Major Frederick Crum
Major Frederick Crum was a veteran of the Boer War and later became the Chief Scout of Scotland’s Boy Scout movement and lived at Gogar House, Blairlogie in the 1930’s.
He wrote a number of books relating to First World War and scouting. One of his well known and rare books was called "Memoirs of a Rifleman Scout, Parts I to IV". Stirling: A. Learmonth & Son, Journal Office, 1950. The first and only edition covers his service in the Boer War. In the First World War he served with 8th KRRC (K1) on the Western Front 1915-16. In May 1916, he founded the Sniping School at Acq, succeeding in establishing a standard syllabus for all of the Army’s schools and writing the first official pamphlet on the subject.
In May 1909 Major FW Crum read a copy of Scouting for Boys whilst staying a St Andrews - it had some impact - ‘bits of it I read over and over again’. In June 1909, Major FW Crum met a troop of Scouts from Bannockburn and was impressed with what he saw. With Robert Miller he founded the 7th Stirling at his estate at Auchenbowie in July 1909, just outside of Stirling now, but at that time he considered them a ‘country troop’. Incredibly, a photograph in his memoirs shows the founding members of our troop in July 1909.
Major Crum was born on 12th October 1872 and his parents were William Graham Crum, a calico printer and his mother was Jean Mary Campbell. Major Crum died on 8th October 1955 at 6.40am of Coronary Thrombosis, Angina Pectoris and Cardio Vascular Degeneration. He was buried at Rosneath Cemetry.
Major Crum wrote "With the Mounted Infantry in South Africa" which was published for private circulation in 1903, to download this book for private use, please click on: With the Mounted Infantry in South Africa