Frank Cooper Sands dating history

Details

Frank Cooper Sands was a Scoutmaster from Nottingham, England. He is recognized as a founder of Scouting in Singapore on 2 July 1910, when Sands established two Boy Scout troops for the children of the British colonists. From there, the movement spread to other parts of the Straits Settlements and what were to become the states of Malaysia. He became the Commissioner of the Scout Association Malaya Branch which comprised the British Crown Colonies. (Within British Scout leadership hierarchy, Sands position was equivalent to a County Commissioner. All the Malay States and Straits Settlements were Districts only.) Sands spent the next 40 years helping to create Scouting in the region, and is often called the "Father of Malayan Scouting". It is only after his retirement that the posts of Chief Commissioners for Malaya and Singapore were created by the Boy Scouts Association in London for E.M.F. Payne and Canon R.K.S. Adams respectively. Presently there is an award named after him called the Frank Cooper Sands Award which is given to the best Scouts in Singapore. There are three levels of award: Bronze, Silver and Gold.