Historical information

Robert Baden-Powell was born in 1857. After school he joined the British Army as an officer and was posted to India.
In the early 1880s he served in the Natal province of South Africa amidst the Zulu
He learnt advanced scouting skills during his time in South Africa where knowledge of countryside was vital for gaining information.
In 1896 he returned to Africa and served in the Second Matabele War in the expedition to relieve British South Africa Company personnel under siege in Bulawayo.
From 1899 to 1900, Baden-Powell commanded the garrison at Mafeking during the Second Boer War. The siege of Mafeking lasted 217 days and the successful defence of the town raised his national profile.
In 1900 Baden-Powell was promoted to Major General. In 1901 he was invested as Companion of the Order of Bath by King Edward VII.
After some controversies he retired from the Army in 1910. At the beginning of the First World War he put himself at the disposal of the War Office but no command was given to him.
Awards obtained include Ashanti Star (1895), British South Africa Company Medal (1896), Queen's South Africa Medal (1899), King's South Africa Medal (1902), Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath, plus numerous Scouting Medals.
Baden-Powell married in 1912 at the age of 55. He and Olave had three children.
Baden-Powell died in 1941 and buried in St Peter's Cemetery, Nyeri, Kenya. Olave died in 1977 and her ashes were sent to Kenya to be interred beside her husband.

Physical description

Individual image from photographed poster of tobacco and cigarette cards. See 09350.