I think one of the world's first Scout troops was formed in Colwyn Bay in 1908. There's a lot of evidence that Scouting began in Colwyn Bay just a few weeks before Baden Powell's famous magazine Scouting For Boys was published in fortnightly parts.

They'd been inspired by other materials published by Baden Powell and were waiting for the magazine to come out so they could follow the instructions and get going. He'd written great pamphlets for the Boys Brigade and the YMCA.

They got football jumpers and shorts for uniforms and dyed them blue because that's how the boys on the front of the magazine were dressed. Only later did they realise the cover of the magazine was always in white, black and blue and that wasn't necessarily the colour Baden Powell's boys were dressed in!

Norman Tucker was one of the founding Scouts for Colwyn Bay and Old Colwyn. He was big friends with Baden Powell and as it was such a new organisation, he rose through the ranks very quickly. He was invested on May 14 1908 (his birthday) and his son is still involved with the local Scouts.

Norman also discovered and opened up the campsite at Rowen in 1931. There's a small field, a bunkhouse and toilets there. It's a very simple camp, nothing sophisticated, but it's a great resource where you can go back to self-sufficiency and explore the countryside in safety.

I joined the Scouts as a boy and I'm still involved to this day. As a young Scout you learnt self-sufficiency - how to put a tent up, cook in the open air, perform first aid. Then when you get older you gather skills like project management and leadership. All this reflects onto your everyday life. It never leaves you.

Scouting has opened up the outdoors to everyone. It gave so many the means of getting out, without regard for class or creed. On one camp in my patrol was a monk from Brazil, an assistant chief commissioner from Africa, a lord and me, a lad from Lancashire. We worked hard for ten days together. The international aspect is great.

I met a girl on an international camp once from Luxemburg. After camp finished, she invited me to stay at her home and I remember being in the car, passing houses as they got slowly bigger and bigger, until we stopped outside a palace!

Servants ran out to meet us and I was shown to my room. We were all grubby after 10 days camping, but when I'd got washed, I came out to find my clothes pressed and my shoes polished.

I think she was a princess or something, but you just had no idea when you were all together on camp.

Scouting is still very popular. I was talking to a Scout leader in Glan Conwy who said you have to put your child's name down at three to get into the Cubs - and they must have been in the Cubs to be a Scout. We could double the membership if only we had enough leaders.
By Brian Gregson

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The life and times of Norman Tucker...