Our History

4th Formby, in its present home, was officially registered in September 1965 as 78th Southport (Holy Trinity) Scout Group, as it was part of the Southport and District Scouts. However, it’s first parade was at 6.30pm, 23rd April 1965, with just 12 Cubs, meeting in the Holy Trinity Church, Jubilee Hall. It’s first Cub Scout Leader was Mr Graham Harris. By the following year, 1966, a Scout Troop was added with 25 Scouts. This was a time of rapid expansion of Scout Groups in Formby as many new houses were being built. 79th Southport, based at Formby Congregational Church, now Formby URC, was also opened shortly after our Group.

Due to the county boundary changes and the creation of Merseyside, the Scout Counties realigned also, at which time Southport and District became part of Merseyside Scouts and was renamed Sefton North. Our Scout Group was redesignated, 78th Sefton North (Holy Trinity) Scout Group, a title we only used for three years, as the Sefton North Scout District split into two halves in 1977, to become the Southport and Formby Districts. At this juncture we became 4th Formby (Holy Trinity) Scout, the title we still retain today. It’s interesting to note that we aren’t the first 4th Formby. That accolade goes the Scouts of St Peters Church, which formed as 4th Formby in 1929. I don’t know when they closed, but by 1956, when Formby merged with Southport, having been its own District for quite a number of years, only 1st, 6th and 8th Formby were still meeting, the latter with only Cub Packs. At the 1977 split, the dormant Formby Group numbers were reallocated.

Apparently, it was decided in 1966 that no further numbers be added but that newly formed Groups would, in future, take up the numbers of extinct Groups where the original Church or domicile of the original Group no longer existed.

In September 1986, a Beaver Colony was added to the Group.

Many would imagine that trips abroad for Scouts were a relatively new thing. However, our Scout Troop had formed an exchange programme with 1st Brevik Speider Troopen, a Norwegian Scout Group by 1971, with Scouts travelling there in ’71 & ’74, with Norwegian Scouts coming to the UK in 1973. Maybe something to try and revive?

At the beginning on 2020, Formby and Southport Districts merged again, reclaiming the Sefton North District name, but this time individual Scout Groups retained their existing titles.

The Venture Scouts for older Scouts was launched in 1967, replacing Rover Scouts. As 78th Sefton North Scout Group, we had a Venture Scout Unit in 1975, as they entered the National Scout Car Competition that year, and two members were earned their Queen’s Scout Award in ‘75 too.

The Venture Scouts were replaced by the Explorer Scouts in 2002, which was formed around a different age range. 4th Formby has had an Explorer unit in the past but in 2021, as part of the merging of Southport and Formby Districts again, Explorer Scout Units were put on a District footing, and due to low numbers, 4th and 5th Formby ESUs began to work together, eventually choosing the name Vikingar ESU. This has proved to be a thriving Unit with very healthy member numbers.