In 1965, Alan Scriven’s life was changed forever by ten days in the Shropshire hills.
The Longmynd Adventure Camp was set up in the 1950s by Shropshire policeman Bill Williams, to provide a small group of boys from the poorer areas of the industrialised West Midlands with fun, adventure, and experience of the countryside.
Alan Scriven was one such boy and his first experience of Camp in 1965 changed his life. He went on to volunteer at the Longmynd Adventure Camp, forming a lifelong bond with Bill and eventually taking the role of ‘Skipper’ himself.
In recounting the history of the Camp, Alan provides a thoughtful and evocative account of his own experiences, as a boy and an adult. His passion and generosity are evident throughout, as is his sense of fun.
Sadness and disappointment sit alongside laughs and it is easy to see how much this Camp meant to so many and what an experience it must have been for the boys, some of whom had never seen the sea before their day at the seaside (a regular feature of each ten-day Camp).
This is the story of a wonderful act of generosity which developed year on year, with the Camp eventually purchasing its own land becoming a registered charity.
As the years progressed, however, rules and regulations were becoming tighter and sadly the Longmynd Adventure Camp, staffed entirely by volunteers, found itself on an unavoidable collision course.
Sobre o autor
Alan Scriven was born in Wolverhampton; one of six children in a one-parent family during a time of extreme financial hardship.
Having attended Woden Road Infant and Junior Schools, Alan started at Springfield Secondary Modern in 1964; leaving in 1968 with no qualifications but having excelled in English and History. Leaving school was a necessity in order to begin earning and contributing to the family budget.
Alan began working as a warehouseman at Carvers in Wolverhampton, going on to work in the public transport industry in the positions of Driver, Inspector, and Depot Manager.
He has two sons, with whom he shared his love of, and commitment to, the Longmynd Adventure Camp. He still goes camping on the Longmynd at every opportunity
Alan was awarded the MBE in 2001 for ‘thirty years’ voluntary service to disadvantaged young people’.