Background

The JNI Scout Group was originally set up for boys in the John Neilson Institution, Oakshaw in the period before the First World War, but this closed down in 1914. No records exist from this period.
The present Group started in 1932 when a teacher in the J.N.I. opened a Wolf Cub Pack. This was a sponsored Pack with the registration number 14135. In 1935 six boys moved up from the Cubs and formed the nucleus of the new Boy Scout Troop under the leadership of Hugh (Hugo) Allison.
The Group remained sponsored for the next 40 years although it always has had its own headquarters since 1935, which has been called ‘The Bield’ (old Scottish word for shelter). In 1951 a Rover Crew was formed for Scouts over eighteen. In 1969 the old J.N.I. was closed which resulted the Group in becoming an Open Group. Links were still retained between the new school and the J.N.I, and indeed the Group Colours were presented by the school to the Group.
The Group celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1982 with a Grand Reunion and a Development Plan was put into operation in the new Bield, its fifth since purchasing a disused shop in Broomlands Street in 1935,with a start of a second Cub Scout Pack, a revised Venture Scout Unit and Beaver Colony.
Adventurous activities has always been the foundation of the Group. The Group’s longest serving GSL, John T. K. (Ian) Barr, who joined the Leadership team in 1959 and remained as GSL right through to he sadly passed away in 2007. Ian lead in excess of 40 foreign mountaineering expeditions which were always eventful, none more so than leaving Czechoslovakia the same day that the Russians invaded in 1968.
The Group has a long history of Summer camps with the latest being to Isle of Arran in 2010. The Group continues to offer adventurous activities to this day with an adventure to Sweden in the Summer of 2011 for 40 members of the J.N.I. and the building of climbing wall within the Bield to complement the archery that offers the opportunity for everyone to take on new challenges.

Adventurous Activities

The climbing wall facility is available for everyone, both within and outwith Scouting. On a Monday evening the climbing wall is open, along with archery, for all those in Scouting who are working towards their Duke of Edinburgh Awards. On every day, excluding a Monday, the climbing wall is available for hire at £40 for 1 hour 45 minutes for eight people.

Facilities

The Group headquarters are in the former Martyrs Parish Church, within the grounds of Woodside Crematorium, 40 Broomlands Street, Paisley PA1 2NP. The Bield contains 2 halls, the main hall which the Sections meet in and the community hall which a number of external groups meet in. The hall is available for hire for childrens’ party along with a bouncy castle.