On the 25th of February 1929, the 1st Burnmoor Scout Group was formed as the New Lambton Council School Scout Group. The new group consisted of 18 Scouts and 12 Wolf Cubs, who met in a building in Short Row, Burnmoor. This building, originally the village's reading room, is marked on some of the earliest maps and still exists today as a house near the current Burnmoor service station.
The Group’s founding officers were:
- Charles Stuart Lambton
- Mark Pratt
- Wilfrid Galley
A few words about the founders:
- Charles Stuart Lambton (1889 – 1941) was the group’s first Scoutmaster. He was distantly related to Lord Lambton, and this connection gave his Scouts access to the Lambton Estate. He worked at New Lambton Council School, having become headmaster there in 1917. He had previously attended Burnmoor School (now the home of Burnmoor Cricket Club) as a pupil and later studied at Bede School in Sunderland from 1908 to 1910. On 16th September 1914, he enlisted in the 8th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry (D.L.I.). In 1917, he married Mary Bellerby Elstob, and their first home was at 28 Station Avenue North, Fence Houses. He was demobilised on 28th January 1919. The couple remained at the Station Avenue address until 1929, when they left the district for School House, Sunniside, near Tow Law. Notably, during his time in Fence Houses, Mr. Lambton filed patent no. GB223402A in 1924 for “Improvements in, and connected with, panels and units for electrical installations and particularly wireless installations.”
- Mark Pratt (1872 - 1940) was formerly school captain at New Lambton Council School. In 1897, he married Elizabeth Davison. By trade, he was a coal miner (hewer) and lived at 17 Chapel Row, New Lambton.
- Wilfrid Galley (1904 - 1969) was also a schoolmaster. He married Minnie Laverick in 1925, and they lived at 107 Sea Road, Fulwell. Wilfrid was a motorcycle enthusiast, owning a motorcycle combination, and was also a member of the Church Temperance Movement. It is unclear what his connection to the Burnmoor area was, though it is possible that he and Charles Stuart Lambton both attended Bede School.
