s thoughts on it, but was dismayed to find so many incidences of accidental death caused by scouts being foolhardy & overly keen to “play soldier” – from accidental gunshots to a chimney giving way during unsupervised climbing practice.

Overall I think this is a book that needed to be written, and I am glad that I have read it, but it doesn’t do justice to the work that the Scouts (and Guides!) did during the Great War or subsequently. I found it really hard to rate - 4⭐ for the excellent research but 2⭐ because it could be so much more! Shall we settle on 3⭐?

Disclosure: I received an advance reader copy of this book free via NetGalley. Whilst thanks go to the author & publisher for the opportunity to read it, all opinions are my own.

#TheBoyScoutsintheGreatWar #NetGalley

DNF @ 46%

Having been a Boy Scout, albeit briefly, I was pleased to find a book about the organisation and its work in times of peril.

This book, however, is a disservice to the work Scouts did during The Great War, and also just generally an example of how noble ideas alone don't make for great reading.

The book seems to have been well-researched, but Craig Armstrong makes little effort in turning the historical facts and data at hand into something even readable, let alone something one enjoys. There is no narrative, no structure, just one fact after another, over and over and over again, often interspersed with musings on the war and the state of affairs in the country, which are also repeated a number of times.

History done this way is not my cup of tea at all. It's a boring, bland book where it seemed the author had checked out once the research was done.

I thank NetGalley and Pen & Sword for the ARC of this book I was sent in return for a review.