Ex-resident clears up mystery
Some of you will remember photos from the 60s of the church and theatre. Pete, who used to live on the base, has helped us locate these structures.
The St Andrews Church I knew in 1960 was situated at the corner of Piccadilly and Oxford Rd. As Boy Scouts we used to march down Piccadilly past Mornington Crescent and turn left down Oxford Road. The Seletar Theatre was next door to it. I see from Google Earth that there looks like a parking lot there now.
Photos at previous post.
Pete, I would love to hear more about your time as a Scout in the 17th Seletar. I am the County Historian for British Groups Abroad. Please email me.
I was a Cub at Seletar 1960-63 Clive Breakwell
Clive, I was Akela of both 17th and 66th packs 1961-62, was australian army living on Seletar. I seem to recall as 17th Serangoon (or Seletar ?) and 66th Singapore (Air Scouts). you will find pic of me on Facebook under Raf Seletar and Tengah Group. Both packs were large so many names gone from memory. Give me an email and will send pics to you. Do you remember the names Chris Rickett, Melvin Cooper ?,
Clive, was Cubmaster to both packs in 1961-62, have comments on Facebook under RAF Seletar and Changi heading. Would be interested to hear if you recall myself in those days and in particular names of such as Chris Ricketts and Melvin Cooper. Len Eaton leaton@ecn.net.au
Hi Clive
Thanks for coming back to me. i would beinterested to hear about anything you can tell me about Scouting at Seletar. There is one confusion. Can you remember the name of your Group?
I have three nametapes, one says
17th Singapore (Eastern) in red on white. Another
66th Singapore (T+RAF Seletqr) blue on white and another
66th Singapore
(RAF Seletar)
Hi Clive
Thanks for coming back to me. i would beinterested to hear about anything you can tell me about Scouting at Seletar. There is one confusion. Can you remember the name of your Group?
I have three nametapes, one says
17th Singapore (Eastern) in red on white, presuemably Seletar Another
66th Singapore (RAF Seletar) blue on white one line and another has the same in two lines.
Can you clarify the name/number of the Scout Group when you were there?
Many thanks
Tony
66th Singapore
(RAF Seletar)
I was the Akela of both 17th Seletar and 66th Singapore (Air Scouts) for the period 1961-62. I was Australian army, lived on base at RAF Seletar at that time. Both Cub packs were quite large and had a great band of ladies taking part. I do have some photographs/slides from that time. As I recall, Ken Toogood took over from me when I posted out to Penang. I did have a great friendship on Seletar with the Cooper family (Tom, Dot and son Melvin) who I’m still trying to find. Love to hear from anybody from those days who knew me. Retired in Australian, mobile no 0610400242077.
Hi Ian
Nice to see your comments. I would be very interested to hear more of the 17th Singapore and the 66th RAF Seletar activities. Was the 17th also Seletar or perhaps Tengah? I would very much like to see the photos but dont know how to do this as our emails are concealed.
I understand that the 17th wore a gold and black badge saying Singapore Eastern on it?
Did you join the ANZAC Scouting at Butterworth?
Many thanks
Tony Dunn
County Historian
British Scout Groups Abroad
Tony, as I recall the 17th wore red on white name tags, 66th wore blue on white, being Air scout group. I had been SM to a troop in Aust. before leaving for Singas, was Akela to both 17th and 66th whilst on Seletar, posted to Penang and was Akela to pack on base Minden barracks. Returned to Singas, after that memory still bit hazy. Check out facebook Raf Seletar and Tengah for furthers. Now retired in Brisbane.
Tony, can contact me on leatonatecn.net.au and substitute the usual ampersand for at. Len
Hi, I’m Pete Goss and was a patrol leader in the 66th Air Scouts Seleter between 1960 and 1963. Get in contact with me at pete.goss@googlemail.com and I’ll try to remember all I can.
