Harold Robert William Parfitt (5 October 1881 – 1 November 1976) was an English pilot and war correspondent during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

as well as a founding member of The

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts or Boy Scout may refer to: * Members, sections or organisations in the Scouting Movement ** Scout (Scouting), a boy or a girl participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouting America, formerly known as Boy Scouts of America ...

. He was also a Scottish trade representative and served as Chief Scout of the Boy-Scouts van België.

Biography

Parfitt was an organist in a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

church in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, and created the first Scout group in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, for

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

youth, at the end of 1908 or beginning of 1909, which interested several young people of Brussels. He then participated in the creation of the Boy-Scouts van België, trained the first members, and published the "Carnet du Boy-scout" translated and adapted from the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

Scout Handbook in 1911. In 1914, at the request of the government of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, he participated in the launch of

Scouting in Turkey Scouting and Guiding Federation of Turkey (''Türkiye İzcilik Federasyonu'', TİF) is the national Scouting and Guiding federation of Turkey. It serves 33,974 Scouts (as of 2011) and 2,883 Guides (as of 2006). The federation is a member of the ...

by founding the ''Izcilik Dernekleri''. The organization was sponsored by the

State organisation of the Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire developed over the years as a despotism with the Sultan as the supreme ruler of a centralized government that had an effective control of its provinces, officials and inhabitants. Wealth and rank could be inherited but were ...

under the aegis of the

Ministry of War Ministry of War may refer to: * Ministry of War (imperial China) ( 600–1912) * Chinese Republic Ministry of War (1912–1946) * Ministry of War (Kingdom of Bavaria) (1808–1919) * Ministry of War (Brazil) (1815–1999) * Ministry of War (Esto ...

, which saw it as a means of training young adolescents in

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

. Membership was voluntary, and it was open to boys aged 11 to 17.

External links

References

Scouting and Guiding in Belgium Scouting and Guiding in Turkey Scouting pioneers 1881 births 1976 deaths Chief Scouts People from Croydon {{Turkey-bio-stub