Kemp, Cub – In the scouting movement most of his life

Herbert Sydney ‘Cub’ Kemp (1909-1991)

HERBERT Sydney Kemp was so synonymous with the local scouting movement, everyone knew him simply as ‘Cub Kemp’.

He was the driving force in the movement for decades, having joined the cubs aged eight.

Cub moved on to the scouts, the Rovers and was a scoutmaster before taking on a number of roles for the district.

He was presented with a silver acorn, Scoutings’ greatest accolade, by Chief Scout Lord Baden Powell.

Other interests included St John in Spittlegate Church and the occasional round of golf.

He trained as a motor engineer, then volunteered for the Army at the start of the Second World War.

Transferred to the British Expeditionary Force in France, he was trapped for seven days on the Dunkirk beaches before being rescued by the Royal Navy.

After being invalided out of the Army, he joined cranemakers R H Neal and was in charge of the spares and stores when he retired in 1974.

But he never retired from his interests with the scouting movement.