The Scouting movement leader, Lord Baden Powell, story is a bit of a strange one. When he left the British Army, he decided to dress young boys in a military style uniform and teach them survival techniques as he had learned in the army.
Thus the Scouting movement was born and kids would earn badges for passing certain tasks, badges that had a swastika symbol on them.
The defenders of Baden Powell say that he was not a Nazi sympathiser, rather that the symbol was from India and means 'good luck' but that rather falls apart in the pages of Baden's own diary where he wrote in 1939 'Lay up all day. Read Mein Kampf. A wonderful book, with good ideas on education, health, propaganda, organisation etc'
Indeed, Mein Kampf may be a ripping yarn but the Scouts quickly dumped the use of the Swastika on their badges when Powell died although they continued to use his oaths to 'love my God' and 'serve the Queen and country', or rather they did because it has gone the way of the Swastika and been kicked out.
"Over the past few years we have heard from more and more Scouts, Guides and leaders who struggle with the wording, particularly in interpreting what it really means to them today' said one Scout and Girls Guides leader.
I would guess that promising to serve a God that hardly anyone believes in anymore in modern times and a mega-rich lady who lives in a Palace doesn't rank very high on any ones list and it is about time this outdated oath was replaced with something the kids of today can relate to, Facebook and Harry Potter should do it.
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