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B-P's footprint

B-P's footprint is a casting, usually made in bronze or brass, of the right foot of Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Scout Movement. The idea was for people to place their foot into the casting and say they had “walked in the footsteps of B-P.” Its history is tied to the 1928 Scouting World Conference in Hungary, where a concrete impression was made after Baden-Powell’s visit to Hárshegy Training Park. Bronze copies were later made and sent to Hárshegy, Baden-Powell, Gilwell Park, and B-P House in London. The Hungarian original and one bronze copy are no longer known to survive.

Concrete slab with a foot-shaped indentation beneath a Baden-Powell Circle signpost.
B.P.\'s Footprint at Eprapah, marked by a foot-shaped impression in a concrete slab.
May 2015 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Weathered stone footprint monument on a rusty metal pedestal with a commemorative plaque.
B-P’s footprint monument shown as a stone slab with a sculpted footprint impression on a metal pedestal.
April 2013 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
B-P\'s footprint set in a stone surface beside a dark plaque with Spanish text.
B-P\'s footprint embedded in a stone walkway, with a nearby plaque in Spanish.
2019 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
B-P\'s footprint plaque set into a weathered concrete slab on grass.
B-P\'s footprint shown as a metal plaque embedded in a concrete slab.
July 2016 © J. Makali Bruton · CC BY-SA 4.0
Rectangular plaque for B-P’s footprint with raised Spanish lettering, set into rough dark ground.
Plaque marking B-P’s footprint, with raised Spanish text on a dark rectangular stone.
July 2016 © J. Makali Bruton · CC BY-SA 4.0

Identification

TitleB-P's footprint
Alternative titleBaden-Powell's footprint
Typefootprint casting

Historical context

SubjectRobert Baden-Powell's right footprint
Associated personRobert Baden-Powell (B.-P.), founder of the Scouting and Guiding movements
Associated historical noteBaden-Powell's sister founded the Guides movement
Purposeintended for people to place their foot in the casting so they can say they have followed in B.-P.'s footsteps
Commissioning contextBased on an imprint taken in Hungary after Baden-Powell visited the Hárshegy area
Related eventThe 1928 World Scout Conference in Budapest
Conference opening date4 May 1928
Hárshegy rally date6 May 1928
Date of original imprint event7 May 1928
Related rally attendance9,647 Scouts out of 25,000 in Hungary, plus up to 20,000 members of the public

Materials

Source mould materialplastic
Later casting materialbrass
Original casting materialbronze
Original imprint materialconcrete
Materialbronze or brass

Physical characteristics

Depicted body partright foot
Depicted personRobert Baden-Powell
Type descriptiona mold or cast of a footprint; also described as a bronze statue or bronze copy of a footprint imprint

Appearance

Inscription on right sideThe Footprint in the Sands of Time
Inscription on left sideTo Gilwell Park the home of Scoutcraft from Hárshegy Training Park /Hungary/ in memory of the visit of the Chief Scout
Dedicationin memory of the visit of the Chief Scout

Location and ownership

Norwegian mounting locationIn front of the house at the Norwegian Gilwell Training Ground, Sverveli, Telemark, Norway
Brownsea Island significancethe cradle of Scouting
Brownsea Island installation locationBeside an existing bust of Lord Baden-Powell
Hungarian 1991 installation locationNew Scout Training Park in Hungary
Norwegian later usepart of the equipment used at the annual Norwegian Trefoil-Gilwell training courses
Later copy location before World War IIGilwell Park
Norwegian gift recipientThe Norwegian Boy Scout Organization
One bronze copy locationHárshegy Training Park
Original copy recipientBaden-Powell, who passed it to the British Scout Headquarters
Original locationHárshegy Training Park, Hungary
Other bronze copy locationBritish Scout Headquarters in London

History and restoration

Brass casting foundryØstlandske Lettmetall foundry, Elverum, Norway
National Trust opening of Brownsea Island1963, in a ceremony conducted by Olave Lady Baden-Powell, the World Chief Guide
Brownsea object unveiled byGill Clay, one of B.-P.'s grandchildren and daughter of Betty Clay
Brownsea installation occasionCelebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the opening of Brownsea Island to the public
Brownsea installation date13 May 2013
Brownsea gift recipientthe warden for that weekend, Claire
Brownsea gift presenterØystein Gonsholt
Brownsea donation occasionDinner to close the 67th Norwegian Trefoil-Gilwell Training course on the island
Brownsea donation date3 August 2012
Norwegian removal dateJune 2010, when Sverveli was sold
Brass casting dateJune 2012
Associated object with Norwegian gifta Kudu horn
Norwegian gift presenterCamp Chief John Thurman
Norwegian gift dateSummer 1959
Gilwell wartime statusGilwell was requisitioned by the War Ministry from 1940 to 1945 as a local command, training, and ordnance centre, but the footprint was left undisturbed
Hungarian bronze fateThe 'original Hungarian bronze' has not been seen since 1948
Original imprint fateThe original concrete footprint has not been seen since 1948 after the Communists took power, Scouting was banned, the training camp was confiscated, and houses were built on the land
Additional later copiesA further copy was requested by Queensland Scouters in Australia in November 1928, and Baden-Powell made another imprint of his right shoe into concrete in Australia on 26 March 1931
Number of bronze copies made from the original castTwo

Significance

Symbolic meaninga tribute to B.-P., his Scouting idea, and Brownsea Island; a symbol of gratitude and of the Baden-Powell spirit

Other

Associated figureshis wife Olave; Lord Hampton; Count Pál Teleki
Additional nicknameB.-P.