About the AHST
The introduction to "Forty Years On Foot":
In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s Scouting in Finchley was strong, with several Groups scattered across the local map, many situated quite close to each other. With very few other clubs and societies about, most boys joined the Cubs at the age of 8 and several continued into Scouts at the age of 11 or 12.
However, by the middle of the 60’s it was becoming difficult to retain leaders and membership was beginning to fall, particularly amongst the older Scouts. Some Groups closed, others merged completely and some just combined certain sections.
As a member of the 9th Finchley I met with the Senior Scouts from the 16th and 21st Finchley at the 16th Finchley HQ in East Finchley, under the leadership of Arthur Fitzjohn. This strengthened friendships that had been established in previous years, particularly with Phil Knowles (21st Finchley) who I had previously met at joint summer camps and district events.
The 6th Finchley, on the other hand, had managed to retain its own Senior Scout Troop with a membership of around 9 including Graham Beevor, and were led by Geoff Pinnells. They were also fortunate enough to have their own headquarters – the old stable block (known as The Den) on the Avenue House Estate.
Avenue House is an imposing Grade II listed mansion with extensive grounds. These contain a unique collection of trees forming an attractive backdrop to the House. It was bought in 1874 by Henry Charles (Inky) Stephens, son of the inventor of the famous blue-black ink. He died in 1918 bequeathing Avenue House to the people of Finchley.
It was opened to the public on 3rd May 1928, nearly 10 years after Stephens' death, with the stable block (Left) subsequently being made available to the Scouts.
In 1966 the Scout Association published ‘The Advance Party Report’ that was designed to revitalise the Movement. The key changes included a new uniform, with long trousers replacing shorts for everyone except Cubs, and a restructuring of the various sections. Senior Scouts and Rover Scouts were to be replaced with Venture Scout Units.
As the recommended changes took place there were more departures including Arthur who had decided that he could no longer remain a leader. A new home was needed for Phil, Roy Turner (21st Finchley) and myself. The 6th Finchley Senior Scouts, whose numbers were about to fall to three (Graham, Bob Wall and Roland Jackson); had very recently been joined by three members (that included Riki Nisi) of the 25th Finchley, was the obvious answer.
We met at The Den and called ourselves the Avenue House Venture Scout Unit. Other ‘waifs and strays’, notably 3 more members of the 25th Finchley (that included John Howarth and Phil Morecombe), were invited to join. The AHVSU in effect became the Venture Scout Unit for the southern half of Finchley.
We were close to Finchley Central and within easy access from a number of different bus routes.
Although Geoff had agreed to be our leader, under the new set-up it became the responsibility of the members to plan their programmes and activities. This worked well and before long we were planning our first major activity, a hike in Surrey, over the 1968 Whitsun weekend, which in the end I did not attend. Although we continued with a full programme, that enabled some members to attend summer camps in Scotland (1968) and Switzerland (1969), it was not until December 1969 that another hike took place, followed closely by a trip to Hastings at Whitsun 1970.
By now some Groups had started to grow again and were able to form their own Venture Scout Units. This resulted in some of our younger members returning to their original homes, in particular those from the 25th Finchley, where the Group had merged with the 1st Finchley.
By the Summer of 1970 membership of our unit had fallen dramatically and with most of us reaching the maximum age for Venture Scouts we met on 14th October 1970 for the last time, to discuss the closing down of our Unit.
Despondency however, never stays long at Avenue House and from the ashes of the Venture Scout Unit sprang the flame of the Avenue House Service Team (AHST). Geoff suddenly found himself the leader of a Team that before long was a dozen strong. New members included Geoff Wright (22nd Finchley), and David Kennett (15th Finchley) as well as Graham Hicks, who as one of the senior members of the 6th Finchley Scouts, had previously joined in with some Venture Scout activities. In addition Graham H introduced Dick Flack and Neal Stuttaford who were new to Scouting.
We sought guidance from Arthur Berry, the District Service Team Leader, and although our focus took a new direction we decided to continue holding events for ourselves. In December we held a second Winter Hike, the first though under the banner of the AHST.
During the following years the Team continued to thrive and although several members were now helping to run their own Packs and Troops there was still time to enjoy the activities of the AHST, particularly the Winter Hikes.
In March 1976 the Scout Association decided it was time for another change. As well as introducing an upper age limit for holding a leader warrant they wanted to bring together all supporters / support teams (e.g. BP Guild, Service Teams and Camping Ground Crews) under the umbrella heading of The Scout Fellowship. Members of the AHST joined the Fellowship but to all intents and purposes everyone carried on as before.
Nevertheless, through the passage of time, the lives of individuals were changing. Members had moved from the District and others were getting married. The weekly meetings had come to an end, and the AHST had faded away.
All that remained were friendships and …The Annual Winter Hike. As the years rolled by, we would meet to enjoy this event – fellow scouters were invited to join us. Some did and managed only one or two hikes while others are well into double figures. In all more than 30 different people have taken part in at least one event since 1968.
As 2008 sees the 40th anniversary of the first ‘Avenue House’ hike this souvenir booklet has been produced as a formal record of the hikes that have taken place.
Peter Cox
2008