Two former cub leaders – or Akeles (a wolf pack leader from Kipling’s The Jungle Book) – were honoured by the Allison Cub Pack during a special evening in June.

Joyce Allison and Pam Hallam were invited guests to an evening when the scouts were making sandwiches, tea and coffee for their Skills Challenge Badge. Both ladies had made their way through cubs, beavers and scouts as parent helpers.

Joyce Allison, after whom the Allison Scouts are named, was invested as Honorary Scout Member. She had started out as a parent-helper, later becoming assistant district commissioner for cubs and, while looking through old photos with one of the current leaders (also known by names from The Jungle Book: Kaa, Shere Khan and Ikki), Joyce was able to reminisce when she spotted one of her sons in a picture from the 1970s. Joyce had been a cook at Loughborough’s Baxtergate Hospital (where Cineworld is now) and she helped start the county catering scheme for scouts so the leaders got good food when they went away with the scouts.

Pam Hallam was a girl guide and then a land ranger and she first came to help with scouts when she was only 17 years old.

The two Akeles agreed that the benefits of scouting for young people come down to three main things: independence, confidence and a sense of belonging. I really got a sense of that when I was there … and perhaps a fourth benefit is fun with friends.

Karisa Krcmar