Alec J. Spalding

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language of t ...

(9 August 1923 – 2 October 2007) was a prominent figure in the UK

Scout Association The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was form ...

, serving in the 24th Glasgow (Bearsden) Scout Group for over fifty years. In recognition of his service to Scouting, he received the Silver Wolf and was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

. He died of cancer at age 84.

History

Education

Spalding attended

Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational independent day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully independent ...

, and went on to study Agriculture at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. His studies were interrupted by his military service, but were resumed after the war. He graduated with a

BSc A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in 1948.

Military service

Spalding volunteered to join the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

in the early 1940s and served as a radar operator in the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the rest of

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 ...

until being

demobilized Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...

in 1946.

Career

After graduation, Spalding worked as an agricultural economist at the West of Scotland Agricultural College from 1948 to about 1954. He went on to work at

Scottish Agricultural Industries Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

until taking early retirement in 1981.

Involvement with Scouting

Spalding was a Boy Scout with the 24th Glasgow (Bearsden) Scout Group, and in 1939 he was awarded the King Scout Badge. He returned after military service in 1946, and took up a series of leadership positions over the course of more than fifty years, including Scout Leader (leading "A" Troop), Scouter in Charge (acting Group Scout Leader of the 24th), and District Commissioner. After visiting

Kandersteg Kandersteg is a municipality in the Frutigen-Niedersimmental administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It is located along the valley of the River Kander, west of the Jungfrau massif. It is noted for its spectacular mount ...

, Switzerland in 1947, he took a party of 36 Scouts and leaders to the

Kandersteg International Scout Centre The Kandersteg International Scout Centre (KISC) is an international Scout centre in Kandersteg, Switzerland. The centre provides lodges, chalets and campsites covering 17 hectares of land. It is open to Scouts year round, as well as to non-Scou ...

in 1949. This commenced a tradition of biennial visits to Kandersteg by Scouts from the 24th Glasgow (Bearsden) Scout Group. Notable features of these camps during the golden years of the group in the 1960s included serious mountain expeditions. Excursions over the Gemmi and Lotschen Passes were regularly undertaken. On top of this was a high level expedition involving an overnight stay in a mountain chalet allowing access to a number of Bernese Oberland peaks including the Rinderhorn and the Balmhorn above 11,000'. Spalding also organised numerous other expeditions across Europe and North America. Spalding's Scouting activities also included running the group's biennial

jumble sale A jumble sale (UK), bring and buy sale (Australia) or rummage sale (U.S and Canada) is an event at which second hand goods are sold, usually by an institution such as a local Boys' Brigade Company, Scout group, Girlguiding group or church, a ...

. He was also a keen photographer, and often contributed pictures and text about scout activities to the local paper. Spalding was also known for his enthusiastic rendition of songs like ''

Three Blind Mice "Three Blind Mice" is an English-language nursery rhyme and musical round.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 306. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of ...

'', ''

Sing a Song of Sixpence "Sing a Song of Sixpence" is an English nursery rhyme, perhaps originating in the 18th century. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as number 13191. The sixpence in the rhyme is a British coin that was first minted in 1551. Origins The r ...

'', ''

Ging Gang Goolie "Ging Gang Gooli(-e)" or "Ging Gang Goo" (below “Ging Gang”) is a gibberish song, widely spread around the world. It is popular among Scouts and Girl Guides. Origin In 1905 the song, with Scandinavian spelling of the gibberish, was presented ...

'', ''

Green Grow the Rushes, O Green Grow the Rushes, O (alternatively "Ho" or "Oh") (also known as "The Twelve Prophets", "The Carol of the Twelve Numbers", "The Teaching Song", "The Dilly Song", or "The Ten Commandments"), is an English folk song (Roud #133). It is sometimes ...

'', and ''

The Wild Rover "The Wild Rover" ( Roud 1173) is a very popular and well-travelled folk song. Many territories have laid claim to have the original version. History In 2015 the English Folk Song and Dance periodical "Folk Music Journal" vol 10 No 5 had an artic ...

'' at camp fires.

List of works

* ''The 24th 1908–1988: a history of the 24th Glasgow (Bearsden) Scout Group'', May 1988, * ''Activities and Expeditions for Youth Groups'', 2007 * ''Games and Activities for Scouts'', 1985 (reprinted 1996),

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spalding, Alec People associated with Scouting Members of the Order of the British Empire The Scout Association 1923 births 2007 deaths People educated at the Glasgow Academy Alumni of the University of Glasgow Royal Navy personnel of World War II Deaths from cancer in Scotland

History

Education

Military service

Career

Involvement with Scouting

List of works

See also

References