The Woggle

The Origins of the Woggle

In the early days of the Scout Movement in

Great Britain, the Scout scarf used to be tied

loose knot at the neck and naturally became

very creased. However it was known the

Americans were experimenting by using a ring

made from bone, rope or wood to keep their

scarves together. Bill Shankley, aged 18 and

one of two permanent camp site employees at

Gilwell Park, had the job of running the

workshop and coming up with ideas for camping

equipment. He found out about the American

rings and decided to try and go one better. After

various attempts with different materials he

finally made a Turks Head knot - adopted in the

days of sailing ships when seamen developed

decorative forms of rope work as a hobby -made

from thin sewing machine leather belting.

He submitted this to the Camp Chief and, no

doubt, the Chief Scout, for approval and had it

accepted.

The American rings were called 'Boon Doggles',

most probably because they were made of bone,

and the name was a skit on 'dog bones'. To

rhyme with 'Boon Doggle', Shankley called his

creation a 'Woggle'. An article in The Scout on

9th June 1923 by 'Gilcraft', called 'Wear a scarf

woggle' made reference to the idea of having

become very popular among Scouts who had

been quick to imitate the fashion set by the Ist

Gilwell Park Scout Troop (i.e.: Wood Badge

holders).

The following are the changes regarding scarves

and woggles as published in Policy, Organisation

and Rules from 1910. Note too that the scarf

was originally called a neckerchief,

February 1910 Neckerchief 0f the colours of the

various Patrols. The neckerchief is worn loosely

knotted at the throat and also at the ends.

March 1911 Neckerchief 0f the colour of the

Troop, worn loosely knotted at the throat and

also at the ends.

July 1912 Neckerchief 0f the Troop colour, worn

loosely knotted at the throat and ends.

January 1919 Scarf 0f the Troop colour worn

loosely knotted at the throat and ends.

January 1924 Scarf Of the Troop colour, worn

loosely knotted at the throat and ends, or a Troop

ring (other than the Gilwell pattern) of one

pattern may be used instead of the throat knot.

January 1928 Scarf Of the Group colour, worn

loosely knotted at the throat and ends, or a

Group ring (other than the Gilwell pattern) may

be used instead of the throat knot.

January 1930 Scarf Of the Group colour, worn

loosely knotted at the throat or a Group ring

(other than the Gilwell pattern) of one pattern

may be used instead of the knot.

1943 Scarf 0f the Group colour worn with a

woggle other than the Gilwell pattern or a loose

knot at the throat.

From the Minutes of the Committee of the

Council:

13th July 1923 The use of a ring for holding the

scarf was approved provided all members ...

used a similar ring.

The word 'woggle' was used by Baden-Powell in

the 14th edition of Scouting for Boys (1929): It

(the scarf) may be fastened at the throat by a

knot or woggle, which is some form of ring made

of cord, metal or bone, or anything you like. The

13th edition (1928) merely uses 'ring'. The

standard World Brotherhood edition used the

wording of the 14th edition but put woggle in

inverted commas.

Scarcely any of the standard dictionaries - not

even those dealing with less common or difficult

words - include the word 'woggle'. In the 16th

century 'waggle' was used as a transitive verb

meaning 'to move anything held or fixed at one

end to and fro with short quick motions'. By the

following century 'woggle' had also come into use

as a variation of 'waggle' but as a verb. By the

early 1900s 'woggle' had come to be used as a

noun but it was not in standard usage.

if you want to find out more about the Scout movement I suggest a visit to this great website.
www.scoutbase.org.uk

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