Group Leadership and Executive
Peter Hutton (Skip) – Group Scout Leader
Peter joined the Group as Scout Leader in February 1976 and has not found a way out yet! As Group Scout Leader he has overall responsibility for the 13th Wimbledon Scout Group. This includes ensuring each section is properly led, trained and supported and that the Group follows rules laid down by the Scout Association. Apart from undertaking this role he is still actively involved in the 13th Scout troop, and holds positions at District and County level.
Ashley Coups – Group Chairman
Ashley was appointed Group Chairman in 2016. In this role he chairs the Group Council and the Group Executive Committee, which is responsible for the ensuring that the Group operates in accordance with its constitution and in compliance with the rules of the Scout Association.
Patrick Daly – Group Treasurer
Patrick joined the Group as its treasurer in 2015. Despite having been confined to a wheelchair following a stroke 3 decades ago, he has provided an invaluable service to the Group, with great humour, since his appointment. His role is to keep track of the income and expenditure of the 13th Wimbledon Scout Group and compile the annual accounts for approval at its Annual General Meeting.
Wendy Zhang – Group Secretary
Wendy took on the role of Group Secretary in 2021. This involves taking the minutes of the Group Executive meetings and of the Annual General Meeting and ensuring these are distributed.
Beavers
Steve Lyon (Owl) – Beaver Scout Leader
Steve joined as an Assistant Beaver Scout Leader in 2012 then switched to run the Cub Pack in 2015 before returning to the Beaver section as Beaver Scout Leader in 2020. As Beaver Leader his role is to plan and implement the weekly Beaver meetings and involve them in other Group and district activities. His flexibility in adopting different roles has helped us maintain vibrant and engaging programmes across all our sections over the last few years.
Fiona Miles (Piglet) – Section Assistant
Like her husband, Malcolm, Fiona has been a Section Assistant, this time with the Beaver Scouts, since 1992. In that time, she has been responsible for much of the background administration of the Colony, ensuring records are kept and the Beavers all get the badges and recognition they have earned, while also inputting into the programme. As Beaver leaders have joined then moved on, Fiona has provided a much-needed consistency to ensure a smooth transition and continued survival of the Colony.
Cubs
Graham Coverdale (Chil) – Cub Scout Leader
Graham joined as Assistant Cub Scout Leader in 2013. In 2021 he took on the role of Cub Scout Leader with overall responsibility for organising the Cub Pack’s weekly programme and participation in other events and activities. In 2016 he organised a ‘crossover camp’ designed to introduce the older Cubs and new, younger Scouts to the basics of Scout camping. These have now become an established annual event in the Group’s calendar. He also took on the task of coordinating the very successful Young Leader Scheme in the Group whereby those of Explorer Scout age assist with the younger sections and work towards gaining their Young Leader Awards.
Guy Rostron (Bagheera) – Assistant Cub Scout Leader
Guy started out helping on camps, then meetings and then became an Assistant Cub Scout Leader in 2016. In that role he assists the Cub Scout Leader in implementing the weekly programme and other activities. He also acts as an independent examiner of the accounts for the Wimbledon and Wandle Scout District.
Paul Carse (Baloo) – Assistant Cub Scout Leader
Paul joined us at the beginning of 2022 as a section assistant, but we quickly promoted him to Assistant Leader. He has become an integral part of the cub team, getting them to clear weeds and plant seeds, helping them to grow.
Alex Swain (Jacala) – Assistant Cub Scout Leader
Alex joined us as a Beaver Scout in 2007 and moved through the sections gaining his Young Leader Award as an Explorer Scout and going on to become an Assistant Leader in both the Cub Pack and Explorer Unit while also studying for a degree in Bristol. He also has the role in the County of heading up its communications. As a Scout, he became a keen hillwalker and has been an increasingly key driver of the various hiking and mountaineering activities of the Group.
