Brownies

Every Wednesday, I help out at a ‘Brownies’ pack which is unfortunately closing down in the near future. As a result, last week, the Brownie Leaders and I were clearing out the cupboards. On doing this, I found “The Brownies’ Annual” which had been tucked away at the back for around 50 years.

Published in 1959, the pages of this book had been coloured with age which added to its already fragile appearance. As I was previously a Brownie myself, this book immediately gained a place near to my heart. It is filled with old-fashioned stories about how Brownies began and has pictures of Brownies from 1919. There is even a picture of the Queen in her Brownies uniform!

I could go on about the puzzles and activities and poems and craft ideas, however, if I did that, this blog would begin to seem like a transcript from ‘The Antiques Roadshow’, so instead I will tell you a little bit about the origins of this GirlGuiding group. Next year, Brownies will be celebrating their 100th anniversary. It all started when Lord Baden-Powell set up the group in 1914 in order to give girls between the ages of 7 and 11 the opportunity of Scouting. They were originally called ‘Rosebuds’ and were run by the sister of Lord Baden-Powell: Agnes Baden-Powell. However, ‘Rosebuds’ soon became Brownies (named after the book “The Brownies” by Juliana Horatia Ewing [1870]) when multiple girls complained about the name.

Altogether, although Brownie groups everywhere have become more modernized, it is safe to say that the attitudes of the Brownies have remained the same!

JG