An Angus Scout group is calling for former members, leaders and families to join them to mark their 60th anniversary in 2022 by sharing memories, photographs and stories.
The most famous former member of the 53rd Angus (1st Newbigging) Scouts is X-Men star Alan Cumming, who was a Cub at the Monikie based group in the 1970s.
The Scout group would be delighted if Mr Cumming shared his Scouting memories.
However, former members don’t need to be a Hollywood star to join the celebrations as the current leaders and members want to hear from anyone with connections to Newbigging Scouts to help make their 60th anniversary memorable.
Still going strong
Group Scout Leader Lynne Cattanach-Rodger, who has been a leader at the group for 23 years, said: “It was David Malcolm and John Barratt who first set up the Scout group in Monikie back in 1962, initially based at Newbigging School then moving to Monikie and it is still going strong after all of these years.
“Despite all the challenges of COVID-19 over the past two years and having to meet online for months at a time, our young people have shown great resilience and continued to enjoy their Scout activities.
“In fact, we have grown in numbers during the pandemic so want to celebrate with our current young people and families by sharing the experiences of Scouts who have gone before them over the past 60 years.”
The group hope to host a 60th anniversary celebration during 2022 and will also hold a special camp and other activities for Scout group members.
Anyone with a connection to Newbigging Scouts as a former member, leader or parent is invited to join the Facebook group to keep up to date with the 60th anniversary plans https://www.facebook.com/groups/newbiggingscouts60th.
Wide age range
The 53rd Angus (1st Newbigging) Scout Group currently have 65 youth members across Beavers, Cubs and Scouts with another 11 in the Camus Explorers who are affiliated with the group.
That affiliation came about in the last few years as they used to meet across South Angus district doing week about in different venues. That means 76 young people aged 5-18 are involved.
They serve the rural areas of Monikie, Newbigging, Wellbank and Murroes but also have members from the wider Monifieth and Broughty Ferry area which also have their own Scout groups.
Alan Cumming’s memories
Four years ago the Angus Cub Pack expressed hope Hollywood and Broadway star Alan Cumming might pay them a visit one day after discovering he was a member of the pack back in the 1970s.
The connection was discovered when the X-Men star posted a Throwback Thursday photograph of himself as a Newbigging Cub on a visit to Edinburgh in 1973 on Instagram.
He also posted a memory on Twitter in 2015 when he said: “That time my six won the shield at Cubs”.
That time my six won the shield at Cubs#tbt pic.twitter.com/X7sWgAHkMO
— Alan Cumming (@Alancumming) May 22, 2015
The Cubs, who wrote to Mr Cumming in 2018, hoped he might visit on a trip to Scotland and maybe help them with some campfire songs.
Scout hut history
Lorraine Wakefield, Scout Group Secretary on behalf of 53rd Angus (1st Newbigging) Scouts, said another interesting piece of history is the group’s wooden hut.
“It is over 100 years old and was gifted to the group in 1968 by the Panmure Trading Company,” she said.
“It was at that point the group relocated from Newbigging School to Monikie.
“It used to sit on the east side of Panmure Road (beside Monikie Country Park) but the group was given notice to leave that site in 2005, so the hut was dismantled and moved across the road where it was rebuilt and still stands today.
“It’s one of the few old fashioned wooden huts still around and requires quite a lot of maintenance as a result.”
