Young Knights of the Empire

Baden-Powell (1857-1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the world-wide Boy Scout Movement, and founder, with his sister Agnes, of the world-wide Girl Guide / Girl Scout Movement. He authored the first editions of the seminal work Scouting for Boys which was an inspiration for the Scout Movement. He served in the British Army from 1876 until 1910 in India and Africa, and in 1899 during the Second Boer War in South Africa successfully defended the town in the Siege of Mafeking. Several of his military books, written for reconnaissance and training purposes, were also read by boys, and in 1907 Baden-Powell held a demonstration camp, the Brownsea Island Scout camp, which is now seen as the beginning of Scouting. Based on his earlier books, he wrote Scouting for Boys, first published in six instalments in 1908, for boy readership, and the book has sold around 150 million copies. On his retirement in 1910 he formed The Boy Scouts Association. Regarded as an excellent storyteller of "ripping yarns" with which he regaled audiences throughout his life, he wrote many more handbooks and educational material for Scouts as well as directives for Scout Leaders. Young Knights of the Empire: Their Code, and Further Scout Yarns, first published in 1917, outlines the Scout laws and illustrates them with a collection of anecdotes.