Hatches, Matches and Despatches

Hatches

Mum Fiona must have been making baby Jake far too comfortable.  He was in no rush to be born, but finally, just over a week late, Jake Stuart MacEachern Crosby put in an appearance on 4th June, at 10.08pm, weighing 6lb 9ozs.  Mother and baby are both doing fine.  Fiona is an assistant guider with Chanctonbury District Rangers and has just stepped down as our WSCVYS rep.  Congratulations to the proud parents, Fiona and Stuart.

A baby is God’s opinion that the world should go on.

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Matches …… and every blessing for their future happiness:

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Despatches

In memory of Miss Dagny Stromwall who died 7^th March 2005 

The following account was read by Audrey at a service of thanksgiving for the life of Miss Dagny Elizabeth Stromwall held on 20^th April 2005 at The Church of St. Peter & St. Paul Rustington.

Dagny was enrolled as a Guide in 1925 – 80 years ago.  At that time Guides wore large brimmed hats and black stockings.

Dagny’s Guiding career was amazing.  She earned her First class and All Round Cords, she was a Cadet (fore-runner of Young Leaders), a Ranger, Sea Ranger Skipper (SRS Vigilant Littlehampton)  Guide Captain (Guide leader) of West Preston Company for 40 years.  Holder of the Green Ribbon as a Camp Adviser.  Rustington District Commissioner 1952/1963 (one year extra by mistake) in those days one could do 10 years as a commissioner

She was a diploma’d CHQ Trainer (blue cord - Guides) and County Training Chairman.

She took two trainings in Germany for CHQ 1956 and 1958, in German, to help the ex-Hitler girls to become Guides.  Two trainings in Switzerland in English for English groups and trainings at Foxlease and Waddow.

Dagny could speak Swedish, German and French as well as precise English. 

Dagny attended the world camp in Hungary called ‘Paxting’ in 1939 and spoke about it with great enthusiasm.

She started as an art teacher at West Preston Manor teaching just one day a week.  In 1940 during the second world war she and Miss Williams took 12 girls from the school to South Africa for safety.  Whilst they were there the School increased to about 40 in number and Dagny did Guiding and training.  She also met the Chief Guide several times in South Africa.

In 1963 Dagny was presented with the Beaver, a very high award given for Outstanding Service to Guiding.

With the School Company, she visited Sweden, Our Chalet twice, Belgium twice and Norway when it was “Something new in ‘72”

Dagny was secretary of the Rustington Local Association, now called Friends of Guiding for a number of years.  In 1976 Dagny joined Rustington Trefoil Guild, apparently she thought she could be of more use to the Guild as a Secretary rather than as Chairman.

The present Rustington Guide HQ was built in 1989 and Dagny helped organise fund raising events on behalf of the Guild.  With other members she sold bricks in Somerfield on Saturdays for many months, with coffee mornings and jumble sales, nearly £1,000 was raised.  It was Dagny who donated the staging to the Guide Hall.

Dagny was the one who organised rotas for tea for the carnival, lists for those making bread pudding for Rustington Trefoil Guild annual camp fire etc., and you could never say no to Dagny!

She was a Guide Badge Tester for many years – testing Commonwealth and International Badges.  She loved doing this and was very strict – if Dagny passed a guide, then the Guide well and truly deserved her badge.

Through her years in South Africa and her Guiding links, Dagny formed the link between Rustington Trefoil Guild and Clarewyn Guild.  Some of the present Clarewyn members remember Dagny and Dorothy Greenshield loved relating how when she, Dagny and Willie (Miss Williams) went off to trainings etc., her husband Hugh used to babysit!

Although Dagny became physically frail, her mind remained sharp and she insisted on being kept up to date with what was going on in the Guild.

The greater part of Dagny’s Guiding memorabilia is now in our County archives.

Dagny was a very special lady and in 1996 she was asked to be President of Rustington Trefoil Guild.  Although she accepted the post, she was very embarrassed to do so.  When her health deteriorated, she offered to stand down, but the feeling was that Dagny was such a wonderful example of what Guiding is all about and a bridge between the days of her uniformed Guiding and the present time, that she was asked to continue to hold the post.

With Dagny’s death we have come to the end of an era.  Talk to any Guiding person who knew Dagny and you are aware of so much respect and love for her.

