The information covers 1974 - 2022 and the photograph was taken at the Queen's Jublilee Camp 2012. The Brownies were the first group of guiding to appear in the village. On 19th November 1974 Denise Williams (Holdsworth as was) started the 1st Hambleton Brownie Pack with Valerie Speakman as her assistant and then Josie James as assistant Snowy Owl. Denise and Val had been brownies themselves and thought the girls in the village might enjoy a brownie pack. They were well supported by mums and people from the village helped obtain badges with teaching baking and green finger activities. Eighteen little girls joined. Their sixes were Sprites, Fairies and Elves and one more but Denise couldn’t recall their name. They worked hard to raise funds for the girls and the parents were very helpful with this. They made their own toadstool (sadly no longer with the pack) out of papier-mâché and paint, went to St George’s day parades in Selby (best memories of Denise were making sure everybody was there and making sure nobody got lost - any leader’s nightmare!). Another memory that sticks with Denise is that they went Carol singing and ended up at Denise’s house for hotdogs. Some of the first brownies who went were Denise’s daughters Kirsty and Lucy, Val’s daughter Helen, Alison Thompson, Angela Fairborn, Lyndsey Boulton, Caroline Wright (Shaw), Julie and Angela Stripe and Annette James. Denise said they used to meet on a Monday or a Tuesday evening in Hambleton Village Institute, which was a wooden building where the current village hall stands. Denise ran it for around three years.
There’s a little gap in the puzzle and then in September 1979 Linda Ingall took over as Brown Owl. She ran it until the early 1990s. They had moved to the Old School for meetings, which took place on Thursday nights from 6 - 7.30pm. Linda ran it with Norma Chapman as her Tawny Owl. They always had a full pack and a waiting list. They raised money to buy the current brownie flag and Linda started church parades once a month at St Mary’s (Noel Tewkesbury was vicar). Joanne Ingall was a pack leader for her mum.
Pauline Hall took over as Brown Owl with Janet Kellet helping her sometime after 1992 and then in 1997 Bev Brewins (Bev Gandy then) assisted her. Bev became leader and had to find another place to meet as the Old School was falling to pieces, dark, damp and not nice for activities and in 1999 brownies moved to the current Hambleton school. It ran still on Thursdays but from 6.30 - 7.45. She remembers being assisted by a dinner lady and lots of guides. Bev left in 2006.
Tracey Graddon then stepped in and ran it for the next ten years. She had various helpers over the years - Sarah Partridge, Zara Key, Sarah Thompson, Bev Horsfield, Amy Barnett, Emily Graddon, Tabitha Graddon, Tina Bourke and Ashley Geldard. Ashley stayed more or less the whole 10 years with Tracey. Parents helped out when necessary and also guides and DofE students. Their numbers went up to 24 girls and there was always a waiting list. The sixes were Sprites, Elves, Gnomes and Imps. They met at the school hall every Thursday from 6-7.30. A toadstool wasn’t inherited so a brownie’s grandad made one for them in 2006. It’s still used today. It was an advantage to have the school hall as they had the use of the field as well and had their own sports night amongst other things outside. They went to the fire station, St George’s day parade, church parade, events such as the village Royal British Legion afternoon, the school fete, had the police visit them, Vinny the guide dog came to visit more than once, hearing dogs, had open evenings, tea parties for the wedding of William and Kate and the diamond jubilee and a circus entertainer came. They also had an annual trip out to the panto, first in York then in Wakefield, which was probably the most stressful night of the year as, as Denise mentioned, leaders were constantly counting heads, and ratios of adult to children had then come in too. They had Halloween parties and Christmas parties, Easter egg hunts, pirate scavenger hunt, nature walks to the Hough, recycling fashion shows which were so much fun, met with the guides to have a campfire in Tracey’s paddock and even went camping for two nights for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 at Barlow common with Brayton Guides - which was the wettest summer ever to go camping! Every Christmas the brownies put on a talent show for their parents with the guiders doing their bit and joining in with their talents (or lack of dancing talents!). Whatever was asked of the brownies the leaders had to be prepared to do too. They also joined up with the rainbows for Thinking Day and Christmas parties. Whilst Tracey and Ashley were in charge the brownies celebrated their 40th anniversary in 2014. In 2015 their young leader, Tabitha Graddon, went to Japan to represent the UK in the 23rd World Scouting and Guiding Jamboree. 40,000 children went from all over the world. So many badges were done, so many things celebrated and so much fun had, it would take forever to list them all.
