About Scoutinggroep Be Pals Prinses Juliana

The Be Pals Princess Juliana group has existed since 1981. In that year, the Be Pals (mainly male members) and the Princess Juliana group (mainly female members) officially merged on paper. These groups have been working together intensively since 1972.

The Be Pals has the longest history. It was founded in 1931 when Akela Verhorst decided to start her own cub horde out of dissatisfaction with the state of affairs in her old group. On October 10, the first scout troop was established under the leadership of the Hopman Mansvelt. At that time the group was an official scouting group according to the standards in force at the time. The date of October 10, 1931 is therefore considered the official founding date of the Be Pals Princess Juliana group.

Many groups did not have a name at the time, but were indicated by a group number. In its early years, the new group was known as group 9. The name Be Pals originated in 1938 when some group members witnessed Lord Baden Powell's farewell speech at a meeting in Scotland. In this speech, Lord Baden Powell used the words “Be Pals” (literally translated: be friends). Since this meeting, the name Be Pals has been used.

The Princess Juliana group originated from the girls' club Bethel, which was founded in the war years (ca. 1943) by some former girl scouts. Officially, it was not yet a Boy Scout group because no Boy Scout group turnouts were allowed. Shortly after the Second World War, the name of the Princess Juliana group was adopted and it became a real girl scout group. The merger of the “boy group” Be Pals and the “girl group” Princess Juliana fitted in well with the trend towards mixed scouting associations.