The centenary year, 2009–10

Girlguiding UK’s centenary year began over the weekend of 5–6 September 2009, a hundred years after girls appeared at the Crystal Palace rally and asked for “something for the girls”.^[1] Choosing 1909 rather than 1910 followed the organisation’s own history, which says the Guide Association “was established in 1909”.^[2] On why the dates differ, see The Girl Guides are organised.

A year of events

Plans published in 2008 set out launch parties in September 2009, World Thinking Day events in February 2010, a centenary camp at Harewood House near Leeds, and an event for each section, from “Rainbows Go Wild” to the “Ultimate Centenary Adventure” for The Senior Section.^[3] Royal Mail issued four stamps on 2 February 2010, depicting girls in Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and The Senior Section. The UK Centenary Camp was held at Harewood from 31 July to 7 August 2010.^[4]

Units took part in their own ways. One Guide company, in Thurstaston on the Wirral, did the “Adventure 100” challenge, camped at Waddow Hall, and joined “Fusion”, a day at Harewood with more than 20,000 members.^[5] In May 2010 an early day motion in the House of Commons congratulated Girlguiding UK on its centenary. It noted 48,000 girls on waiting lists. It was signed by 36 MPs, one of whom later withdrew.^[6]

20:10 on 20 October 2010

The finale, called “Vision”, was timed so that the numbers repeated: members renewed their PromiseThe commitment members are invited to make when they feel ready. Its wording varies by country and changed twelve times in the UK between 1910 and 2013, notably in 1994 and 2013. at 20:10 on 20 October 2010, linked by video.^[10][7] We have found reports from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but not yet from Wales. In Edinburgh, Guides gathered at the Corn Exchange.^[7] Over 1,000 people attended a concert in Dundee, and about 1,300 girls and adults met in Glenrothes.^[8] In Moira, Northern Ireland, 210 girls held a campfire sing-along and filled a time capsule.^[9] The Isle of Wight’s members planned their own gathering,^[10] and the Wirral company ended its year with fireworks.^[5]

One Kent magazine article, published two days before the finale, gives the date as 10 October 2010. Its own aside “(2010, 2010, 2010)” only works for 20 October, and every other report agrees, so we treat 10 October as an error.^[1]

Telling its own history

The movement used the centenary to tell its own story. An official history, Alison Maloney’s Something for the Girls: The Official Guide to the First 100 Years of Guiding, appeared in 2009; its catalogue record lists a foreword by the Queen.^[11] In 2009 volunteer “Story Gatherers” were recruited to collect an oral history, and a website invited members to record their memories.^[3] In Angus, heritage exhibitions toured the towns.^[8] The Chief Guide, Liz Burnley, summed up the message: “We always have, and always will, put girls in the lead!”^[4]

Evidence status: Interpretation In our reading, the centenary told a story of continuity, running from the girls at Crystal Palace to “girls in the lead”. Official anniversaries tend to work this way. They give less room to harder parts of the record, such as empire and who could belong. The oral histories gathered in 2009–10 could be an important counterweight, if they can be found and consulted.

Sources

1. Kent Life, “Celebrating 100 years of Girlguiding in Kent”, Great British Life (Kent Life), 2010-10-18. Accessed 25 October 2026. Interview with the county commissioner for Kent East. Gives the date of the closing Promise renewal as 10 October 2010, which conflicts with other reports.
2. Girlguiding, “Our history”. Accessed 25 September 2026. Institutional self-description. Authoritative for what Girlguiding says about itself; not an independent evaluation.
3. Leslie's Guiding History, “Historian's Corner”. Accessed 25 October 2026. Enthusiast compilation of dated extracts from Guiding periodicals (The Guider, Guiding and others), arranged by month. Issue and page references are not given, so each entry is a lead to be checked against the magazine itself.
4. Royal Mail, “Girlguiding: Royal Mail celebrates this year's Girlguiding UK centenary with a miniature sheet of four new special stamps”, British Philatelic Bulletin, vol. 47, December 2009, 2009-12, p. 112 and following. Accessed 25 October 2026. Scan of the bulletin pages hosted by a collectors' website.
5. 1st Thurstaston Guides, “1st Thurstaston Guides Annual Report 2010”, St Bartholomew's Thurstaston and St Chad's Irby, 2010. Accessed 25 October 2026. A single unit's own account of its centenary year, on its sponsoring parish's website.
6. Bob Russell MP, “Centenary of Girlguiding UK (Early Day Motion 41, session 2010–12)”, House of Commons, 2010-05-25. Accessed 25 October 2026. Text and signatures as shown on edms.org.uk, an unofficial mirror of the Commons early day motions database.
7. The Scotsman, “Girl guides had a date to remember”, 2010-10-20. Accessed 25 October 2026.
8. The Courier, “Groups link up for nationwide Girlguiding centenary celebrations”, The Courier (Dundee), 2010-10-21. Accessed 25 October 2026.
9. Lisburn Today, “210 Moira Guides renew promise at 20.10 on 20:10:2010”, 2010-10-29. Accessed 25 October 2026.
10. Suzanne Whitewood, “Girl guides celebrate 100 years of Girlguiding at 20.10 20.10.2010”, OnTheWight, 2010-10-14. Accessed 25 October 2026. Notice of the planned event, written by a local member before it took place.
11. Alison Maloney, “Something for the Girls: The Official Guide to the First 100 Years of Guiding”, Constable & Robinson, 2009. Accessed 25 October 2026. details to check Not yet consulted for this site. Details, including the foreword by Queen Elizabeth II, are from the library catalogue record.