St. George
They had as their patron saint St. George, because he was the only one of all the saints who was a horseman. He is the Patron Saint of cavalry and a special saint of England.
He is also the Patron Saint of Boy Scouts everywhere. Therefore, all Scouts should know his story.
St. George was born in Cappadocia in the year AD 303. He enlisted as a cavalry soldier when he was seventeen, and soon became renowned for his bravery.
On one occasion he came to a city named Selem, near which lived a dragon who had to be fed daily with one of the citizens, drawn by lot.
The day St. George came there, the lot had fallen upon the king’s daughter, Cleolinda. St. George resolved that she should not die, and so he went out and attacked the dragon, who lived in a swamp close by, and killed him.
Prepared and alert a Scout follows the lead
of our Patron Saint Geor ge and his spirited steed.
St. George was typical of what a Scout should be:
When he was faced by a difficulty or danger, however great it appeared — even in the shape of a dragon — he did not avoid it or fear it, but went at it with all the power he could put into himself and his horse. Although inadequately armed for such an encounter, having merely a spear, he charged in, did his best, and finally succeeded in overcoming a difficulty which nobody had dared to tackle.
That is exactly the way in which a Scout should face a difficulty or danger, no matter how great or terrifying it may appear to him or how ill-equipped he may be for the struggle.
He should go at it boldly and confidently, using every power that he can to try to overcome it, and the probability is that he will succeed.
St. George’s Day is April 23rd. On that day all good Scouts make a special point of
thinking about the Promise and the Scout Law. Remember this on the next 23rd April and send greetings to Brother Scouts around the world.
The Knights’ Code
The laws of the knights were these:
“Be Always Ready, with your armour on, except when you are taking your rest at night.
At whatever you are working try to win honour and a name for honesty.
Defend the poor and weak.
Help them that cannot defend themselves.
Do nothing to hurt or offend anyone else.
Be prepared to fight in the defence of their country.
Work for honour rather than profit.
Never break your promise.
Maintain the honour of your country with your life.
Rather die honest than live shamelessly.
Chivalry requireth that youth should be trained to perform the most laborious and humble offices with cheerfulness and grace; and to do good unto others.”
These are the first rules with which the old knights started, and from which the Scout Law of today comes.
A knight (or Scout) is at all times a gentleman. So many people seem to think that a gentleman must have lots of money. Money does not make a gentleman. A gentleman is anyone who carries out the rules of chivalry of the knights.
Unselfishness
Captain John Smith, the old English adventurer of three hundred years ago, was a pretty tough customer to deal with, as he had fought in every part of the world and had been wounded over and over again; but he also had a good, kind heart within him.
He was as good a type of scout as you could find anywhere. One of his favourite expressions was, “We were born, not for ourselves, but to do good to others”, and he carried this out very much in his life, for he was the most unselfish of men.
Self-Sacrifice
One of the finest examples of self-sacrifice was the action of Captain Lawrence Oates, who was on Scott’s Last Expedition to the South Pole.
The little party of men had reached the Pole on January 18th, 1912, to find to their bitter disappointment that the Norwegian explorer, Roald Amundsen, had been there ahead of them, only a few weeks before.
Captain Lawrence Oates proved hi mself a man of great courage on Scott’s Last
Expedition to the South Pole. He sacrificed himself so that his comrades mi ght live.
