The Guide International Service (G.I.S.) was an organisation set up by the Girl Guides Association in Britain in 1942 with the aim of sending teams of adult Girl Guides to do relief work into Europe after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. A total of 198 Guiders and 60 Scouts, drawn from Britain, Australia, Canada, Demark, Holland, Ireland, Kenya, New Zealand and Russia served in teams. There were many teams in place in various parts of occupied Europe - perhaps the most notable was at the

Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp was a displaced persons (DP) camp for refugees after World War II, in Lower Saxony in northwestern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. It was in operation from the summer of 1945 until Sept ...

- while other teams served in Greece, Holland and Malaya.

Olave Baden-Powell Olave St Clair Baden-Powell, Baroness Baden-Powell (''née'' Soames; 22 February 1889 – 25 June 1977) was the first Chief Guide for Britain and the wife of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting and co-founder o ...

, World Chief Guide, grieving in Kenya after the death of her husband,

Robert Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; (Commonly pronounced by others as ) 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the wor ...

, was persuaded to return to Britain: '' . . . I kept receiving letters from England telling me thrilling stories of the heroism of Scouts and Guides in Britain and in the occupied countries of Europe. Then I had one letter in particular that challenged me. It was from Miss Tennyson, the Editor of The Guider, and she wrote, “Come home and see what Guides are doing in the war. You will never forgive yourself if you don’t see it.” ... ''

Notable volunteers

* Rosa Ward, OBE, JP, chair of the Girl Guide International Service from 1942-1954 * Alison Duke, classical scholar, served with the GIS in Egypt and Greece * Elizabeth Hartley (Girl Guides) vice-chair of the 20th World Conference, leader of the Training Team of the World Association Training scheme * Lady Marjorie Stopford South Herts Division Commissioner, served with GIS in Egypt and Greece * Stella Cunliffe MBE, first female president of the

Royal Statistical Society The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. ...

. Cunliffe was one of the first civilians to go into

Belsen Concentration Camp Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentrati ...

with the GIS * Sue Ryder CMG, OBE, a volunteer with the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its p ...

in World War II and founder of Sue Ryder charity

References

{{Reflist International Scouting Exile organizations Displaced persons camps in the aftermath of World War II

Notable volunteers

Further reading

References