Robert Baden-Powell
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Robert Baden-Powell
by H. Walter Barnett
whole-plate glass negative, 1908
Purchased, 2004
Photographs Collection
NPG x126435
Sitterback to top
- Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell (1857-1941), Major-General and founder of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. Sitter in 49 portraits.
Artistback to top
- Henry Walter ('H. Walter') Barnett (1862-1934), Photographer. Artist or producer associated with 576 portraits, Sitter in 2 portraits.
This portraitback to top
The photograph above shows Baden-Powell wearing the following medals (left to right): Badge of Companion, Order of the Bath (C.B), Badge of the Royal Victorian Order, George V Coronation Medal, Ashanti Star, British South Africa Company Medal, Queen's South Africa Medal and Kings South Africa Medal. Around his neck Baden-Powell has the The Silver Wolf, which was introduced by Baden-Powell and remains the Scout Association's highest award for service to Scouting.
Events of 1908back to top
Current affairs
Henry Asquith replaces Henry Campbell-Bannerman as Liberal leader and Prime Minister, with David Lloyd George taking control of the Exchequer. Asquith and Lloyd George embark on a bold programme of social reform, laying the foundations of the Welfare State, introducing government pensions this year and later a system of National Insurance.The first aeroplane for the British army is built by the American, Samuel Cody.
Art and science
E.M. Forster's novel A Room with a View is published, following the experiences of a young woman, Lucy Honeychurch, in the repressed culture of Edwardian England.The French art critic Louis Vauxcelles first uses the term 'cubism' to refer to a landscape painting by Georges Braque.
International
King Carlos of Portugal and his heir, Prince Luis Filipe, are killed by assassins from the Republican trying to provoke a revolution. Carlos I, unpopular because of his extravagant lifestyle and extramarital affairs, was succeeded by his younger son, Manuel, the last monarch of the Braganza dynasty.Following the death of the Guangxu Emperor in China, his two year old nephew replaces him, becoming the the last Manchu emperor of China.
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A J Kerr
21 April 2020, 11:33
The swastika like emblem on the right chest is an early form of the "Thanks Badge" given to non-uniformed members of the Scout Movement or those who give the Movement considerabl assistance.. The swastika is an ancient Indian symbol of "good fortune." When the symbol became Associated with the Nazi Movement, the Scout Movement adopted a totally different style of badge based on the Scout Badge. on