Centenary Exhibitions

Surrey West and Surrey East Guildford Cathedral Service November 2009

We put up a small heritage exhibition at Guildford Cathedral for the Surrey County Council Service to celebrate the Centenary of Guiding. The Surrey County Council holds a service for different groups in the county once a year, and as it was Girlguiding’s centenary they asked whether we would like to create a celebration. It combined both Surrey West and Surrey East Girlguiding. There was a quota of seats per a district so only a few of us were allowed to attend. Me, Sue, Helen, and Hannah were lucky enough to be able to go, and it was lovely talking about our heritage project to fellow members of Guiding. On speaking to various mayors who also attended the service, some had been Guides themselves…their favourite memories seemed to be camping! We had a very enjoyable day.

The Centenary Celebration of Guiding in Hinchley Wood and the Dittons District- Our first exhibition, February 2010

The 19^th February, the launch of the exhibition at the Dittons Library was finally here! It was due to start at 2:30pm. All the steering group plus leaders arrived between 1pm and 1:15pm. We set up tables for the nibbles and drinks. We put up the Girlguiding banner, posters and balloons at the front of the Library. The questionnaires were put out, along with the visitor’s book. The ribbon was put up at the entrance to the conservatory for the deputy mayor of Elmbridge to cut.

We had invited several people to the exhibition including current and former local Guiding members, the Trefoil Guild, the County Commissioner, Rachel Perkins, Sue Whittaker, the Surrey Advertiser and so on. Everyone had arrived and it was time to have photos! The steering group, and the deputy mayor of Elmbridge and his wife, gathered together around the mannequin under the photographer’s direction.

Then the Deputy Mayor of Elmbridge opened the exhibition by “pulling” the ribbon! Soon afterwards, the Deputy Mayor did a speech and talked about the work that had gone into the exhibition, as well as the continuing relevance of Girlguiding in today’s society

It was then our opportunity to say thank you to everyone involved who helped us to bring the heritage exhibition to life, and that we could not have done so without the very generous funding provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund. We handed out our thank you cards, badges, and baskets of flowers. Following on from this, everyone began to look around the exhibition, and all the steering group members went around and talked to everyone present. Ella went around with the questionnaires and Romilly asked the visitors to sign the visitor book and leave a comment.

Our exhibition was very well received. Here’s what the steering group members had to say about the official opening of the exhibition.

Helen: “We had really good feedback. Everyone was hugely impressed by the professionalism of it all.”

Romilly: “Everyone was really positive. I am really pleased and proud to be a part of our centenary heritage project.”

Ella: “I loved the adventure theme of our exhibition. It showed how much fun Guiding has been in the past and is in the present! I am pleased that I am involved in this project, it has taught me lots.”

Emily: “I really enjoyed helping to create this fascinating exhibition. The opening was a great success with a large turn-out, I had a lengthy conversation with the Deputy Mayor's wife about mine and her guiding experiences, she was very interested in the exhibition, our heritage and our overall guide group and was very positive about the adventures we go on."

Sue: “My favourite part of the exhibition was the display cabinet with the badges and sashes in it. The launch was great. The Deputy Mayor came to open it and there were lovely comments from the invited guests.”

Sarah: “What a wonderful day! We were thoroughly tired out by the end of it, and incredibly pleased with efforts. I felt that the day had been very successful. I loved talking to everyone about their special Guiding memories.”

The Heritage Exhibition at Hampton Court Palace, September- October 2010

3^rd Hinchley Wood Guides and Dittons District Rangers held the official opening of their heritage exhibition at Hampton Court Palace on Saturday 2^nd October 2010 in the Clore Learning Centre. The Surrey West County Commissioner came along and officially opened the exhibition by cutting the ribbon, which was tied between two mannequins, one was dressed as a Brownie from the 80’s and the other as a Queen’s Guide from 1976.

The exhibition concentrated on four of the Girlguiding heritage themes:

· Beginnings: The first Rainbow, Brownie, Guide and Ranger units in Hinchley Wood

· Challenges: This looked at problems in attracting leaders and fundraising.

· Flying High: This was all about badges and awards.

· Here and Now: This celebrated more recent events including the Centenary.

There was a listening post which had letters written by Lady Olave Baden-Powell to Miss Hersant, a 1^st Hinchley Wood Guide leader in the 1960’s, brought to life in recordings by Penelope Keith CBE DL. These recordings were taken at Hinchley Wood School in June 2010.

There was a lot of happy reminiscing amongst the former Guiders that were present at the opening. The 1^st Hinchley Wood Guide logbooks were a particular favourite to look through. During the week Guides and Rangers had been in to visit the exhibition. The Guides created a time line of events, which looked forward to the Year 3000!