Robert Baden-Powell: The UK Council removes the statue of the Boy Scout founder

“While it is famous for creating scouts, we also recognize that there are some aspects of Robert Baden-Powell’s life that are less commemorative,” she said in a statement.

“I do not wish to remove the statue,” she wrote. “But we received advice from the police that this statue was on the list of targets for the attack and because of its proximity to water and its delicate and historical nature, I was asked to agree to its temporary removal.”

The move is part of a wave of actions against monuments glorifying the colonial history of the United Kingdom.

On Sunday, protesters in Bristol tore down the statue of slave dealer Edward Coulston and threw it into the river, and local authorities in East London removed the statue of slave owner Robert Milligan on Tuesday.

Who was Baden-Powell?

Robert Stephenson Smith Baden-Powell, the first Baron Baden-Powell of Gilwell, was born on February 22, 1857 in London and died on January 8, 1941 in Neri, Kenya, according to the British Encyclopedia.

He was revered as a national hero for his actions as an officer in the British Army in the South African War (1899-1902), and he continued to found scouts in 1908. Two years later, he co-founded Girl Guides, a similar organization for girls.

Scout movement

Scouts target boys from 10 to 14 years old. The organization says that scouts “are there to actively engage and support young people in their personal development, and to enable them to make a positive contribution to society.”

Baden-Powell developed an interest in educating young people when he discovered that his 1899 military book “AIDS to Scouting” was used to train children in wooden crafts.

He decided to set up a boys’ experimental camp on Brownsea Island, near Poole, in 1907, and then wrote a book of what he called the Boy Scout Movement.

A long time ago, there were scouting forces that appeared throughout Britain, and Baden Powell published a book called “Boy Scouting” in 1908.

Two years later, Baden-Powell retired from his army position to focus on scouting, and established Girl Guides with his sister, Agnes, in the same year.

Why was it controversial?

“A quick look at his history shows that he was very candid about his views against homosexuality and that he was a very outspoken supporter of Hitler and fascism and a very strong, outright racist,” Bournemouth East Lieber, Corey Drew, told BBC News Thursday.

She said, “We cannot justify the horrific values ​​of people because they were in the past.”

Drew added that the statue was not historical – it had been around for a decade. “It is not part of our history as such,” she said.

However, some local politicians have spoken in defense of the statue.

Conor Burns, a deputy from the nearby Bournemouth West area, called on the BCP Council to return the statue.

Locals gathered this morning in Paul to show their support for the statue.