Gone Home - Skip Bill Harvey

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"Skip" Bill Harvey
January 8, 1998

"Skip" Bill Harvey The following is a letter written to Jim Kelly at Brampton District by Derrick Harvey about his father, Bill who was a long serving Scout leader and who passed away on January 8, 1998.

Dear Jim,
It has taken a while to relocate ourselves back to B.C., but we are here now and I finally have the time to follow up on details.

You may remember that I came into the Scout House on Steeles Ave. and gave you some mementos of the ADANAC Rover Crew of Bramalea. We were affiliated with the 1st. Bramalea group.

Most of the gear that I left with you was my father, Bill Harvey's Bill was the skipper of the rover crew for over 10 years and was only the 2nd skipper that we had. The ADANAC Rover Crew was well known all over Canada and the USA as one of the most energetic and well-traveled crews in existence. To say the least, our parties are legendary. But to get back to Bill, he came up through the ranks and was a cub in Croydon, England in the late twenties and early thirties. After emigrating to Canada 1956, and moving to Bramalea in 1960, he carried on his involvement with Scouting. It was only when he became interested in Rover scouting that he realized how much he enjoyed his role and its responsibilities.

During Bill's tenure as skipper, the crew performed many tasks including the following:

Wardenship of Goodyear Scout Camp in Hockley Valley
Years of service to the White Oaks area Girl Guides as Camp Wyoka
Hosting of many Regional moots and attendance at all others
The establishment of long standing exchanges between our crew and the fledgling Rover movement in the USA, specifically Kentucky and Illinois
Honour Guard for Her Majesty the Queen at Landsdown Park in Ottawa
Providing backup leaders for cubs and scouts in the Bramalea area
Emergency security services during the tragic natural gas explosion in the Malton area in 1969
The introduction and integration of the red beret as the official Rover hat
Many core activities that emulated the traditional roles of scouting and Baden-Powell's teachings

Bill passed away on January 8th 1998. As with mum's funeral 6 years ago, the biggest contingent at the funeral home was not family relatives, but ex-Rovers who came to say goodbye to their skipper.

I hope that the flag, sword and other material lend a little bit of history to the new Scout House. Through this donation, maybe folks will remember Rovers and the incredible contribution that part of Scouting gave to the integrity and grit of today's leaders.

Thanks for the opportunity,
Regards

Derrick W. Harvey
Ex Rover and 1st Mate of the 1st Bramalea "ADANAC" Rover Crew

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