Top award for Scout leader

A Scout leader who has worked with young people for more than 30 years has been honoured with one of the movement’s highest awards.

Mr Graham Ball (61) of Hillside Drive, Southwell, was awarded the Medal of Merit after receiving a commendation for good service from the Chief Scout, Mr Peter Duncan.

The medal is awarded to those who have given valuable service to Scouting over a long period.

Mr Ball, a Southwell town councillor, has been a Scout leader since 1974.

He was in the Cubs, but joined the Air Training Corps when he was a teenager.

When he wanted to become an adult leader there were no vacancies so he joined the Scouts in Great Barford, Bedfordshire.

In 1975 Mr Ball took a job as principal accountant at Peterborough City Council and joined the 49th Peterborough Venture Scouts, now Explorer Scouts.

“In those days Venture Scouts liked hanging off rocks and going canoeing and camping. I thoroughly enjoyed it,” he said.

In 1976 he helped set up a Scout group in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire.

Mr Ball moved to the Southwell area in 1984 when he became the treasurer of Bolsover District Council and became an assistant Cub leader a year later.

He has been Group Scout Leader at Southwell for six years.

There are around 12 leaders who help run two Beaver colonies, two Cub packs, a Scout troop and an Explorer Scouts unit.

The only night the Bishop’s Drive headquarters is not used is Wednesday.

Mr Ball has been on at least one camp a year since 1975, both in Britain and abroad.

He said there was something special about a Scout camp.

“It is the wood smoke and the canvas and the early morning dew. You can’t better it,” he said.

Mr Ball said his family had not suffered because of his Scouting commitments as they had all been involved as well.

His wife, Mrs Nannette Ball, is a Beaver leader at Southwell and has been a Brownie leader in the past.

His eldest daughter, Mrs Samantha Hustwayte (32) of Coventry, leads a Beaver colony and attended a world jamboree in Japan as a girl.

His younger daughter, Mrs Jennifer Skaalen (30) who lives in California, was a Cub leader.

Mr Andrew Ball (28) a teacher in Kent, was a Scout leader before moving away from Southwell, and Mr Nicholas Ball (19) is a current leader.

Mr Ball has seven grandchildren. The eldest, William Hustwayte (6) has already started with the Beavers.

Mr Ball said the best things about being a leader were seeing Scouts grow into confident, self-reliant people with an awareness of the needs of others and the worldwide camaraderie of the movement.