In 1910, the young Skipper fell in love and married a Swiss woman, Emily, and became enamoured with all things from that country. When the couple moved to 683 Loose Road, they named their new home Swiss Cottage and shortly afterwards Skipper wrote to the Scout Movement with a request that his Troop be allowed the name of the Loose Swiss Scouts.

Originally the Scouts operated in small patrols and did not have the rigid group structure that now exists. No formal headquarters existed and the patrols met in a number of "dens" in the area. These were recorded in Kirkdale, Godlands, Chart Corner and Salts Lane. Loose Swiss operated with patrols in Loose, Boughton Monchelsea and at Crisbrook, Tovil, only occasionally coming together for Troop meetings.

Loose Swiss Scouts in 1914

Records from those early years are rare, but surviving log books written by some of the boys suggest that huts were built in the grounds of Old Lakenham overlooking Olive Bank in the upper Loose Valley and a "shanty" used in the woods at Hayle Mill.

The earliest photograph in the Troop's archive shows the Scouts on camp at Rye in June 1914.

When the First World War was declared a month later, the Scouts were immediately called upon for war work, with those over 14 departing the very next day with Skipper and the Assistant Scout Master John Fulkes to patrol the telegraph lines at Dover amid fears of sabotage. Later, the Loose Swiss provided a regular coastguard watch at Birchington, a service they performed from January 1915 until after the end of the war, not being officially stood down until December 31, 1918.

The war took its toll on the Scouts. ASM Fulkes was one of the first to sign up for action. Skipper himself followed. Joining the Army as a private in 1916, he was quickly commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and saw action during the Battle of the Somme.

Alf Langley, one of the original boys, also joined the British Expeditionary Force in France.

Sadly both Fulkes and Langley were killed in action. Barcham Green survived but returned to find the Loose Swiss Scouts in some disarray.

It is probably fair to say that "Skipper" had strong views on how his Scouts should be run. The emphasis was always on outdoor activities and for him the paperwork was never important. This had earlier led to Skipper's failing to register the Loose Swiss with the Scouts' central headquarters until 1910, an oversight that allowed the Tovil Troop, registered in 1909, to claim seniority over Loose Swiss.

In June 1919, it seems Barcham Green again fell foul of the district commissioners - the full story remains obscure - but the result was that he closed the Troop down.

The following year, the Barcham Greens moved to Mount Ararat in Tovil, and Skipper became involved instead in building up the Tovil Scouts.

The Loose boys were not without Scouting however. A Robin Hood Troop was established for a while in 1922, and then in 1924, the Loose Scouts were re-established by Frank Warrell - but without the famous Swiss connections: the Swiss flag flown at camps or the Swiss shoulder-flashes.

By 1930, the group was operating from the old Loose school at Malthouse Hill. In 1937, it was decided to build a log hut in the grounds of Godlands, but this scheme never got further than laying the foundations.

The group's current headquarters in Pickering Street, Loose, was purchased in 1941. The former jam factory cost the princely sum of £125.

Over the years, the site has been developed with the erection in 1967 of a new troop room and in 1976 a new two-storey building containing patrol rooms, meeting room, toilets and stores.

In 1966, the Scouting Movement as a whole underwent a major review. As a result, Venture Scouts and Beavers were added to the group, which continued to grow until it reached a peak in the late 1980s. By then, there were two Beaver Colonies, two Cub Packs, three Scout Troops and two Venture Units.

To keep up with the times, minibuses were purchased to transport the Scouts to outside activities and camps. and to help meet the cost of these, the group again began collecting waste paper in 1973.

In 1981, Joan Foster Clark, a descendant of the Maidstone custard and lemonade manufacturer, gave the group the chance to purchase 40 acres of land in the upper Loose Valley. An intensive fund-raising effort followed and the land was purchased for £25,000. Promptly renamed Swiss Valley, in honour of Barcham Green, the land is now a valuable asset as a campsite and activity area, not only for Loose Swiss, but for other Scouting groups as well.

During the Second World War, Skipper had run the Troop singlehandly for six years, but afterwards advancing years and other commitments led him to hand over the reins to others. However, he remained a father figure to the Troop, and kept his Scout Master's warrant until July 1971, by which time he was 86.

It is said one of his proudest moments was attending - at the age of 97 - the opening of Swiss Valley in May 1982. He died seven months later.

	*A memorial to the Loose Swiss Scouts killed during the Great War can still be seen at Upper Crisbrook Mill, Cave Hill, Tovil, today.