Falkirk Scouts: Adult leaders wanted for Grangemouth group with unique Scout hall

They desperately need people to become new leaders to allow youngsters to take part in the varied Scouting activities.

And an incentive will be that they will hold meetings in one of Scotland’s most unique Scout halls.

The 15th Grangemouth group is in danger of folding if adults don’t come forward to train as leaders with the organisation.

Ann Gilchrist, Falkirk Scout District Chair, said: “The group had been operating with two leaders before the pandemic, but sadly things fell away. We are now actively looking to get new people on board where we can give them training and support so they can hit the ground running with 15th Grangemouth. We are sure that we will have no problem in recruiting youngsters to join but without leaders that can’t happen.”

A meeting for those interested in getting involved takes place in the Community Education Centre in Abbots Road, Grangemouth, next Wednesday, September 7 at 7.30pm.

Ann said at one point there were about eight Scout groups in the port town, but over the years the number had reduced.

She added: “!5th Grangemouth was actually the first group in Grangemouth and was formed in 1909. At that time they all took their name as part of Stirlingshire and they were the 15th to put set up in the county. However, when they became Grangemouth they kept the 15th name.”

The group has a unique hall in Peddie Place formed from two former railway carriageways and after doing research they believe it is the last of its kind in Scotland.

Ann added: "We’ve discovered that in 1923 four carriageways were acquired from North British Railways in Cowlairs, Glasgow. We think it may have come through Sir Ian Bolton who at that time was working as an accountant in Glasgow and perhaps they were surplus stock.

"The hall is unusual but from the outside you would perhaps never realise that the walls are formed from carriages as there is wood cladding on the exterior. We think the original wheels may even still be in place.”

A former member has told how at one stage there was a wood burner stove in a corner of the hall which Scouts would congregate round where possible as whenever they moved away it was extremely cold.

Ann said: “Thankfully there is now a heating system in place but you can still see parts of the carriages inside the hall.

"We’ve wondered about getting in touch with heritage groups to see if there is funding available to help with the upkeep of the hall, given how unique it is, but we would need to ensure that it was a viable Scout group for that to happen which is one reason why we are so keen to get 15th Grangemouth up and running again.”

Anyone interested in attending next week’s meeting or who would like more information is asked to contact district commissioner Len Jamieson at [email protected].