Pete
Hi Pete
I am not sure if we have spoken but I am the Historian for British Scouting Overseas (previous British Groups Abroad) I am trying to collect information on all British Scout Groups overseas not just Singapore, and would love to here more on your time with the 66th. Please email me at tonydunn@supanet.com
I have some British Scout badges in Singapore from the time including 66th names tapes to show you.
Tony, have contact with Dave Patrick (a fellow Rover Scout with 17th Singapore group 1961-62) and Andrew Jones who was a cub same group and period. Andrew has sent me his uniform badges and certificates from those times. Len
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Have just found your site. I was an Assistant Scout leader with the 17th from early 1962 to early 1964. I was recruited
by Pete Herring who was running it on his own. Afterward Sgt Macleod became the Group Scout Leader and Flt Sgt
Tim Healey was his assistant. Mrs Macleod was involved with the cubs although I can’t remember in what capacity and
their son Allan was one of the scouts. I have several photos and a sort piece of 8mm film taken around the Scout hut on
east camp and of our week’s camp which was behind the swimming pool. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. Both Pete
and Unfortunately found ourselves taking trips to Labuan on month long detachments because of the Confrontation, and
he got married to Helen Wong so our during the final months of our tour with the RAF our positions were taken over by
others. It would be great to make contact again with Pete, Helen or any of those involved at the time.
Charles, interested to read your entry. I was the Akela of both packs in 1961-62, see my details under my name Len Eaton. It would be great to contact anybody who knew us in those years. We did have several lads from the 66th Air Scouts who also assisted. Len
Hi Hugh
I am the Historian for British Scouting Overseas (previous British Groups Abroad) I am trying to collect information on all British Scout Groups overseas not just Singapore, and would love to here more on your time with the 17th and see any photos. Please email me at tonydunn@supanet.com
I have some British Scout badges in Singapore from the time including 66th names tapes to show you.
hi all ex 66th air scout from what was RAF Seletar 1961-1963. Went on the asian jamborhee to japan via saigon in a Dakota .What a trip that was brilliant memories .Was it really nearly 50 years ago!
I am the Historian for British Scouting Overseas (previous British Groups Abroad) I am trying to collect information on all British Scout Groups overseas not just Singapore, and would love to here more on your time with the 66th. Please email me at tonydunn@supanet.com
I have some British Scout badges in Singapore from the time including 66th names tapes to show you.
Hi Ien Eaton,
I was at Seletar 1961-63, had nothin to do with the Scouts but I remember a Toogood who lived just up the road from Theatre Club where I was a member and the Toogood’s were also members. I just wonder if we are talking of the same guy, he was very tall, over 6ft. I also remember Pete Goss and worked with his mum o a number of productions at theatre club.
I have no idea where the Toogood’s went and lost track of most I knew.
John Baker.
Hello,
Just reading through all the comments here, my parents were at RAF Seletar from 1960-63. My father was Flt Sgt Campbell J. Bryan, he was friends with a John Tugwood, also over 6ft tall, who was married to Cindy. I wondered if this would be the same person as your ‘Toogoods’?
By the by, my Mum, Irene, was Brown Owl.
I was actually born in Singapore, and have never been back until July 2010, when I returned with my husband and two children to live here (due to my husbands job)
My father, now 82, has visited us twice, and we have visited the camp, our old house at 13 Oxford St, is still there, and being lived in.
Shona Trench
Hello Shona,
Thank you for your comment. Yes, you are right the name was Tugwood and his wife was Cindy. Cindy was quite a large lady in every nice way and full of fun. She was cast in the pantomine Alladin as a fairy in a tutu, it must have been the largest ever made. As they lived just up the road from the club, when she had a break and not due back on stage for a while, she would get on her bike and nip home to see her babies. Someone driving a car (who perhaps had had the odd drink), saw her on the bike and not thinking swerved into a monsoon drain. The story went all round Seletar.
I knew a Sgt Bryan, he was a Jamacan and spoke the most fantastic good English. As far as I knew he was single and worked in the same unit as myself (Radar), he was also a very good photographer. Would love to know where he is now!
John.
