Olave St Clair (Soames) Baden-Powell GBE (1889 - 1977)

Born 22 Feb 1889 in Wingerworth, Derbyshire, England

Ancestors

Wife of Robert Stephenson Smyth (Powell) Baden-Powell OM GCMG — married 30 Oct 1912 in Parkstone, Dorset, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 25 Jun 1977 at age 88 in Bramley, Surrey, England

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Robin Clay [send private message]

^[1]

Biography

Olave (Soames) Baden-Powell GBE is Notable.

Major contributor to the development of Scouting. She was the Chief Guide to the Girl Guides for many decades, forming the foundation for the Girl Scouts worldwide organization and working tirelessly to help the cause of Scouting.

Early Years

Olave St. Clair Soames was born in Chesterfield to Harold Soames and Katherine Mary Hill on 22 February 1889^[2]. She was the third child and youngest daughter in the family. Her father was a brewery owner and artist, and descended from the landed gentry Soames family of Sheffield Park. Her mother was an educated woman and not only raised her children, but also taught them as well alongside her husband and a number of governesses. The family moved frequently during her childhood, and in total, she lived in 17 separate homes in her first 23 years. Olave was an avid outdoors lover, participating in numerous outdoor sports. She was also a musician, and learned to play the violin.

In January 1912, Olave became friends with Robert Baden-Powell, who had returned from the Second Boer War as a war hero and had formed the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides only a few years back. They met while travelling in the Caribbean on their way to New York. While their ages were far apart (she was 23, he was 55), they found they shared many things in common. Between their love of the outdoors as well as the fact that they shared the same birth day, they began a relationship that led to their engagement in September and marriage on 30 October 1912 in Parkstone^[3]. It was a small wedding, and for the most part, her immediate family was the largest group in attendance.

Married Life

Olave and Robert moved into Pax Hill, near Bentley, and settled into married life. Olave would go on to have 3 children:

• Arthur Robert Peter Baden-Powell - born 30 October 1913 - died 9 December 1962
• Heather Grace Baden-Powell - born 1 june 1915 - died 3 May 1986
• Betty St. Clair Baden-Powell - born 16 April 1917 - died 24 April 2004

Around the time of 1915-1916, World War I was going on and the family organized two recreational huts for the soldiers. Despite her having to care for two children and near the end being pregnant with one more on the way, she managed to serve cocoa, play the violin, and sing for the soldiers among many other acts of charity.

Around this same timeframe, Olave was getting involved with the Girl Guides. Her earlier offer of help in 1914 was rejected, but by 1916, she was unanimously elected as Chief Commissioner for the Girl Guides. By 1918, this title was changed to Chief Guide, which Olave found much more appropriate. Olave spent the next decade or more raising her children and guiding the Girl Guides, and life seemed to be going well. In 1919, her sister Auriol passed away, and Olave and Robert adopted her 3 young daughters (ages 7, 6, and 1) and raised them as their own.

In 1932, she was awarded the Dame Grand Cross of The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by King George V. She also received Finland's Order of the White Rose of Finland and Peru's Order of the Sun.

By 1938, her oldest son was 25 and a grown man. Even her youngest daughter was 21 and already married. Her middle child was still unmarried, although a marriage for her was just a few short years away in 1940. Robert had retired from leading Scouting in 1937. Olave and Robert picked up and moved to Africa, to a cottage built on the grounds of the Outspan Hotel, Nyeri, Kenya.^[4] On 8 January 1941, Robert passed away at the age of 83 and was buried in Kenya.

In 1942, she travelled through the perils of World War II U-Boat attacks in order to return to England. She toured through all of England, promoting Scouting and Guiding, and working hard to revive the program that had started to decline since Lord Baden-Powell's passing. At the end of the War, she immediately went on a tour of Europe to do the same.

Later Years

For the next forty years, she would become the standard bearer for these programs. In 1957, she received her 14th Bronze Wolf (only award issued by the World Scouting Organization) and the Golden Pheasant Award (highest award issued by the Scout Association of Japan). She suffered a heart attack in 1961, which prevented her from travelling. Sadly, her only son passed away a year later in 1962. She still continued to support the programs in a more limited capacity, but still with the same vigor as before.

She passed away on 25 June 1977 in Bramley. She was cremated and her ashes transported to Kenya to be interred with her husband.

Sources

1. ↑ New Zealand Births, Deaths and Marriages - Online. Registration: 1901/18212;Name: Harry Kellett; Parents: Marion & Thomas accessed 13 Jan 2023
2. ↑ "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2XYX-BBV : 1 October 2014), Olave St Clair Soames, 1889; from "England & Wales Births, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England
3. ↑ "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:26H5-6SF : 13 December 2014), Olave St C Soames and null, 1912; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1912, quarter 4, vol. 5A, p. 701, Poole, Dorset, England, General Register Office, Southport, England
4. ↑ Wikipedia:Outspan Hotel

• "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X7KG-P3F : 21 July 2019), Alice Soames in household of Harold Soames, Parkstone St Peter, Dorset, England, United Kingdom; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

• "England and Wales Census, 1891," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4X7K-HMM : 5 May 2019), Olive St Clair Soames in household of Harold Soames, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom; from "1891 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 12, Derbyshire county, subdistrict, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

• The Umzindusi Letter, by Tim Topps; Troubador Publishing Ltd.; page 51.

See Also:

• Wikipedia: Olave St Clair Baden-Powell, Lady Baden-Powelll

• Wikidata: Item Q231525, en:Wikipedia

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Kat Hunt for creating WikiTree profile Soames-63 through the import of Sargeant Family Tree 2.ged on May 5, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Kat and others.