Branches & British Overseas Territories

The first Scout Troops in the Dominions and Colonies were formed in 1908. As was the custom in the British Empire in those days, they automatically became part of the Boy Scouts Association and they looked to what was then called Imperial Headquarters in London for guidance and instructions. By the beginning of the Great War, Scouting was to be found in 30 countries in the Empire.

At an early stage it became obvious that the methods of administering and organising Scouting in the United Kingdom were unsuited to the needs and conditions of those overseas, and this led to the formation of the Overseas Branches. Each was granted a constitution, a Chief Commissioner was appointed, and the Sovereign's representative in that territory was invited to become the local Chief Scout.

With the creation of the World Scout Movement at the first World Jamboree at Olympia in 1920, the question of the Branches becoming independent Scout Associations began to be considered. The decision to apply for membership of the Conference was one for the Branch itself to take.

The BOTs are part of The Scout Association and cannot be considered to apply for independent membership of World Scouting. This is unlike Branches who are Sovereign countries. 

The Scout Association has supported many Branches to apply for and be successful with becoming independant members of World Scouting.

South Africa was the first Branch to become independent in 1937, with India following in 1938, Canada in 1946, and Australia and New Zealand in 1953. Forty six former Branches in Commonwealth countries have so far gained their Scouting independence. Solomon Islands gained full membership of the World Organisation of the Scout Movement in 2021 and are now an independent Scout Organisation, and Antigua and Barbuda are our most recent, with acceptance being received on 24 November 2022.

Branches such as Tonga, Tuvalu and St Kitts and Nevis gained their political independence, and we are working with them to meet the membership criteria to become National Scout Organisations in their own right. Small Associations find these requirements difficult but it is a challenge with which The Scout Association, WOSM and other National Scout Organisations are helping. In particular Branches in the South Pacific are receiving support additionally from the Asia Pacific Scout Office and from New Zealand and Australia. Caribbean Branches receive support from the Inter American Scout Office.

There is a currently targeted support being considered for the BOTs, to transition them more formally towards the UK structure. 

Gibraltar is the first of our BOTs to become formally a part of the UK federated structure and is now the equivalent of an English Scout County. We are currently engaging with Bermuda, Anguilla, Cayman Islands and BVI to do the same. This will open the support available to them from HQ and allow for a better understanding of scouting operations in these branches.

If you are a volunteer in one of our Overseas Territories, please see below for guidance on child protection and the process for local checks for volunteers.

https://www.scouts.org.uk/volunteers/staying-safe-and-safeguarding/criminal-record-checks/british-scouting-overseas/

You can find everything you need on the website, including information on learning, awards, programme resources, scout stores and supporting volunteers.

All volunteers need to complete the mandatory core learning for all roles, which can be found here. 

You can find all our safety and safeguarding cards here; these can be downloaded and shared with volunteers for quick guides.