The first Scout group to be started in Bristol is celebrating its centenary.

The 7th Bristol Christchurch Clifton Group was started in 1909 by Reginald Pavey, who was a master at Clifton College.

He had started a cricket club at Christchurch School in Princess Victoria Street and the young cricketers became the first Scouts.

In 1911 Mr Pavey also formed a junior troop called Colts. They wore the same uniforms as the Scouts but had different badges. This troop later became the Wolf Cubs.

The Clifton group was also the first group to have Sea Scouts, to form a band and to have Rover Scouts (for old Scouts).

Vice president Mike Keefe, 71, of Eastfield Road, Westbury-on-Trym, became a Cub Scout in 1946 at the age of eight and certainly lives up to the Scout motto "Once a Scout, Always a Scout".

One of 11 children, he followed his older brother John into the Clifton Group.

Just as today there were lots of outdoor activities and learning skills to earn badges.

At the age of 11 he became a Scout and went on camping trips to Lydney in Dorset and to Failand.

He said: "We used to load up a cart with our tents and equipment and pull it over the Suspension Bridge to the campsite at Failand. It used to be a right laugh."

In time Mike became a patrol leader and then a senior Scout.

He was a Scout leader from the age of 19 to 32 and then became Group Scout Leader until he retired aged 65.

During his time as Group Scout Leader Mike oversaw the purchase and modernisation of the group's headquarters in Waterloo Street, Clifton and its own campsite at Failand.

He remembers causing a stir in Scouting circles when he introduced cooking on Calor gas stoves to make life easier.

Mike, who used to run his own building company, said: "Being a Scout teaches young people to be independent, self-reliant and to work with others.

"It's a tremendous thing for boys. I enjoyed every minute of it."

He still has a camp itinerary from 1971 when the Scouts learned First Aid, how to give directions to a stranger, mapping, how to use an axe, knotting, the Country Code and cloud formations.

There are 15 Cub Scouts and about a dozen Scouts in the group today.

Former members are being invited to the Stiles camp at Failand on Saturday June 20 to celebrate the centenary and catch up with old friends.

Contact Group Scout Leader Alastair Iles on Bristol 9149859 or e-mail: a.ileshotmail.co.uk to let him know if you are attending.

Mike Keefe is also organising a centenary reunion at Christchurch School in October. He would like to contact as many former members as possible. Former 7th Bristol Christchurch Clifton Scouts are asked to write to Mr Keefe at 103 Eastfield Road, Westbury-on-Trym, or telephone Bristol 9624401.

Soldier Lord Robert Baden-Powell (1857-1941) founded the Scouting movement in 1907.

He had led the defence of the small South African township of Mafeking during the Boer War and had been impressed during the siege at how boys had used their initiative to make themselves useful and capitalise on limited resources. He rewrote his handbook for soldiers and called it Scouting for Boys.

The first camp was held on Brownsea Island, Poole, Dorset, with 20 boys, some from public schools and some from working class homes.

The movement quickly gained in popularity and boys soon formed themselves into Scout Patrols.

Some 28 million young people worldwide now take part in Scouting.

* Everest climber and television action man Bear Grylls has just been appointed the leader of Britain's Scouts.

The ex special-forces reservist will take over the role of Chief Scout from former Blue Peter presenter Peter Duncan when he completes his five-year tenure in July.

Grylls was himself once a Cub Scout.

He was the youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest at the age of 23 in 1998 but is probably best known for his television series Born Survivor in which he performed improbable stunts in the name of wilderness survival.

He said: "So much of who we are as an adult is formed when we are kids. What Scouting says to people is: 'it's okay to go for it in life'.

"Every child has a right to have an adventure. Life is about grabbing opportunities. The prizes don't always go to the biggest, the best and the strongest; they go to those who persevere. These are simple life lessons that Scouting teaches people."