Robert Baden-Powell statue to be boarded up to protect it, council confirms

Emily Lawford12 June 2020

A statue of Scouts founder Robert Baden-Powell that was intended for removal will instead be boarded up “as soon as possible” to protect it, a deputy council leader has said.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council had announced on Thursday that they would temporarily take down Baden-Powell’s statue after it was put on a target list.

However, this was delayed after a crowd of people, some of whom were wearing Scout uniforms, gathered around the statue protesting its removal .

Around 35,000 people have also signed a petition calling for the monument to remain standing.

People have protested the planned removal of Robert-Powell's statue
PA

Campaigners for the statue’s removal have emphasised Baden-Powell’s associations with the Nazis and the Hitler youth programme, and his execution of an African prisoner of war despite a pledge to spare the man’s life.

On Friday, Mark Howell, deputy leader of the council, said that the statue, which overlooks Brownsea Island where Baden-Powell held his first Scouts camp in 1907, would be boarded up “as soon as possible”.

“The safest thing and most protective thing would be to lift it out and put it into secure storage,” Mr Howell said.

Former Scouts gathered at Baden-Powell's statue to protested its removal
REUTERS

“It has become clear that some people feel that is giving in to protesters and we should just leave it to be vandalised, which is ridiculous because our obligation is to protect it for the future.

“The more valid point that people have been raising is that the council might not put it back in there.

“My assurance is that it would go back but I am not going to be at the council forever.

Edward Colston's statue was thrown in the harbour during protests
Keir Gravil via Reuters

“So it gives people more security for the long-term future if we board it up.”

Mr Howell said scaffolding panels would be erected around the statue, acknowledging it would be less secure than if it were placed in storage.

“It is a response by us to concerns that have been widely expressed that people don’t want to see it physically taken out of the ground, so we are trying the best we can to protect it and keep it in situ,” Mr Howell said.

He said the monument would be boarded up by council workers “as soon as possible” – likely on Friday or Saturday.

The statue appeared on a target list of monuments of controversial figures around the UK that emerged amid global Black Lives Matter protests, following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.

Statue of 18th century slaver Robert Milligan in east London removed

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Last weekend, Black Lives Matter protesters in Bristol tore down a statue of slave trader Edward Colston and threw it in the harbour.

On June 9, council workers removed a statue of 18th century slave trader Robert Milligan from the London Docklands.

Dorset Police confirmed that Baden-Powell’s statue had been “identified as a potential target” but said officers had not advised the council to remove it.

Dan Davies, 37, from Poole, set up his tent next to the statue to protest its removal.

“I have been camping out like Scouts do – I was a Scout for all the years that I could,” he said. “It is something that is close to my heart. When I saw this happening I set my tent up and I’ve been here since.

Winston Churchill statue and Cenotaph boarded up in London

1/21

“I don’t think people understand the good of the Scout movement. People are failing to see the goodness. It is a risk that it is on the list of statues. We are taking the threat seriously.”

Mr Davies said people at the statue were happy “have a conversation” with campaigners who wanted it to be removed.

He added: “Poole is a tourist town – we are not looking for trouble. We are just doing what we think is right and what we believe in.”

Former Prime Minister Winston Churchill's statue and the Cenotaph in London have also been boarded up to prevent protesters defacing or tearing them down.

The World Organisation of the Scout Movement (WOSM) said it was following reports about the possible removal of the Baden-Powell statue.

On Friday, the organisation said in a statement that Baden-Powell had lived “in a different era with different realities”.

The Scouts movement he set up more than 113 years ago now has 54 million Scouts in 224 countries and territories, the organisation said.

It added: “Scouting offers an inclusive environment to bring young people of all races, cultures and religions together, and creates opportunities for dialogue about how to promote peace, justice and equality.

“The movement that was founded in 1907 on Brownsea Island stands strong in its promotion of diversity and inclusion which are cornerstones of Scouting’s values, while denouncing all forms of racism, discrimination, inequality and injustice.” It said Scouts across the world attached “historical value and symbolism” to the place where the movement originated.

Additional reporting by PA Media.

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