Joel Delaney (Kaa) – Assistant Cub Scout Leader
Joel joined as a Beaver and worked his way through the sections becoming an Explorer Scout, gaining his Young Leader Award and then becoming Assistant Cub Scout Leader in 2019. Now at University, he continues to support the Group when available.
Kerry Isaacs (Ikki) – Section Assistant
Kerry started helping with the Beavers in 2019 and became a Section Assistant with the Cubs in 2020. Her role is to assist the leaders in running the weekly programme in a variety of ways.
Lisa Busuttil (Rikki Tikki) – Section Assistant
Lisa joined the leadership team with the cubs in April 2022 bringing the experience of helping with another Scout group. She has been helping to guide the Cubs as they work to weed and clear the north side of the church.
Scouts
Anthony Chilcott – Scout Leader
Anthony joined the Scout Troop as a Section Assistant in 2016, became an Assistant Scout Leader in 2017 and is now officially Scout Leader. The Scout Leader’s role is to plan and implement the Scouts’ weekly meetings and events such as camps, mountain trips and participation in district and county competitions. His partnership with Skip has ensured that the 13th is one of the most active Scout Troops in the district.
Nick Harper – Assistant Scout Leader
Nick joined the Scout troop as Assistant Scout Leader in 2019 and is best known for his inspiring charity cycle ride with his family from Land’s End to John O’Groats in the summer of 2020! As ASL his role is to assist in implementing the programme and supporting the wide range of activities of the troop.
Malcolm Miles – Section Assistant
Malcolm joined the troop as a Section Assistant in 1992 and, like Skip, still has not found a way out! Until he was laid low for a few weeks with a bout of sciatica last year, his attendance at the weekly meeting had been near to 100%. We are pleased to say he is now back to normal as a mainstay of our weekly meetings.
Chris Scott – Section Assistant
Chris has experience as a teacher and, among many other roles, he first assisted on a Snowdon trip in 2017 and has been a regular helper on Scout/Explorer camps and mountain trips ever since. He also regularly assists at Scout meetings and energised the Scout lockdown meetings with his ‘Climb Every Mountain’ and Bake-off challenges.
Explorers
Nigel Swain – Explorer Scout Leader
Nigel joined as a helper with the Beavers when his son joined the Colony in 2007, then moved with him to assist with the Cub then Scout sections before helping to set up the St Saviour’s Explorer Scout Unit (SSESU) in 2011. As joint ESL his role is to organise the weekly programme and other activities for the Explorer Unit.
Tom Jones – Explorer Scout Leader
Tom joined as an Assistant Scout Leader when his son joined the Cub pack in 2015. In 2019 he switched to the Explorer Scout section and, with Nigel, oversaw its recent growth to be probably the biggest senior section the Group has ever had. In 2019 he organised the Explorers to run an Activity Day for Cricket Green School which has become a much-appreciated annual event for its pupils.
Alex Swain – Assistant Explorer Scout Leader
Alex joined us as a Beaver Scout in 2007 and moved through the sections gaining his Young Leader Award as an Explorer Scout and going on to become an Assistant Leader in both the Cub Pack and Explorer Unit while also studying for a degree in Bristol. He also has the role in the County of heading up its communications. As a Scout he became a keen hillwalker and has been an increasingly key driver of the various hiking and mountaineering activities of the Group.
Mark Delaney – Section Assistant
Mark became a Group Occasional Helper in 2014 and his particular contribution stems from his vast experience as a mountaineer. Since 2014 he has accompanied the Scouts and Explorers on their annual trips to Snowdonia and has been a regular attendee on these, and their autumn mountain trips, ever since. In 2021 he was appointed Session Assistant with the Explorer Scouts and gained his Scout hillwalking permit authorising him to take groups of Scouts onto the mountains, which greatly enhanced our capability in this activity area.
Alix Coups – Section Assistant
Alix is responsible for managing the Unit’s bank account, and has also been a regular parent helper at the annual Scout/Explorer summer camps since 2017.