Hello John
My parents were John and Cindy Tugwood and they were posted at Singapore twice. Dad unfortunatly passed away in 2000 and Mum passed away in 2004.
I would love to here from anybody who has any stories or photographs of Dad and mum (John & Cindy Tugwood) as I am creating a photobook in memory of them to pass on to the grandchildren.
Dad loved his photography and was always involved in helping others and helping out at the church wherever we lived.
Mum was always a happy person always had time for people and she loved nothing more than making people laugh.
Diana Tugwood
If anybody wishes to contact me re John & Cindy Tugwood please email me at:
diholmes21@yahoo.co.uk
Thank you
Diana Tugwood
Hello John,
Mentioned your post to my Dad who did remember that Cindy was involved with the theatre group. I think that my Dad did/does keep in touch with them, I will ask in my next email home. My father was in CPRU, so not the same Sgt Bryan that you knew. He worked with a local Singaporean, Victor Sim, a camp photographer, who I’ve managed to trace in Singapore. My father met up with him a couple of times when he was visiting us in November. They had a good couple of afternoons talking about ‘the old days’, as you can imagine.
Shona
Hugh, would be interested to hear of your memories of the 66th. Len Eaton
Found this site by accident today. I was in the cubs, and latterly the air scouts (66th) at Seletar from 1961 to 1964. The meetings were held in an elevated hut behind the old flying boat hangers. Akela (cubs) was a Mrs Jones, and my scoutmaster’s full name I cannot remember, but he was called Paddy, and he worked in the fire section. Many good memories; like clambouring all over Beverly aircraft when visiting 34 squadron.
Hugh. Mrs Jones was Mavis Jones, a British Army nursing corp officer, her hubby was RAF. See my previous posts about 17th and 66th packs. Len
Hi Hugh
I am the Historian for British Scouting Overseas (previous British Groups Abroad) I am trying to collect information on all British Scout Groups overseas not just Singapore, and would love to here more on your time with the 66th. Please email me at tonydunn@supanet.com
I have some British Scout badges in Singapore from the time including 66th names tapes to show you.
ha ve made contact with Elsie Turner from the 17th, a cub leader, also Dave Patrick who was a Rover scout with the group.
anyone remember Dave Patrick, a Rover along with myself with the 17th ?. have made contact with him, also Elsie Taylor who was a staffer, Clive Breakwell a Cub. <Len
Denis, read your entry with much interest. I would be very keen to contact Ken Toogood. In my time 61-62 we had (self) Mavis Jones, Dorothy Dees, John Mitchell and my last entry was hard to follow, have it down as Robin good Mae. I was also Rover scout in 17th in the Sands crew. Barragon leaton@ecn.net.au
Hi
Just found your website while researching some info on RAF Seletar
I am Denis Mole, I was an assistant scout master with the 17th in 1963-4
The GSL at the time was John Macloud as previous people have mentioned, his wife was Akela
Ken Toogood (Cpl/t 390MU RRS) was also Akela and then took over the senior scouts
Ken Gibson (Cpl 390MU RRS) was scout master
The Paddy who was mentioned at the 66th was Paddy Shiels
I still keep in contact with the two Kens
I will try and sort out a few more details
Denis, thanks for that post, I was Akela there with both 17th and 66th (Air Scouts) until deployed to Penang. Ken Toogood succeeded me as Akela, have some good photos of those times. Now retired but in touch with Davey Patrick, Elsie Turner and Andy Johns from those times. I was Australian Army those days working with GCHQ boys at CK2. Did you know Tom and Dot Cooper (RAF) and their son Melvin from those years ?. please keep in touch. Len Eaton
interested to communicate with anyone from those days of 1961-63 associated with 17th or 66th cub/scouts. Leaton@ecn.net.au
I to have (vague) memories of the cubs in the hangers. I was there ’62-’65 ages 6 – 9. I remember Akela being a very nice lady, but cannot remember her name, pity.
do the names Mavis Jones and Dorothy Dees ring a bell ? they were still there when I deployed from Seletar to Penang in 1962.