Extension Guiding was the term used for many years, for the section of Guiding focused on extending Guiding to girls with a range of disabilities in an inclusive way. As the reference book, “Guiding with the Handicapped” stated in 1960, “It can never be too strongly stressed that what we have to offer the girl with a handicap is Guiding, not a watered-down version, but all that membership of the movement implies.”
Extension Guiding started as early as 1911, and tended to be focused in two main areas – Guiding units in residential circumstances such as hospitals or specialist boarding schools catering for girls with a particular disability, and Post Guide units which catered for girls who were housebound, perhaps bedbound, by sending a ‘meeting’ in the form of a booklet or scrapbook with activities to be tackled, and the results put into an envelope in the back cover before the meeting was posted on to the next member of the unit.
The aim was that, as far as possible, Extension Brownies, Guides and Rangers would tackle exactly the same challenges and tests as everyone else, utilising the minimum adaptation possible. Nature study might be done using scrapbooks compiled and donated by country units, or based on what the girl could study from a window. Small fires could be lit by bedbound Guides by using an asbestos sheet which was laid on the bed and used as a base. For the era especially, it was a rare example of girls with disabilities being given the chance to be just like other girls, doing the same activities, often in the same way.
As well as tackling the mainstream interest badges, a range of badges specifically designed for Extension Guides was developed. Initially they were stitched in lilac thread, in a similar shade to the Extension Guide Promise Badge. Later they were changed to a dark blue thread. It appears that as well as the special Extension syllabuses, regular Guide badges were also produced in Extension colour – I haven’t been able to trace a record of whether this was done for all badges, or for specific ones.
The Extension badge syllabuses were for: Ambulance, Braille, Brownie Swimmer, Brushmaker, Camper, Collector, Gardener, Handicraft, Homemaker, Horsewoman, Hostess, Language for the Deaf, Netter, Observer, Potter, Sick Nurse, Sportswoman, Swimmer, Thrift, Weaver. Some of these were directly related to mainstream badges, others focussed specifically on activities which Extension Guides might be learning. Reports suggest that with the handicraft badge in particular, many testers expected a higher standard from Extension Guides than from those in mainstream units.
From a distance, it can be tempting to think that the Extension Section must have been comparatively small, but actually, the figures suggest that was not the case – in 1931 there were 181 Guide Companies in the Extension Branch, and 41 Brownie Packs. Nevertheless, Extension Badges were far rarer than those in the regular colourways, hence examples and images are hard to come by.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that there were versions of the Guide 1st Class badge for Extension Guides, initially in lilac thread, and later in blue.
Over recent decades, the number of units based in schools or hospitals has declined as more girls are members of mainstream units. But there is value in recognising that the Girl Guides were ahead of the mainstream when it came to making their activities accessible to all girls.
Leslie's Guiding History 