History
7th Airedale (St. Margaret's) have been Scouting in Horsforth for over 100 years. We believe we're the oldest group still running in Shire Oak District.
The first mention of our Scout Troop was in 1909, and our first Scout camp was in 1911. The Troop was first registered with 'Imperial Headquarters' in January 1924, with 16 Scouts and 1 leader. They were joined by a Wolf Cub Pack of 16 Cubs and 1 leader in February 1927.
In 1928 Scouting was formalised into Groups as it is today, and the Scout Troop and Cub Pack combined under a joint registration to form 7th Airedale (St. Margaret's) Scout Group. It was led by a Group Scout Master (later called a Group Scout Leader, and now a Group Lead Volunteer), with 15 Cubs, 27 Scouts, 7 Rover Scouts and 4 leaders.
Our first Group Scout Master was the local Reverend of St Margaret's Church, and the group has kept its link with St Margaret's in our name ever since.
The group has run a Scout Troop and Cub Pack continuously since they started, with a Beaver Colony added in the 1990s. In the mid 1970s there were three Cub Packs and two Scout Troops for several years, and from 1974 a Venture Scout Unit was added. In 2026 we added a Squirrel Drey.
Share your memories
We'd love to hear from anyone who has been part of 7th Airedale (St. Margaret's) over the last 100 years, especially if you have stories or photographs we could add to this page. Email history@7thairedalescouts.org.uk.
Many thanks to The Scout Association Heritage Department for providing details and documents for this page.