Tracey and Ashley handed over in 2016 to Margaret Glover. She started it with Angela Gregory and still runs it today. It currently has 13 brownies and meets on Thursdays at 6-7.30. Just think, in 2024 it will be 50 years old.
Next to appear were the Guides. It is not known exactly when 1st Hambleton Guides guides started but it seems to have been started by Joan Sampson, who lives in Burton Salmon. Back In 1974 until Linda Ingall’s daughter Joanne went to guides in the early 1980s, girls from Hambleton went to Monk Fryston to guides. It was good for Hambleton to have it’s own guide unit.
So Joan, who was District and Divisional Commissioner for guides, ran it with Sara Nix, who lived in Monk Fryston. They met at the Old School first (Sara thinks Joan met here with the guides for years before Sara started with her) and then together they moved guides to the current school. Sara said Joan was an incredibly warm person who had been an enthusiastic guider for many decades and who was amazing at crafts. Sara joined in around 1999 and continued running it after Joan retired. She was assisted by a work colleague who lived in Hambleton and various parents. She sometimes took her toddler to guides with her and the guides all fussed over him. Meetings were at school from 7.30-9. Sometimes they were held in her own home - she remembers making Christmas puddings with 20 or so guides with the furniture pushed to one side and a big tarpaulin on the floor and I remember when my girls were her guides they held a Chinese New Year evening at her house. They went on night hikes too. The girls had patrol groups and had wooden boxes to keep their books and things in. They had quiz nights, patrol time, outdoor events on the field including sports and challenges and evenings with topics aimed at teenage things. They went to church too. Sara left in late 2004/early 2005 to take care of her family but is back at a brownie pack in Horsforth today. She fondly remembers the noise of many, many girls in a small place, many questions and the mess! It was a full and busy guide unit.
In 2004/5 it was then taken over by Ruth Edwards. She was assisted by Rosemary Senior and two parents - Tracy Hugill and one other. Ruth used to take the girls camping and have campfires and nights in her own garden in Cawood. They also went camping at White Rose House in Wheldrake at Christmas for craft weekends. Ruth is well known in Selby guiding and many girls will have had her as a leader at one point or another. They went on a day trip to Edinburgh. They went to music concerts. They went to St. George’s day parades. Ruth encouraged the girls to aim for their Baden Powell Award which was the highest award a guide could obtain then. She had at least five in her time at Hambleton - the “A” Team Alex, Amy, Alice and Alice and also Amy Hugill. Many of the girls helped at the brownie pack and Amy Barnett actually stayed with brownies as a leader. Ruth finished at Hambleton in around 2009. Again, a busy unit.
Rosemary Senior then took over from Ruth and ran two units, the other being in Cawood. It struggled with numbers and had only four or so guides left and closed in around 2011. Girls went to Brayton to guides and now can go to Monk Fryston again as they have a thriving scouting/guiding movement from rainbows, brownies and guides to beavers, cubs and scouts.
In 1987 guiding introduced a unit for younger girls aged from 5-7. These were called Rainbows. It’s not sure when the 1st Hambleton Rainbows started but it is thought that it was done so by Audrey Ridyard. They were definitely in Hambleton in 1997/1998 as one of the rainbows then has a photograph. Naomi Gandy thinks there were girls before the girls in the photo. They met in the Old School and then by 2004 Audrey and another lady had moved it to the Chapel Hall in Chapel Street meeting on Monday nights from 5-6pm. They wore little red tunics with a rainbow and a guide trefoil on them. It closed in late 2005/early 2006.
It reopened (with a new uniform of a tracksuit and shorts in the summer) in April 2009. It was opened by Margaret Seager and is still run by her today. They run at school on Thursday nights from 5-6pm. Straight before brownies. They currently have around 22 rainbows and to join or go on the waiting list you have to be 5. Go to the girlguiding Uk website and follow the links to join.
when writing this piece Tracey Gaddon spoke to Denise Williams, Sara Nix, Ruth Edwards, Linda Ingall, Bev Brewins, Naomi Durham, Amy Barnett, Tracy Hugill, Caroline Shaw, Allison Garner and Brenda Stripe. Thank you for your memories. Margaret Seagar and Margaret Glover gave me the current figures on the rainbows and brownies.