Our Team

Uniformed Leaders

Group Leaders

The group is currently without a Group Scout Leader (GSL).  Instead, we are operating a team approach to the management of our adult volunteer team, co-ordination with Esher District and other key GSL roles.  A key member of this team is Carole Needham, our Assistant Group Scout Leader (AGSL) and Training Coordinator.  Carole was previously a leader in our Cubs section for many years, and was our GSL for a time.  In 2019, Carole received the Award for Merit, which is given for keen, conscientious, imaginative and dedicated service to scouting over a sustained period, of at least 12 years duration.

Beavers Leaders

George Burton, known to the Beavers as Otter, is our Beaver Scout Leader (BSL).  George has been running the group since 2021, our previous beaver section leader Wilber having retired from the position after 20 years with the group.

George is ably assisted by Puffin (Jennifer Williams), Badger (Neil Beardmore) and Owl (Chris Brass).

As well as these uniformed leaders, we operate a weekly rota of parent helpers, to ensure we always have a sufficient ratio of adults to young people.

Cubs Leaders

Kirstie Wood (Bagheera), Lisa Pugh and Richard Darby-Dowman run our Cubs section.  Kirstie first took on the challenge of running the section during 2020, in the middle of the Covid-19 restrictions, when we were meeting on Zoom, and is very pleased to be back to running face-to-face meetings now.

This team of adult leaders is helped by young people of age 14-18 from our Explorers section, who are participating in the scouts Young Leaders scheme.  We also ask parents to help out at our weekly meetings, particularly if the Cubs are engaged in off-site activities.

Scouts Leaders

Nick Fisk is our Scout Leader (SL).  In 2020, he became our Scout Leader for the second time, having spent several years as Assistant Scout Leader.  He holds a Chief Scout’s Commendation for Good Service, awarded in 2012.

He is assisted by section assistants Mark Cody, Rob Williams and Malcolm Woods.

We also ask parents to help out with our weekly meetings, and on bike rides, hikes and camps.

Explorers Leaders

Explorer Scout units are usually operated at District level, but in Esher District, most scout groups have their own Explorer unit.  Our explorer unit is run jointly with 1st Oxshott scout group.  The Explorer Scouts themselves play a significant role in planning their own meetings and events, ably assisted by Anya Davidson of 1st Oxshott scouts.  Our own Explorer Scout Leader position is currently vacant.

Most of our explorer scouts are enrolled in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, which is in part coordinated by the Dragon scout and DofE group, a joint venture between five of the Esher District scout groups.

Executive Committee

Nigel Harris is our group chairman.

Andy Panayides is our group treasurer.

The position of group secretary is currently vacant.

Emma Harris is a charity trustee and parent representative for the Scouts section.

Felix Jackson is a charity trustee.

John Coghalan is a charity trustee and parent representative for the Beaver section.

Also on the executive committee is Carole Needham (our AGSL).

Other Adult Volunteers

The group is extremely grateful to have several parents and other adult volunteers who kindly offer their time to help with administrative tasks such as maintaining our waiting list, badge record keeping, activity planning and camp organisation, looking after our equipment and vehicles.  Other parents help by managing communication between parents, keeping everyone informed and arranging car sharing etc. through WhatsApp groups, or by compiling news reports for our website.

Beth Beardmore handles the administration of badges for the Beavers section.

Susie Constable handles the administration of badges for the Cubs section.

Emma Harris is our membership secretary.  She also manages parent communications and handles badges for the Scout section.

Lauren Manning-Brown coordinates parent involvement in our annual Christmas tree collection.

Charlotte McCabe is our vehicle bookings manager.

Chad Newton runs the information technology (online booking and vehicle routing) for our annual Christmas tree collection.

Tom Pugh ensures our vehicles are taxed, insured, tested and serviced.

We’re always looking for more help, so if you want to help the group maximise its hugely positive impact on its young members, let us know.