Breaking : Scouts Founder Robert Baden-Powell Statue May Be Pulled Down Today Over His ‘Nazi Sympathies’
A Statue of the man who launched the Scouts will be removed today after pressure from lefty campaigners takes a new twist.
According to the information gathered by The Newer News reporter indicates that Robert Baden-Powell’s sculpture will be removed and may be placed in storage by a council after concerns over his “Nazi sympathies”.
Local residents have already gathered at the site on the seafront and are ready to defend the statue from being removed.
There are also fears among cops in Poole, Dorset, that the site could spark “disorder or anti-social behaviour”.
The statue was put up in 2008 – 100 years after Baden-Powell launched the Boy Scout movement which now has 54million members worldwide.
On 1 August 1907 20 boys pitched their tents on Brownsea Island, in Poole harbour, effectively founding the worldwide movement.
But he later became sympathetic to Hitler, writing in his diary of 1939: “Lay up all day. Read Mein Kampf.
“A wonderful book, with good ideas on education, health, propaganda, organisation etc.”
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council have been advised to put the statue in storage by the police.
Who was Robert Baden-Powell?
He was born Robert Stephenson Smyth Powell in February 1857.
Baden-Powell served in the British Army from 1876 until 1910 in India and Africa.
He became a British national hero during the Second Boer War in South Africa for defending a garrison town for 217 days from 5,000 Boer troops
He effectively founded the scouting movement on 1 August 1907 when 20 boys pitched their tents on Brownsea Island, in Poole harbour.
He wrote Scouting for Boys in 1908.
In 1910 Baden-Powell retired from the army and formed The Scout Association.
Some modern historians branded him racist because he starved locals so he could feed his own soldiers.
Black Lives Matter supporters added the Poole statue to its ‘topple the racists’ list claiming was enthusiastic about Nazism and an admirer of Hitler’s Mein Kampf and his Hitler Youth movement.
Council leader Vikki Slade said: “Whilst famed for the creation of the Scouts, we also recognise that there are some aspects of Robert Baden-Powell’s life that are considered less worthy of commemoration.
“Therefore, we are removing the statue so that we can properly involve all relevant communities and groups in discussions about its future, including whether a more educational presentation of his life in a different setting might be more appropriate.”
The council claims that Dorset County Scouts was “supportive” of its decision.
But Andrew Williams, the chairman of Poole Scout District Executive, said he wasn’t contacted about the shock move.
One local resident wrote online: “This is nothing short of being bullied into making bad decisions.
“Baden-Powell has made a massive contribution to children and young people’s lives, from all over the world and to play to the hands of bullies to gain some sort of favour is downright irresponsible.
“Where are the voices of local people who worked hard to get the statue in place. Scouting and guiding is open to all, equally.
“Surely that should be celebrated. Stop the nonsense before it’s too late and give it proper public consultation.”
A spokesman for the Scouts said: “We are aware that Baden Powell’s statue is being removed from Poole Harbour today.
“We look forward to discussing this matter with Poole Council to make an informed decision on what happens next.
“Baden Powell was the founder of the Scout movement. Currently, there are over 54 million scouts in the world and we operate in almost every nation on earth promoting tolerance and global solidarity.
“The Scout movement is resolute in its commitment to inclusion and diversity and members continually reflect and challenge ourselves in how we live our values.”
In 2010, declassified MI5 files revealed that Lord Baden-Powell was invited to meet Adolf Hitler after holding friendly talks about forming closer ties with the Hitler Youth.
Writing on Twitter, Tobias Ellwood, Tory MP for Bournemouth East, appeared to criticise the way in which the statue removal decision was reached.
He tweeted: “A wider overdue national debate has begun about who we were, who we are & where we should go.
“Few historical figures comply with 21st C values. Simply expunging past connections from sight won’t correct wrongs or help us better learn from our past.”
Sir Robert Syms, Conservative MP for Poole, tweeted that he was “opposed” to the permanent removal of the statue.
It follows the removal of the statue of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston during anti-racism protests in Bristol on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the US state of Virginia is removing a statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee, which has been vandalised in the George Floyd protests.
Protesters have drawn up a map mentioning 60 statues and road names across the UK they want to be pulled down or renamed.
The list of the “racist” statues include memorials of Captain Cook and Wetherspoons pubs named after slave owners have been put up on a website called Topple the Racists.
The group said: “We believe these statues and other memorials to slave-owners and colonialists need to be removed so that Britain can finally face the truth about its past – and how it shapes our present.”
Moves to tear down historic statues has sparked a furious debate.
The vice-chancellor of Oxford University has suggested Nelson Mandela would have firmly opposed attempts to “hide history”.
Prof Louise Richardson said the late South African president would have stood against the Rhodes Must Fall campaign to pull down statues in Oxford.
Tearing down the statue would amount to a “refusal to acknowledge our past”, she said.
She added: “Hiding our history is not the route to enlightenment.”
