History - 1^st Henfield Scout Troop

The 1^st Henfield Troop is probably one of the first organised in the country. A claim substantiated by the following extract of a letter from Major A.G. Wade addressed to the Cubmaster, Mr W.L. Jupp in 1957, when he was compiling a history of Scouting in Henfield.

" The first Henfield troop was formed in the Autumn of 1907 by my sister out of the Boy's Hockey Club. I was instructor to the troop and Corp. A. West, late of the Royal Sussex Regiment, helped my sister when I was away. We met in the old barn at Hackettts, I think, then a carpenter's shop on the left of the cemetery entrance. Not only did Henfield have the first Scout Troop but Sussex was also the first county to be organised with a complete County Scout Council. Major, The Earl of March, D.S.O, was the first County Commissioner, and I was his County Secretary."

Source: http://www.1sthenfieldscoutgroup.co.uk/history.html
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Major Wade mentions that he was an instructor for Henfield scouts. Perhaps he had a roving commission of helping to establish troops in the Chichester area. If Major Wade did help to form the 1^st Westbourne Troop then they can be proud to have been associated with his distinguished career.