I asked friend and recent Silver Buffalo recipient Dr. Hal Yocum his observations from his recent visit to the 2007 World Jamboree. Here’s what he had to say.

Hi Roy,

I was in England for 12 days. Went to Brown Sea Island, Gilwell Park, BP House, and the Jamboree. I went with Dennis Downing and wife, Kelly Williams & son and Ron Boller.

The jamboree site, Hylands Park at Chelmsford, was a small site compared to Fort A. P. Hill. The central area of Headquarters, Trading Post, bank, etc was no bigger than one of our sub-camps. The sub-camps were scattered around it in an area no bigger than at most 3-4 more sub-camps. So overall – SMALL AREA. Security that they all talked about was essentially non-existent. No screening at all, just slow check-in. Some trading, mostly at the Badgers tent area. So called “one day visit only” a joke. I believed it and we only had tickets for one day. But they were letting people come back sort of as often as they wished. OUT OF JAMBO every day by 4:30.

From a collector ‘s stand point, almost everything was/is on the website. Brown Sea, owned by the Nat. Trust of Great Britain, had some items for sale only there. They are Centenary patches for the most part. There was a patch issued on arrival -1 per participant- that appears to be a bit smaller and thinner, flat embroidery, with what Kelly called a thin LAZER CUT border. Most of the participants had the patch in the catalogue already on their shirts. Only saw two of these “1 per” patches and did not get a chance to compare closely it with the 2 in catalogue. Maybe different, not sure. 

We could go anywhere. I went right to my local troop site. Staff area was separate and way to the back. Long walk! The Badgers displays and the British exhibit were the best. British had the most unbelievably detailed set of displays on the ’57  WJ- just everything including “all the paper”.

No activity areas at the site. They were all at Gilwell and Brown Sea – off-site.

I toured all the National exhibits rather rapidly. Then I went back and toured some in detail. I went to the one sub-camp where the local scouts and leaders were.

I met lots of nice people and made good contacts. Met the lady recently appointed to the National OA Committee, Kay Trick from lodge 343 in central Pa. She is very nice and well experienced. She knows her stuff and can hold her own.

Next WJ is in Sweden 2011.

Hal