TOPIC:

Here’s one I recommend.

Friday the 31st of August 1900., Belfast Eastern Transvaal. Fort-three year old Major General Robert Baden-Powell meets British Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Frederick Roberts. They discuss the idea of British High Commissioner Sir Alfred Milner to form a mounted force capable of dealing with rebellion in the two Boer republics of Orange Free State and Transvaal, now in British hands as the Army is required to combat the remaining Boer Commandos now fighting a guerrilla war. The result is the formation of the South African Constabulary, a paramilitary force with a military-police role.

Baden-Powell selects confident self-reliant "handy men" who possess excellent field craft skills. He arranges better pay for them than the army receives and organised them into small, effective squads. They prove their worth with success against greater numbers and later help Boer families returning to their homes and farms.

The South African Constabulary’s doctrine of independence, practical skills, and small-unit teamwork directly influences the principles Baden-Powell adopts when he forms the Boy Scoutsin 1907.