‘They open their minds to better ways of doing things’: A People’s History Of Woodcraft Folk by Phin Harper
“The pastime of deriding the young never seems to grow old. Kids on the street: more must be done to tackle gang warfare. Kids inside; internet addiction is out of control. Kid sitting alone: depression epidemic. Kid running round: ADHD epidemic. Kid aces exam: standards are slipping. Kid flunks exam: no aspiration. The conditions the young endure are invariably a playground for adult moral grandstanding…
“For those who believe the voice of children is worth listening to, Woodcraft Folk has blazed a trail.”
Phineas Harper, Introduction, A People’s History Of Woodcraft Folk, 2016
My father, a career soldier of 26 years standing, was not strict, but on certain issues of upbringing he stood firm: a trophy-winning marksman himself, he would not allow us toy guns or quasi-army paraphernalia. In addition, joining the scouts was out of bounds. Like many who came of age in the 1910s and 20s he deplored the militarism the movement promoted among children. Doubtless the deaths of two of my uncles in the Great War lay at the roots of this.
He disparaged a Pacifist position, feeling it was his duty to serve, and so joined up as soon as he could, later playing his part at the pivotal battle of El Alamein in 1942. But after World War 2, militarism, even in the form of childish game-playing, was anathema.
And so the publication of Phin Harper’s fascinating A People’s History Of The Woodcraft Folk strikes a deep chord with me. As the Labour Party’s Jeremy Corby writes in his foreword, Woodcraft people “open their minds to better ways of doing things”.
The antecedents of the still-thriving Woodcraft Folk lie in the paganistic and anti-capitalist Kinsfolk Of Kibbo Kift, founded by John Hargrave after he broke ranks with Baden-Powell’s Scout movement. A splinter group of the Kibbo Kift, Woodcraft was established by Leslie Paul in 1925 dedicated to creativity and friendship, leading by example against war, racism and inequality ever since.
As Corbyn also points out Woodcraft protested apartheid in South Africa, marched against war in Iraq and continues to campaign on behalf of oppressed minorities.
Poignantly, the Kindertransport campaign of the 30s and 40s addressed the refugee crisis head-on by rescuing children from Nazi persecution.
Harper, deputy director of the Architecture Foundation and a member of Woodcraft since childhood, has designed and edited a cherishable book providing prominence to a valuable social history which has been too often sidelined.
Contributors include visual culture historian Annebella Pollen, whose book The Kindred Of The Kibbo Kift is highly recommended.
I shall return with a post dedicated to Pollen’s book in the near future but in the meantime urge you to pick up a copy of A People’s History Of Woodcraft Folk – it is available here.
Visit the Woodcraft website here.