Poacher jamboree has been running since 1977 and has always taken place at the Lincolnshire Showground. Poacher gets its name from The Lincolnshire Poacher, a famous folk song specific to Lincolnshire. Many will not know the song, but the song's refrain has remained within some people’s memories, ‘O, tis my delight on a shining night in the season of the year.’ The premise of the song is a poacher who lived and died at Welton, a village located about two and a half miles away, to the east of the campsite. The subcamp theme for Poacher 1977 was also based around the song, with animals, you would find in a poacher’s bag.
It was a memorable year within the Scouting and Guiding calendar as it was also the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. In honour of her achievement, a coffee marquee was named the Silver Jubilee Coffee bar. Over the years international attention has increased. In 1977, there were over four hundred campers that came from overseas. Countries such as Austria, Canada, France, Gibraltar and the United States of America visited that year. Some of these countries still come to Poacher 45 years later.
The next Poacher was in 1982, coinciding with the Year of the Scout, which marked 75 years of Scouting since Lord Baden-Powell took a selection of boys from varying backgrounds to Brownsea Island. The Brownsea camp initiated the Scouting movement, with Girlguiding a few years later. Poacher has since been held in 1987, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2013, 2017 and finally, after a few tremulous years, we have arrived at Poacher 2022.
Is this your first Poacher? Have you been before? What memories can you share from Poacher Jamboree's gone by? Head to our facebook page to share your memories.
