Queen's Scout Award
In this year of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee a member of the Yateley Explorer Scouts, part of the Bramshill Scout District was recently presented with the highly prestigious Queen's Scout Award by County Commissioner Adam Jollans.
Yateley resident Emlyn Price who is studying physics at the University of Manchester had previously completed the Platinum and Diamond awards of the Chief Scout and also the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze and Silver awards.
The Queen's Scout Award was next and Emlyn worked for a year to achieve it along with the Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award.
The final part of the awards consisted of a formal presentation of all that he had done. A clearly delighted Emlyn told his audience that "It's been fun and challenging and I would recommend it to anyone considering doing it. The award leaders were very supportive throughout the entire process – particularly on those days on the expedition to Dartmoor when I was tired with some way still to go. The sense of achievement at the finish was a great moment and really the best part!".
The journey to Queen's Scout Award started when he joined the 3rd Bramhill Scout Group Beaver Colony back in 1999. He then moved through Cubs and then onto Scouts. In 2007, at the age of 14 ½ he joined the Bramshill District Explorers Unit, while continuing with the 3rd Bramshill Scout Group as a "Young Leader", thereby giving something back to the next generation of Scouts.
Group Scout Leader Ray Bunce congratulated Emlyn on his achievement stating "To have achieved through hard work and determination the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award and now add to the Queen's Scout Award is a fantastic achievement. It will only further enhance his future career prospects and his whole family must be very proud of him."
The solid silver elephant seen hanging around Emlyn's neck was presented to the Hampshire Scouting Movement by the widow of Lord Louie Mountbatten. Rather than lock it away in a safe place and not be seen, it was decided to allow every recipient of the QSA the honour of wearing it for the duration of their presentation.
Many members of the Scouting movement including District and County level were present at the award ceremony where Emlyn gave a presentation on all that he had done to achieve the award.
Only a small number of Queen's Scouts a year are awarded in Hampshire
Scouting is going from strength to strength and with the Duchess of Cambridge now volunteering at Scouting events in Anglesey this can only raise awareness of the value of Scouting.
Article and photograph by Jason Quilliam