to
The Brownsea Island camp
Robert Baden-Powell's experimental camp for boys, the starting point of Scouting and so, indirectly, of Guiding.
1907 to the present
Timeline
A chronology of Girl Guiding in the UK and around the world, with the evidence status of every entry. Filters narrow the list; without them you see everything.
This timeline is a working chronology. Entries marked Unconfirmed are in some doubt, and each one says why, and dates are shown only as precisely as the evidence allows. Items listed at the end of each period are commissioned but not yet written.
1907–1913
Precursors and founding
-
-
Scouting for Boys, and the girls who read it
Published in parts in early 1908, the handbook prompted young people to form their own patrols, including girls who called themselves Girl Scouts.
-
Girl Scouts at the Crystal Palace rally
Girls attended the Boy Scout rally at Crystal Palace on 4 September 1909 and identified themselves as Girl Scouts, a moment later told as a "gatecrash".
-
The Girl Guides are organised
A scheme for girls was published in late 1909 and the Girl Guides were formally organised in 1910, with Agnes Baden-Powell as President. Why do official sources give both years?
-
Juliette Gordon Low starts Guiding in the United States
Low adapted the British Guide model for American girls. Her troops, first called Girl Guides, became Girl Scouts in 1913.
-
How Girls Can Help to Build Up the Empire
The first Guide handbook, credited to Agnes Baden-Powell with her brother Robert, combined outdoor skills, first aid and signalling with domestic training.
Also in this period: 2 entries being researched
- 1909–10 The administrative sequence: by most accounts, a scheme published in November 1909 and the Girl Guides Association set up under Agnes Baden-Powell in 1910. Still in some doubt until checked against the originals (see the 1910 entry). Evidence status: Unconfirmed
- 1912–16 Olave Baden-Powell's route into Guiding: marriage (1912), reported Scouting work (1913, unconfirmed), Guide County Commissioner and then Chief Commissioner (1916). Evidence status: Unconfirmed
1914–1919
Expansion, sections and the First World War
-
to
Guides in the First World War
Guides grew food, worked in hospitals, factories and soup kitchens, raised money and, in a few documented cases, carried confidential messages.
-
Rosebuds become Brownies
The junior section, started in 1914 as Rosebuds, was renamed Brownies in 1915, after a story by Juliana Horatia Ewing.
Also in this period: 4 entries being researched
- 1916 A Senior Guide grouping is created for older girls. Evidence status: Verified
- 1916 Formal rules and patrol guidance are thought to have been published; the date and details are not yet confirmed. Evidence status: Unconfirmed
- 1918 Olave Baden-Powell becomes Chief Guide. Sources differ on the full title ("for Britain" or "for the British Empire"). Evidence status: Disputed
- 1919 An International Council is created, the forerunner of WAGGGS. Evidence status: Verified
1920–1938
Internationalism and empire between the wars
-
The first World Camp at Foxlease
In 1924 Foxlease, the Guides' new training centre in Hampshire, hosted the first World Camp alongside the Third International Conference. By WAGGGS's count, 1,100 girls and young women from 40 countries attended.
-
Thinking Day is chosen
At the Fourth International Conference, held at Camp Edith Macy in New York State in May 1926, delegates agreed on an annual day for Guides and Girl Scouts to think of each other: 22 February, the shared birthday of Robert and Olave Baden-Powell.
-
The World Association is founded
At the Fifth International Conference in Hungary, delegates from 26 countries formed the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS), with its secretariat in London.
-
Our Chalet, the first World Centre, opens
A centre near Adelboden in the Swiss Alps for international gatherings, the first of what are now five WAGGGS World Centres.
Also in this period: 3 entries being researched
- 1920 Senior Guides become Rangers; the first Brownie handbook appears. Evidence status: Verified
- 1930 Olave Baden-Powell appointed World Chief Guide. Evidence status: Verified
- 1930s Pageants, rallies and mass spectacle; magazines and Guiding fiction. Evidence status: Interpretation
1939–1959
Second World War and reconstruction
-
The Guide International Service
A scheme set up in 1942 to select and train volunteers for relief work after the Second World War. Its teams served from 1945 in Europe, Egypt and Malaya.
