About this site

This is an independent history website. It is not run by, endorsed by or affiliated with Girlguiding (The Guide Association), the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) or any national Guide or Scout organisation.

Everything on this site is published in good faith and is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing. It is not an official source: we aim to be as accurate as possible, but this is a best-effort history.

What we are trying to do

We explain how Girl Guiding grew from girls’ participation in early Scouting into a large international movement, and how its ideas about girlhood, citizenship, service, the outdoors, belief, nation, empire and equality have changed since 1909.

Our starting point is the United Kingdom, as four countries and many regions, not as a synonym for England. We bring in international history where it explains the movement’s origins, networks, adaptations and contested legacies.

Who it is for

Former and current members looking for reliable context for their memories and objects.
Anyone interested in the history of women, childhood, leisure, education and the outdoors.
Guides, leaders and local history groups doing heritage projects.
Teachers and learners aged about 11 and up.
Family and local historians trying to identify a uniform, badge, book or photograph.
Researchers who need a well-cited way into catalogues, archives and scholarship.

Status of this site

This site is in public beta. Most pages are still awaiting an external fact-check, and each one says so at the foot of the page. Research is current to 25 October 2026.

More about us

Who is behind this site

This site is made by Claire Mcdonald, an independent web developer from Scotland. It is an independent, non-commercial project. Each page shows who wrote it, who has reviewed it and when it was last updated.

Contact

Email [email protected].

Last updated 11 November 2026.