Banstead Village

Banstead Sea Rangers

Banstead History recently acquired the logbook of Banstead’s sea rangers, a fascinating archive recording their first decade.

Rangers are the senior branch of the Girl Guides, for girls in their mid-late teens. By the late 1960s, Banstead had a ranger section in the village and a sea ranger section in The Drive.

The sea rangers were founded as a land ranger section under Captain Ming Woiblet, in 1961, but were soon persuaded of the attractions of life on the ocean wave and they became Sea Ranger Ship Aisne, affiliated to the Battle Class destroyer of the same name. They took to their new identity with enthusiasm. The section was divided into port and starboard watches, the hut became a ship, and a general nautical spin put on all the usual trappings of girlguiding. Canoeing and sailing featured frequently in the activities detailed in their log, each entry handwritten by the duty ranger.

It would be a while before they acquired their own boats but until they did, they would just have to do their best to make do, as a log entry from 1964 records:

This evening we practised “boat drill”. At first we all felt rather daft sitting on chairs, waving semaphore flags in the air and pretending they were oars! But by the time we had been “cast off” from the table leg we began to get the feel of things and were soon collapsed with laughter over the ridiculousness of the situation.

Were you a guide or ranger in Banstead? If so, we would love to hear from you.

The photograph is of the rangers of Sea Ranger Ship Aisne in the late 1960s, displaying their awards and trophies.
If you are in it, or can name any of 'the crew', please let us know by adding a comment below.