1st Surbiton (Sealion) Sea Scouts

The group was started by the Rev John Taylor, Vicar of St Marks Church on the 1st May 1909 as the 1st Surbiton (St Marks) B.P. Scout Group. It was registered with Imperial Headquarters on the 3rd November 1909 and was the second group to be registered in the Kingston Scout District, which then included Malden & Coombe, Surbiton, Esher and Kingston and extended almost as far as Cobham.

The group, as with all scout groups at this time, with a Scout Troop but as time went on, 1916 saw the Wolf Cubs join us and, later, Rover Scouts and then Senior Scouts. In 1946, a Sea Scout Patrol was formed and this quickly became a Troop in its own right; so the group now had a Scout Troop and a Sea Scout Troop meeting in the Scout H.Q. in Balaclava Road, opposite St Andrews Hall. Time moved on and, in the 1960s, the group was forced to move to Lower Marsh Lane. They acquired a building from the old Army Camp in Richmond Park and erected it themselves on the site made available to them by Surbiton Borough Council. Unfortunately this was burnt down and the Group moved again to the Old H.Q. of the 3rd Surbiton scouts where they still are. With declining numbers and lack of leaders, the group was on the point of closure in 1975 and it was decided to close the scout troop down and strengthen the Sea Scout Troop. The amalgamation of the Parish Churches of St Andrew and St Mark into one Parish in 1976 left the group with a slight dilemma, which was solved with the help of Jane’s Fighting Ships and a submarine called ‘Sealion’. The Sea for the Fisherman St Andrew and the Lion of St Mark. The group Secretary, at the time, was able to register our new name without loss of our original registration number.

The group now supports two Beaver Scout Colonies, who meet on Tuesdays and Saturdays; two Cub Scout Packs, who meet on Mondays and Thursdays; a Sea Scout Troop, who meet on Fridays, and has a Partnership Agreement with an Explorer Sea Scout Unit who use the H.Q. on a Wednesdays. The Troop and Explorer Unit also use facilities on Raven’s Ait, by kind permission of the Kingston Borough Council, where the group’s boats are kept.

The group has a Group Executive who meets regularly to support the Group. The Section Scouters hold regular meetings with the Group Scout Leader. All sections are indebted for the regular assistance given to them by parents and other non-uniformed adults without whom the group’s equipment and boats would not get the care and maintenance they require.

Roger Jones, Group President