A History of Jambo'
A History of Jambo'
In the mid 1960’s the Hylteberg Gruppe from Copenhagen and the 1st Ullern Group from Oslo had a joint Scandinavian camp during which discussion took place between Karsten Wilms and Tom Sverre Vadholm resulting in agreement that it would be a good idea to invite others for what they termed a ‘Mini Jambo’.
At sometime previous the 4th West Bridgford (Methodist) Group in Nottingham had camped in Denmark and had come to be known to Karsten Wilms and so he made contact with them. Their response was that they were unable to accept an invitation at that time and passed the invitation through Mona McKenzie (who had been with the 4th West Bridgford in Denmark) to the 3rd West Bridgford (Friary) Group who eagerly accepted. An invitation was also sent to the Kortrik Group in Belgium who joined with the recently formed JF Kennedy Group from Menen to accept that initial invitation too.
The first Mini Jamb was held in Denmark during the last week of July and the first week of August 1968 which was the only period during which the Danish, Norwegian, Belgian & English school holidays coincided. It comprised a week of camping including International theme days, campfires, a hike and overnight bivouacking activity all followed by home hospitality incorporating organised visits to such locations as Tivoli Gardens, the Little Mermaid and Carlsberg soft drinks & brewery. Towards the end of the fortnight discussion took place amongst the national leaders resulting in agreement to meet every three years with revolving hosts and to avoid having two Scandinavian camps in succession it was concluded that 1971 would be in Belgium.
Beljamb ’71 is remembered for its splendid camp at St Joris Veert and arguably the finest of Venture/Senior Scout activities involving international groups of four or five on a limited budget hitch hiking around the Ardennes reporting in at designated checkpoints. This proved to be an excellent way of not only seeing the countryside but also meeting it’s people face to face and conversing, with some even receiving accommodation in homes overnight. Another highlight was a wide game which involved crossing a bridge which marked the border between Belgium & France as many time as possible to score points without being caught by ‘border guards’!
1974 for Norjamb saw a weeks’ camp beside the spectacularly beautiful Oslo Fjord with campfires reflected in the water and a trip to Bergen and into the high mountains and Fjords where the Ventures & Seniors enjoyed an expedition across the Hardanger Plateau. As was now becoming traditional this was followed by home hospitality this time in Oslo including visits to the Thor Heyerdahl Museum and for some a meeting with the Norwegian Prime Minister!
In 1977 the Jambo was held in England with a weeks’ camp at Barningham Hall in Norfolk incorporating trips to the coast and boat trips on the Norfolk Broads followed by home hospitality in Nottingham with visits to Sherwood Forest of Robin Hood fame. A visit to London was incorporated into this second week which culminated in a farewell campfire and agreement to repeat the twelve year cycle by returning to Denmark in 1980.
The unique nature of the ‘Mini Jamb’ which was based upon personal relationships built up over many years saw the cycle repeated twice more until 2001 when the third ‘English’ Jambo was held in Wales! After that and coincident with the UK Scout Movement breaking up the Scout Group structure by the disbanding of Venture Scout Units and the creation of District Explorer Scout Units somewhat reduced Jambo’s took place in Denmark in 2004 and then in Belgium in 2007. In 2010 the 1st Ullern Group in Norway were unable to host and so the English Explorer Unit hosted a camp in Scotland after which the situation has remained dormant until plans were made for a Belgian hosted Jambo in the summer of 2018.
