A GIRL guiding group has welcomed former members through the doors of its hall as it looked back on 80 years.

The 1st Kidlington Guides celebrated its 80th anniversary by holding a party at Kidlington Guide Centre on Green Road on Friday, October 25.

Members old and new reunited for the evening, with the unit welcoming guides who had been part of the group in the 1940s.

Jean Amor, who was Kidlington’s first ever queen’s guide in the 1940s, cut a cake made to celebrate the 80th anniversary alongside Ruby Days, longest serving member of the present 1st Kidlington guides.

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In total, more than 40 former guides visited the centre to reminisce and celebrate the history of the unit.

One of the group leaders, Denise Moss, said the evening had been a ‘great success’ for the guides and thanked everyone who had visited.

She added it had been a pleasure to welcome back Mrs Amor, who as the the original queen’s guide was the unit’s first recipient of the highest attainable award for members of Girlguiding.

Her fellow leader Amanda Millward, gave a speech on the evening, and said: “Denise and I have jointly taken on this venture of running 1st Kidlington and celebrating 80 years of continuous guiding in the unit.

“May we continue to prosper.”

Oxford Mail:

Judy Lane, Nette Clark, Carol Cox, Mel Snelling, Vicky Williams, Laura Shirley, Denise Moss and Amanda Millward of the Kidlington guides.

The guides and their guests were treated to a history of the organisation as part of the evening.

The 1st Kidlington guides was started on October 11, 1939 following the start of the Second World War when a group of girls were evacuated from East Ham School in London to Kidlington.

They begged their teacher to start a guide company and on November 10, 1939, 1st Kidlington Guides was officially registered with girl guide headquarters for a fee of one shilling.

The first patrols were Primrose, Victory, Searchlight and Spitfire, with names reflecting the war time situation.

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Ms Millward described how the fortunes of the group had gone up and down over the years, but said the unit had always stayed active.

She said the group had been involved in many different camping trips and activities over the years, including sailing, canoeing and making fires.

The guides had also taken part in a host of competitions throughout its 80 years.

The history of the guide unit was brought right up to date, with Ms Millward describing how the hall used by the guides was demolished and rebuilt in 2018 after being given a loan of £100,000 from Cherwell District Council.

The new centre at Green Road was finished in November 2018 and opened in February 2019.