| The above shield relates
to the first Scout group in High Legh. There is a Scout Movement badge (Fleur
de Lys) above the shield and a banner below with the Movement's motto 'Be
Prepared'. These are all mounted on a brown hardwood shield which is 13
cms high and 10.5 cms wide.
The silver shield is hallmarked on the bottom right, the symbols being
an anchor, a lion and an 'n'. I interpret these marks as Birmingham Plate,
dated 1912. There is another mark on the bottom left, but, as a result
of polishing, it is now indistinct. I think it could have been the word
'silver'. This date ties in with the reference to High Legh Scouts in
the History of Knutsford District Scouting, written by the late R S C
Hadfield.
The most accurate information we have is Ron Hatfield's history, which
I understand he researched from the District records. Unfortunately for
High Legh, its a bit vague.
‘It seems that in 1916 a Scout troop was in being at High Legh
for which the Group Scoutmaster was the Rev. Surridge. Whether this was
part of the Mid-Cheshire District (Knutsford) or some adjacent district
is not known, but it is curious that Mrs E W Surridge - a somewhat unusual
name and mentioned earlier - was the honorary secretary to the Local Association
based on Knutsford at that time. There is no record of the Troop's activities
nor how long it existed, but it seems to have disappeared in 1916, possibly
due to the small numbers involved in what must have been a very small
community at that time.'
The earlier reference to Mrs Surridge is
'During 1918
the position of County Commissioner had been vacant, but in 1919 Mr C
Heape JP FRGS of High Lane, Cheshire, was appointed County Commissioner
for East Cheshire. H C Neilson was still Acting District Commissioner
and Mrs Surridge was still secretary for the Local Association; altogether
this lady served for eleven years in this capacity.'
Mike Hosker
Ron obviously contacted
the H/Q record office and they turned up something from 1924 for 2nd Knutsford,
so I suspect that there is a shortage of earlier records. Someone once
told me that it was Rev. Surridge's son who was the scout master. I Googled
the Rev. and turned up the following: First Annual Address of Rev. H.
A. D. Surridge, M.A. P197/4/1 1884 ... to proposed union of benefices
of Over Tabley and High Legh P197/4/3225/2 1971-1973 ... (This stuff is
in the National Archives at Kew.).
When High Legh Scouts
started again in the mid 1970s, I recall someone telling me that the Rev.
Surridge went off to fight in the Great War and this is why the original
troop folded. If he was the vicar in 1884, he would not be going off to
WW1 30 years later, but his son would be around the correct age.The date
on the shield is particularly important because it verifies that it was
made as little as 5 years after the start of Scouting. This makes the
High Legh Shield by far the oldest artefact in Knutsford District.
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