Bronze Bust of a Boy Scout by William Goscombe John R.A

Mounted on a sea-green marble base

Baden-Powell's first experiment in what was to become the worldwide scout movement took place on Brownsea Island, Dorset, in 1907. The present bust with its ascribed date of 1910 can therefore be counted as an early example of an artistic work embodying the virtues of scouting as distilled by Baden-Powell. The qualities which Baden Powell was eager to promote amongst Boy Scouts were not found wanting in the sitter for the present bust.

The sitter - Thomas Harry Basil Webb (1898-1917)

The subject of the bust is Basil Webb, the son of Lt-Col. Sir Henry Webb, 1st Baronet. of Llwynarthan, Monmouthshire, a Liberal M.P., and mining engineer. Basil Webb was born in 1898 and was educated at Winchester College from which he joined the army at the height of the First World War. Notably, Basil Webb was the author of the Chester Cathedral Refectory prayer, which remains in use today. He served in France as a Second Lieutenant in the 1st Bn Welsh Guards and was killed in action on 1 December 1917 aged 19. He is buried at Gouzeaucourt New British Cemetery, southwest of Cambrai.  

In 1911, the year in which Goscombe John was knighted, a standing figure in bronze of Basil Webb in Scout uniform was exhibited at the Royal Academy. It is thus probable that the present bust dates to the same period. The standing figure was subsequently presented to Charterhouse School (Baden-Powell's alma mater), the gift of Lady Webb, in memory of her son. In 1919 Sir Henry Webb bore the costs of renovating the crypt and altar of Chester Cathedral, where an inscription may still be found identifying the restoration work 'in memory of his gallant son and his companions'.

The sculptor - Sir William Goscombe John, R.A., (1860-1952)

Born in Wales, Goscombe John assisted his father in the decorations at Cardiff Castle under the direction of William Burges. In 1882 he studied at Lambeth School of Art prior to entering the R.A. Schools and winning the 1889 Gold Medal and associated travelling scholarship. He worked under Rodin in Paris, 1890-91, and received an honourable mention at the Paris Salon in 1892, and the Gold Medal in 1901. His works include a wide range of subjects, realistic, poetic and religious. He was also responsible for several public monuments including the equestrian figure of Edward VII in Liverpool; the statue of Viscount Wolseley, Horse Guards Parade, London; Prince Christian Victor at Windsor; and a memorial to Sir Arthur Sullivan in St. Paul's Cathedral.