Neil MacGregor’s History of the World in 100 Objects, based on artefacts in the British Museum and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 as a series of 15 minute talks, captured the imagination of many people. The History of Charterhouse in 100 Objects is based on a similar concept, exploring the artefacts remaining in our Museum store. Object 29 has now been added to the series.
Object 30: 160th anniversary of Lord Baden-Powell
To celebrate the 160th anniversary of Lord Baden-Powell’s birth on 22nd February, we are featuring an original letter from the man himself. As founder of the world-wide Scout movement he was undoubtedly one of the most influential Old Carthusians ever.
This letter was written by Major-General Robert Baden-Powell soon after his return to England after successfully defending Mafeking, South Africa, in 1899-1900. Thanks to Baden-Powell’s leadership and ingenuity, the Mafeking garrison of just 1,000 men held out for 217 days against 6,000 Boers until relief arrived. He was hailed as a national hero and visited Charterhouse on 28 September 1901 to lay the foundation stone for the South African Cloister, which was to be a memorial to those Old Carthusians who fought in the Boer Wars. The distinguished artist, George Watts of Compton, offered to paint a portrait of Baden-Powell for his neighbours at Charterhouse. However, this letter reveals that Baden-Powell promptly lost Watts’ address, had difficulty finding a time in his busy diary to sit for the portrait, and was suffering some anxiety as to what he should wear. The letter is addressed to Gerald Davies (OC, founder of Daviesites and then Housemaster of Verites) and asks plaintively "What clothes would Mr Watts like me in? Shooting suit, General’s red uniform, ditto dark blue, Khaki uniform, or what?" We can assume that George Watts’ response was something along the lines of "wear whatever you feel most comfortable in, my dear chap", as the finished portrait (now hanging in Library) shows him wearing the characteristic bush hat and khaki shirt that was later to become the uniform of the Boy Scout movement.