Our known history:
The 20th Aintree (1st Kirkby) Scout Group was officially registered with The Boy Scout Association Imperial Headquarters in 1949, although the Scout Group already had one Scouter, 17 Scouts and 2 Senior Scouts in 1948. It was a part of what was then Aintree Scout District. The Acting Scoutmaster when the group started was Reg Gourley, and the group began its life meeting by St. Chad’s Church.
The group moved into a hut on the Glebe Field which subsequently burnt down, and then moved into a building on the Gun Site. In 1959 the group moved into the Parish Hall on Old Rough Lane, where it continues to meet to this day. It is believed that a Scout Group existed in Kirkby before World War II, but was forced to close. The Scout Group was sponsored from 1948/9 by the local Church of England.
In 1959 the Scout Group was transferred to the new Kirkby Scout District and was renamed to 1st Kirkby Scout Group. At this time Reg Gourley was still the Group Scoutmaster and the group was still sponsored by the Church of England.
In 1974, following local government reorganisation, the 1st Kirkby became officially known as the 5th Knowsley Scout Group and became part of Knowsley Scout District. By this time sponsorship by the Church of England appears to have ended. However, the Scout Group was unofficially known as the 5th Knowsley (Kirkby) Scout Group at least as early as 1998 and this is what appeared on the Scout Group nametape. The Scout Group closed in 2004 following the loss of several leaders and a resultant large-scale loss of youth membership.
After two years of being closed the Scout Group was reopened officially as the 5th Knowsley (1st Kirkby) Scout Group in May 2007, with Ray McLellan as the Acting Group Scout Leader. In April 2008 Matthew Donnelly took over the running of the Scout Group as Group Scout Leader.
On 1st April 2010, Knowsley Scout District closed, and our Scout Group became part of the new Altside Scout District, covering Bootle, Netherton, Aintree, Maghull, Lydiate, Melling, and Kirkby. We joined 13 other Scout Groups in forming our new District. On the 20th April 2011 the group was renamed as the 1st Kirkby Scout Group.
On 21st April 2013, Matt Donnelly stood down as Group Scout Leader after five years in charge of the group. He handed over to Clare Forshaw who led the group until late 2021 as Group Scout Leader.
Following the Coronavirus pandemic, we are currently rebuilding our Scouting community in Kirkby.
If you were once involved with the Scout Group and have more knowledge to add to this brief account of its history then please contact us.