-
The Trefoil Guild is formed
In 1943 the Girl Guides Association brought together local groups of former Guides under the name Trefoil Guild, today a self-governing charity for adults within the guiding family.
Also in this period: 5 entries being researched
- 1939–45 Home-front service across the four UK nations. Evidence status: Verified
- 1940 Members raise more than £50,000 for the war effort. Evidence status: Verified
- 1941 Ranger entry age reportedly lowered to 14; this rests on enthusiasts' histories and is not yet confirmed from Guide records. Evidence status: Unconfirmed
- 1950s Welfare-state citizenship, decolonisation and new Commonwealth communities. Evidence status: Interpretation
- various Extension Guiding for disabled and chronically ill girls (dates and scale still uncertain). Evidence status: Unconfirmed
1960–1986
Reinvention and social change
-
to
Tomorrow's Guide and the 1968 programme
A Working Party reviewed the whole Guide programme between 1964 and 1966; its report, Tomorrow's Guide, led to a new Promise in 1967 and to new handbooks, badges and an Eight-Point Programme from March 1968.
Also in this period: 4 entries being researched
- 1966 Six Guides are said to have broken the girls' relay record for swimming the English Channel. Evidence status: Unconfirmed
- 1967 Land, Sea, Air and Cadet Rangers merge into one section for older girls. Sources differ on its name: magazine notices of the time say Ranger Guide Service, while Girlguiding Scotland's archive says Senior Branch. Evidence status: Disputed
- 1969 Joint Ranger Guide / Venture Scout units reportedly recognised; this rests on secondary sources and is not yet confirmed. Evidence status: Unconfirmed
- 1976 Venture Scouts, the Scout Association's oldest youth section, admit girls. Evidence status: Verified
1987–2009
Rainbows, branding and programme renewal
-
Rainbows become the youngest section
Rainbows were formally added in 1987 for girls aged 5 to 7, giving the UK movement four youth sections.
-
A new Promise and a new name
In 1994 "duty to God" became "to love my God" and "and my country" was added to the Promise; around the same time the Girl Guides Association became The Guide Association, though sources differ on the year.
Also in this period: 1 entry being researched
- 2004 New Rainbow and Guide uniforms (the Guide uniform by Ally Capellino) and the Rainbow Jigsaw programme. Evidence status: Verified
2010–2026
Centenary to the present
-
to
The centenary year, 2009–10
Girlguiding UK marked its first hundred years with events from September 2009 to October 2010, ending when members across the UK renewed their Promise at 20:10 on 20 October 2010.
-
A new Promise without "God"
After a consultation with about 44,000 responses, the UK Promise replaced "to love my God" with "to be true to myself and develop my beliefs", and "my country" with "my community".
-
One programme from Rainbows to Rangers
In July 2018 Girlguiding revealed a single programme for all four sections, built around six themes with more than 800 new badges and activities, and phased it in over the following year.
-
to
National activity centres are sold
In 2023 Girlguiding decided to sell its five national activity centres. Four closed at the end of that year; the last sale was completed in May 2026.
-
to
Membership defined by sex at birth
After the UK Supreme Court's 2025 ruling on the Equality Act, Girlguiding announced in December 2025 that trans girls and young women could no longer join.
Also in this period: 5 entries being researched
- 2013 'UK' dropped from the operating name: Girlguiding. Evidence status: Verified
- 2020–21 Covid-19 moves meetings online. Evidence status: Verified
- 2020– Commitment to anti-racism (September 2020), then a diversity and inclusion plan and race equity training. Evidence status: Verified
- 2022 The Promise changes from 'the Queen' to 'the King'; the Rainbow minimum age is lowered to 4 across the UK. (The exact dates of both changes are not yet confirmed from Girlguiding's own announcements.) Evidence status: Unconfirmed
- 2023 A refreshed visual identity keeps a trefoil reference; British Girlguiding Overseas closes. Evidence status: Verified
No entries match these filters.