The Swampland Gazette and Recorder
There was plenty of humour - plus some serious messages - in the pocket size newsletters created more-or-less every month by one of the 8th Lambeth's Leaders, Stan Allen. They started life as the "Senior Scout Magazine" back in 1957, morphed into the "Swampland Gazette" a year later and, by late 1958, had become the "Swampland Recorder".
These were the days when everything was churned out by hand - using ancient typewriters and pen and ink. Only one copy of each edition was produced and this had to be circulated round the eager Senior Scout and Rover Scout readers. Not an entirely foolproof system... and one that could produce the odd complaint from the final recipient some months after the magazine had been issued. Well before the present-day delights of photocopiers, computers and desktop publishing, it's hard to believe that's how we did it over 50 years ago. Strangely enough, it seemed to work!
Not all the editions have survived but, to get a taste of those old newsletters, click on the magazine covers below....