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Past Members

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Members beginning with the letter 'C'
 

Tony Chamberlain, 1947 - 2004

I first met Tony in 1965.  I was coming locally to college and he was going away to college.  Accordingly we met occasionally. But we kept up our friendship over all the years.  

He came with the troop to Holland (1967?).   He was also a regular at the Isle of Wight Rover Moots.  

A very clever chap with a nice dry sense of humour.

Mike Moore 2013

 

Bill Cook, ???? - 2012

Bill was associated with the Vikings from the 1930s.  When I joined he was SM.   He ran a 'taut ship' and was very well respected by his scouts. In the mid '60s he applied for a vacancy as a camp warden on the scout camping sites.  He was very well qualified.  

He started at Broadstone Warren.  From there he went to Great Towers and then back to Walton Firs.   While at Broadstone he asked Bob Pady to assemble a team to run pioneer badge courses.  From that Pady's Professional Pioneers was born.

Bill was very close to the Vikings and has written the most exhaustive history of the group.

Mike Moore 2013



 

Connie Cook,

Connie was Bill Cook's better half.  She ran the cub pack in '60s.  

When Bill became a camp warden she was there with him all the way giving him 110% support!

Mike Moore 2013 

 

Martin Cook,

I came into contact with Martin in the late '60s to early '70s.  He was very active and dynamic.  He had a touch of eccentricity, which was a hallmark of several Vikings of that era.

It was Martin who was the leading light when we made a makeover of Derek and Kath Pilley's kitchen.    We used a large amount of tongue and groove timber.  Three months later he ripped it out and rebuilt it as it had started rattling due to the wood drying out and shrinking. 

We joined John Lavelle and his youth groups on a cross channel canoe trip. In Calais we 'rested' for a few days.  Martin and Gordon found a tandem bicycle.   One of the more memorable sights of the trip was seeing the two of them cycling up the main road in Calais - on the lefthand side of the road, of course (and at 2.00 a.m!) 

Martin also had an enquiring nature.  Once at Youlbury he asked why Bob Pady used a meloware cup.  Bob said it didn't lose heat as a metal cup did and was indestructible.  Martin went away and thought about this.  Some time later he returned and handed Bob his cup (in several bits).  He commented that if you use a pick-axe the cup isn't indestructible.


Mike Moore 2013 

   

 

Chris Cranmer, 19?? - 2020

Chris joined the Vikings in the 1960s as a venture scout.  He was heavily involved in boating particularly canoeing.   He moved on to other things even working on a kibbutz for a time.   He eventually moved to France.  He got married had children and became a campsite owner in the south of France.

 

Graham Cranmer, 1928 - 2014

Graham became involved with the vikings when his son Chris was in the scouts and then the Ventures.   Graham, along with Mary, provided support initially on canoe trips.   Their green transit becoming a familiar feature.  It also contained a variety of comforts and was able to carry several canoes.   From there we enticed Graham into a more central role and he took out a warrant as ASL.   He and Henry Randall became staunch supporters of the troop.  

Eventually, it was time for me to move on and Graham became SL in 1974.   He did a good job.   While he was my ASL we disagreed about including disabled boys in the troop events.   I felt the risk was too great.  When he was SL he included disabled boys several times in boating events and the outings were very successful.

He and Mary frequently hosted foreign students during the summer holidays.   Back in the early '70's I introduced Graham and Mary to home wine making.   One day we decided to make Oak Leaf wine.  So we packed the foreign students into the van, drove to the riverside in Shepperton and proceeded to pick several gallons of oak leaves.  We brought them back to the house and then made the wine.  What the students made of it I don't know, but the the wine was duly drunk 6 months later and was splendid!

Mike Moore  2014  


 

Mary Cranmer,

Mary was initially connected to the group as her two sons were members.   Graham, her husband, became involved and inevitably she also became part of the group. Frequently seen driving along the Thames in the green family Bedford van (at a distance) she provided back up support for canoeists, support for Longridge events and many other things.    

Longridge Regatta was always very busy.   Feeding was done as large scale catering and had to be as quick as possible.   One year Mary said she would provide sandwiches on the Sunday for everybody there (no small task).   Because she had to be there early she made them the night before and froze them.   These days this is common practice, back in the 1970s it was novel.   Anyway at 10.30 she was somewhat concerned that the sandwiches were still frozen.  But not to worry sea scouts, given the opportunity, will eat anything and the sandwiches did thaw and were a great success.

Mike Moore 2012