About Us
6th Ramsgate Royal Harbour Sea Scout Group
Our Group is one of three Sea Scout Groups in Thanet and we are very proud of the fact that we are Admiralty Recognised – one of only 105 Sea Scout Groups in the country to achieve this recognition. Scroll down to read more about the RN system and the benefits we enjoy as a Group.
We are a charity registered in England under registration no. 1075216 and our only income is generated from donations, membership fees and fundraising.
If you or anyone you know may be interested in joining our group as a member, volunteer, or maybe providing a donation for funding or equipment, please visit our contact page to get in touch.
Our group comprises three sections and membership for all sections is open to both boys and girls:
Life after Scouts?
Just because you’ve reached the top scout age, doesn’t mean you can’t be involved. There’s plenty for young people and adults to take part in including joining a district Explorer Group, a Young Leader to our group and we are always looking for Adult volunteers to help us in many ways. If you’ve got a skill you’d like to show off to our young people, or that you think would be a help to our group, or you’d like to become a parent representative, please get in touch.
Age 14½-18?
Join a District Explorer Group
Over 18?
Why not become a member
of our Adult Helper team?
WHY 6TH RAMSGATE ROYAL HARBOUR SEA SCOUTS?
Where do we meet?
What makes us different to land scouts?
Our History as an RN Sea Scout Group
Our Group was first formed in the 1930’s. One of the Ramsgate Sea Scouts served on the little ship “Sundowner” during the evacuation of Dunkirk.
The group was reformed as 6th Ramsgate in the 1950’s and has been recognised by the Royal Navy (RN) since the 1960’s.
During World War II, Scouts played a significant part in aiding British home forces in the defence on Britain. This can especially be said for sea scouts who acted as look-outs up and down the country’s coast looking for German ship movements. They acted as messengers between military personnel and even took up maritime positions that were previously held by men now fighting in the front line.
At the end of the war the Royal Navy wanted to recognise the support that Sea Scouting had given and indeed those scouts who had lost their lives in that support. So was born the Royal Navy Recognized Sea Scouts scheme. 101 of the top Sea Scout groups were each given a recognition number which affiliated them with the RN. This number has now increased to 105.
Position 101 was agreed to always be given to Gibraltar Sea Scouts as their war effort vastly exceeded any other.
The other 100 positions would have to be earned, as set of standards and criteria were laid down and every 18 months a dedicated Lt Commander from the Royal Navy would visit to perform a formal inspection of each RN Sea Scout Group to make sure it upholds these standards.
The RN Sea Scout Scheme (Royal Navy)
We are one of 105 Sea Scout groups now recognised by the Royal Navy out of 600 or so Sea Scout Groups in the country, our RN No. is 67.
In the late 1990’s a small group of experienced Sea Scout leaders from across the country came up with an idea, if we could book training vessels as individual groups then why don’t we book them as a whole. So was born the HMS Bristol Summer Camp.
HMS Bristol was the flag ship of the Falklands War, now permanently berthed at Whale Island in Portsmouth she is an accommodation vessel of the RN sailing centre. For one week during the May/June half term approximately 250-300 sea scouts, explorer helpers and leaders from all over the country move in to HMS Bristol.
They use the sailing centre to organise kayaking, sailing power boating, day trips and many other activities. Everything is organized and run by the leaders who attend. During the week the scouts live as naval personnel in mess decks, marching to breakfast and following the watch timetables. It is a fantastic experience and is available to any RN Sea Scout over the age of twelve.
Since the success of the summer camp we now also have Soccer Sixes held at HMS Bristol in September, Explorer Camp on HMS Bristol in October and the swimming gala held at HMS Raleigh in January, as well as access to leader training weekends.
As a RN accredited Sea Scout Group, we enjoy the following benefits:
Flying the Flag
Flying the defaced red ensign at Scout meetings (we fly both this and the Union Jack flag to simulate each end of a ship).
RN Pendant
We have the Royal Naval pendant flying in our Headquarters.
RN Recognition Badge
All members of our Scout Group are issue with the RN recognition badge to wear proudly on their scout uniform.
RN Match funding
We have access to apply for RN match funding to help purchase training and equipment.
Discounted Uniform
Access to the RN stores to purchase discounted uniforms such as our Sea Scout hats.
RN Training Vessels
We have the great benefit of access to certain RN vessels for training and summer camps. Many of our Scouts aged over 12 attend summer camp at HMS Bristol.
