Page "Gilwell Park" Paragraph 16

Captain Francis " Skipper " Gidney became the first Camp Chief in May 1919 and served until 1923.

He organized the first Wood Badge training, and contributed to setting up Gilwell Park as the Scouters ' training centre.

The Gidney Cabin was built and named in his honour in 1929 to serve as a training centre.

The second Camp Chief was John Skinner Wilson, who served from 1923 until 1939.

Wilson was Colonel with the British Indian Police when he became a Scout Leader in 1917.

In 1921 he traveled to Gilwell Park to take leader training, which led to his retirement from the Indian Police in 1922 to become a full time Scout Leader.

He was honoured with the Bronze Wolf Award in 1937, the only distinction of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.