42nd BRIGHTON (Saltdean)

Scout Group, East Sussex, UK

Scouting extends beyond the Troop Programme

One of our past Scouts has asked for this page to be included as a Thank You to all the companies sponsoring him on a six week trip to Norway.

I have been a member of the 42nd Brighton Scout group since I was 6 years old in 1992. Nowadays, I'm a member of the new "Senior Scouts" section, and an assistant to the scout leaders. (You know, the mad young leader who sets a bad example to all the scouts!) I am also a member of the nearby 1st Peacehave New Anzac Venture Scout Unit.

For six weeks starting in July 2002, I wrapped up warm and headed to Svalbard, a group of islands to the North of Norway, with BSES expeditions. Cold and hostile though it sounds, it was a fantastic and unique opportunity, which I will never forget in a million years. The trip involved original scientific research on subjects such as geology, glaciology and ornithology, as well as expeditions using sledges and pulks. BSES visited Svalbard back in 1993, and pictures from this expedition show what an amazing place it is.

Surgeon Commander G. Murray Levick, a member of Captain Scott's Antartic Expedition in 1910, founded BSES Expeditions in 1932. For over 65 years, the organisation has provided exploratory projects to remote places, and organised three in 2002 - to Amazonia, Arctic Norway and of course Svalbard, where I went with 47 other young explorers.

Upon my return I wrote my own personal report of the expedition. You can download a PDF version of it by right-clicking here and saving the document. Be warned, it is 1.4Mb in size.

I had to raise 2,900 UK Pounds to take part in the expedition, and I would like to thank all the organisations who kindly sponsored me: