Scouting Movement in Canada National Historic Event of Canada, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Posted by: 
colincan
N 43° 14.857 W 079° 04.388
17T E 656425 N 4790115
Niagara-on-the-Lake hosted Scouting's 8th World Jamboree in 1955. The large encampment, which hosted 11,000 participants, was erected on the Commons beside Butler's Barracks. This site had been home to military encampments on previous occasions.
Waymark Code: WMVREH
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 05/23/2017
Views: 7
Prior to the South African War (Boer War) of the late 1890s Lord Baden Powell wrote a handbook for raw urban recruits from industrial England aimed at helping them be prepared for a rural military posting in unfamiliar surroundings. This was the synthesis of an idea that grew into the world wide scouting movement. Currently, every four years, young men the world over in the Venturer Scouts (aged 15-17) meet for two weeks of activity and adventure in what is termed the World Jamboree (WJ). Niagara-on-the-Lake hosted the first WJ to be held beyond the borders of Europe in 1955. Its tent city accommodated 11,000 Scouts who set up camp on the wide open spaces of the Commons alongside Butler’s Barracks. This was in keeping with the tradition of prior encampments in town when Canada’s military recruits trained at old Camp Niagara. To-day, the multicultural WJ, which sees contingents attend from virtually all of the 160 national scouting associations, has grown to about 30,000 people. Kirarahama, Japan, hosted the 2015 WJ and the next one is slated for the United States in 2019. The Scouting Movement in Canada was designated of national significance in 2009. A federal plaque was erected on the Commons in Niagara-on-the-Lake in 2011.
Classification: National Historic Event
Province or Territory: Ontario
Location - City name/Town name: Niagara-on-the-Lake
Link to Parks Canada entry (must be on www.pc.gc.ca): [Web Link]
Link to HistoricPlaces.ca: Not listed
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