Those members who knew Dagny well will miss her very much indeed but we must be glad that she is now at peace and has left us with so very many happy memories.

Written by Audrey, Abridged by Margaret – County Archivist

A Tribute to Jo Dickinson, former President of the Trefoil Guild

My Guiding Recollections by Mrs Jo Dickinson, taken from the Chichester City Trefoil Guild

I was enrolled in 1923 as a member of a boarding school company and was in the Bantam Patrol.  We had to embroider our own emblems in those days so my father sent me a picture of a lovely bantam cock to try and copy!  This was at a school in Kent, then my sisters and I moved to a school in Bournemouth.

One has so many recollections!  Learning to march in step and look smart – repeating under one’s breath and always starting on the right foot,  ‘I had a good job when I LEFT serve me jolly well RIGHT!  On and on incessantly!  All this before we went to a Rally to meet the County Commissioner, Mrs. Manser, and once when the World Chief Guide was there too.  This occasion was my first memory of her in 1924 at Merrick Park.  I was a very proud member of the Colour Party.  In 1967, when I was arranging for Betty and Gervas Clay to visit Burton-on-Trent  (Burton was Gervas’ birthplace) I received a letter from Lady B.P. …..1924.  That was the year of the first World Camp at Foxlease; our mutual friend, Mrs. Manser, was one of the first people involved in the GIVING of that lovely place to the Guide Movement by its then owner (Mrs. Archbold). 

Another recollection was learning to become proficient at the Morse Code so that, in the dormitory at night, we could ‘talk’ to each other after ‘lights out’.  Then there were hikes, tracking, mapping the area, etc., but unfortunately no camp for me as I had had typhoid and my mother put her foot down.

I joined the Cadet Company for the last year or two at school and when I went to college, I joined the very active Guide Club.  For a year I was an assistant to the local Cub Pack.  Their Scout hut was in a wood and the Cubs spent most of the time up aloft; when you wanted them they were usually somewhere in the trees!  The game they liked best was the snake game – 2 teams with legs apart and each cub in turn crawled under the arches!  I remember introducing this game to the Guide Club!

From 1931 until 1952, when my small daughter came home from Brownies and solemnly informed me that I was the new Brown Owl, I did no active Guiding but was always ‘There’ as my daughter well knew and, much as I learned as a Guide stood me in very good stead on many occasions through the war years.

So there I was in 1952 on my own in the middle of the preparations for the Queen’s Coronation.  The Pack had to make a huge crown with the jewels in the right place and find out all about them.  This was for a big Division Rally on THE DAY.  I had never been a Brownie, so the first need was ‘Trainings’.  My first week-end one was held in a Junior School in Lichfield.  We slept on the floor of the classrooms and washed in the low basins in the girls’ cloakrooms.  It was a super experience.  Then there was one at Waddow and other day ones over the years.  Two week-end ones at Broneirion which I organised later on for the Division and another at Waddow to meet Commissioners from overseas with Barbara Ryrie as trainer.

Some recollections from Jo’s friends

Nellie was a great friend, ever since Jo moved into Heyshott 30 years ago.  They often visited each other’s homes to share a cup of tea or coffee.  When Ray (Jo’s husband) was ill Nellie would sit with him when Jo had to go into Chichester.  There were times when Jo, as the Trefoil Guild Chairman, was invited to various Trefoil parties and meetings would take Nellie with her and when they got to the place Jo would say, “We will split up now so we can mix and I will see you at the end”.

Other members of the Midhurst Trefoil Guild say that they always enjoyed her company at the meetings and she had a wonderful sense of humour.  She was on the committee and if the meeting was in the winter and at Mary’s house, she used to say “I shall look forward to your lovely log fire and homemade short bread”.

During the time Jo was County Trefoil Guild Chairman and also President, she opened her garden once a year to all Trefoil Guild and Guiding members to come and enjoy the day together, usually in June so everyone could admire the beautiful orchids.  There were always walks along the surrounding lanes and often up on to the Downs with the local South Downs warden.  It was like an all day picnic, enjoying each other’s company, doing crafts and various activities and always ending the day with a campfire and a sing song.  It became known as a ‘Heyshott Day’ and were held for a good many years.

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Please inform Angela, our County Commissioner, if you become aware of any other Guiding contacts that should be added to this page.  Thank you.

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