24th Someries Diamond Jubilee
The first registration of a Scout section at St Anne’s Church was made on the 13th January 1948. The application was made by Reginald (Rex) Luckraft to open a Scout Troop of 5 Scouts and a Scoutmaster. Rex Luckraft was at the time the Vicar of the parish of St Anne’s and also took on the role of scoutmaster. The 98th Bedfordshire (St Anne’s Hart Hill Luton) was formed.
The group in this guise lasted only 11 months as in the November of 1948 the groups name was changed to include the number of the town, 98th Bedfordshire (St Anne’s 24th Luton).
The group set up by the then Vicar to help the youth of his parish thrived with all enjoying the benefits that came with the Scouting experience. Due to the nature of the way the group was started the 98th Bedfordshire kept close links to St Anne’s Church and remained a sponsored group up until 1972.
By 1972 the group had grown and now included Cubs for the younger children, and due to restructuring the group had changed names again to include the newly founded Someries District in Luton. The 24th Someries (St Anne’s) Luton was born. Due to the changing face of scouting the group took the decision to become an open sponsored group, which meant that they were able to take children of differing faiths and increase their catchment of potential members.
The group continued to develop and in 1988 added the newly created Beaver Scouts. We celebrated our 50th year in 1998 with a big party for past and present Scouters.
In 2000 we welcomed girls into the group. Over the years thousands of members have passed through the 24th Someries making friendships that will last forever. There is a saying about scouting: "ONCE A SCOUT ALWAYS A SCOUT" we firmly believe that and that we are a true, working example of the Scouting family, and the very much extended family of the St Anne's Scout Troop of 1948.
2008 sees the group celebrate its 60th anniversary. The yearlong celebration started on February 3rd with a special service and dinner for those linked to the group at the church hall. The group has a variety of activities planned for the coming year, including a trip to London for the Beaver section, a trip to Disneyland Paris for the Cubs and a weeklong Summer Camp for current scouts and selected guests. Keep an eye on our notice board in the church to see what else is going on.