Rose Margaret Guthrie Kerr (''née'' Gough; 28 April 1882 – 12 December 1944) was a

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 ...

pioneer of the Guiding movement. She was one of the founders of the

Rangers A ranger is typically someone in a law enforcement or military/paramilitary role specializing in patrolling a given territory, called "ranging" or "scouting". The term most often refers to: * Park ranger or forest ranger, a person charged with prot ...

section of Girl Guides and was involved in the formation of the

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS ) is a global association that supports Girl Guides, female-oriented and female-only Guiding and Scouting organizations in 153 countries. It was established in the year 1928 in Parád, H ...

(WAGGGS) and authored numerous publications on Guiding. She was awarded the Silver Fish. In 1938 she was made an

O.B.E. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

Personal life

She was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, the daughter of Major Wilfred Arbuthnot Gough and Beatrice Guthrie, daughter of the fourth Feudal Baron of Craigie. When she was 2, her father was killed in action at the

Battle of Abu Klea The Battle of Abu Klea, also known as the Battle of Abu Tulayh, took place between 16 and 18 January 1885, at Abu Klea, Sudan, between the British Desert Column and Muhammad Ahmad, Mahdist forces encamped near Abu Klea. The Desert Column, a for ...

, and her mother remarried Captain Henry Denison to whom she became quite devoted. She studied music in

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. In 1906, Rose Gough married Admiral Mark Kerr (8 September 1864 – 20 January 1944), grandson of

William Kerr, 6th Marquess of Lothian William Kerr, 6th Marquess of Lothian, (4 October 1763 – 27 April 1824), was a British soldier, landowner and politician. He was the son of William Kerr, 5th Marquess of Lothian. He served as a representative peer from 1817 to 1824. Life ...

; they had two children: Alix Kerr Liddell (1907–1981) and Luise Rosemary Kerr (1908–1986).

Robert Baden-Powell Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, ( ; 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder of The Boy Scouts Association and its first Chief Scout, and founder, with ...

proposed to Rose Gough first, but was refused in December 1905. However they remained close friends.

Guiding

Juliette Gordon Low Juliette Gordon Low ( Gordon; October 31, 1860 – January 17, 1927) was the American founder of Girl Scouts of the USA. Inspired by the work of Robert Baden-Powell, founder of Scout Movement, she joined the Girl Guide movement in England, fo ...

persuaded Kerr to lead a Guide company in 1912. According to the story, Juliette Low using her deafness failed to hear Rose Kerr's excuses that she didn't have time and didn't live in London. She gave up this company on going abroad in 1913 to Greece and later Italy. While staying at the Baden-Powell's home, Ewhurst Place, in 1916,

Olave Baden-Powell Olave St Clair Baden-Powell, Baroness Baden-Powell (; 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 of Girl Guides). ...

insisted that Kerr become a County Commissioner for The Girl Guide Association. She started as Chief Commissioner for the County of London but later turned her attention to international Guiding also. She continued to lead her own Ranger company from that time on.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, a message was smuggled to Kerr from Anni Collan, the Chief Guide of

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Collan wrote "It is a pity that our two countries are at war with one another - but that does not make any difference to us!" Rose Kerr's daughter, Louise Rosemary "Rosie" Kerr, was a close friend of the pilot, Richard Hillary, and was reportedly engaged to the Squadron Leader, Jacques-Henri Schloesing until he was killed in action in 1944. Schloesing had been a Scout leader before the war, and the street where

Passy Cemetery Passy Cemetery () is a small cemetery in Passy, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, France. History The current cemetery replaced the old cemetery (''l'ancien cimetière communal de Passy'', located on Rue Lekain), which was closed in 1802. ...

stands in Paris is named for him.

Appointments

The Girl Guide Association

*Guider *County Commissioner *Member of the Executive Committee *Head of Rangers *Deputy Chief Commissioner, London and the Home Counties *Vice-Chairman, International Council *Commissioner for Publications *(first) International Commissioner *Chairman of subcommittee appointed by Robert Baden-Powell to consider the formation of a World Association

WAGGGS

*Chairman of First World Committee *(first) Commissioner for Tenderfoot Countries *Head of Publications *Editor of ''The Council Fire''

Works

*1929: ''The Commissioner's Book'' *1932: ''The Story of the Girl Guides'' *1934: ''The Cruise of the Calgaric'' *1935: ''The Cruise of the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

'' *1938: ''The Cruise of the Orduna'' *1939: ''The Story Of A Million Girls - Guiding and Girl Scouting Round The World'' (Compiler) *1954: ''The Story of the Girl Guides: 1908- 1938'' (Revised by Alix Liddell)

References

External links

*
BBC-Girlguiding in the UK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Rose Chairs of the World Board (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts) 1882 births 1944 deaths Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Silver Fish Award People from South Dublin (county) Girlguiding officials