1st Kyle Valley Scouts lead Remembrance in Tollerton ...

Almost fifty young people turned out to commemorate the fallen in Tollerton on Sunday.

It's really important of course, that young people are involved in this.

If we don't do that then soon enough the lessons of the past will be forgotten.

A lot of these Scouts have been to Flanders in Belgium with us.

They have seen the Menin Gate, Tyne Cot and Bedford House cemeteries and the preserved trenches at Sanctuary Wood.

They know exactly why they are standing on the village green on a dank and chilly morning.

It therefore seemed quite right that they should conduct the service and they did so with respect and reverence.

It's tough for anyone to stand in front of a large audience and speak, particularly when there are unfamiliar, difficult, long words and you are 11 years old as one of them was.

Every one of them who read volunteered to do so and they were absolutely fantastic. It means a lot; they will do it again and eventually with their own children.

Truly that is remembering. As a fringe benefit, they are developing public speaking skills, a tough one to crack.

Give them a chance though and as we saw on Sunday, they can absolutely do it....really well!

This goes for anything; it is what Scouts do.

It renewed my faith in Scouting. We wear a uniform but we are not a school, a cadet force or a religious organization.

It's utterly unique and I've seen, time and again how it helps people who sometimes perhaps don't quite fit anywhere else find a voice.







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