Scouting in the 70th 1932-1968
2.5 The Wolf Cub Salute
The Wolf Cub salute was a two fingered, V-shaped salute, representing the wolf’s ears (Fig. 1.5). This salute was considered unsuitable in 1968! From then on, Cubs used the same salute as the Scouts.
Figure 1.5
The Wolf Cub Salute
2.6 The Wolf Cub Grand Howl
The Grand Howl in the period up to 1968 was different from the one used today. Wolf Cubs stood round Akela in a circle. Akela then held out his/her arms horizontally then lowered them to signal the Cubs into the squat position (Fig. 1.6), where they places two fingers of each hand on the floor as in the Cub salute (Fig. 1.7). The howl would then start with the Pack crying loudly, and drawing out each syllable of the first line:
'Akela we'll do our best’
‘Dyb, Dyb, Dyb’ (by Akela or Sixer only)
‘We'll Dob Dob Dob’
‘Wolf!'
Some ex-members remember the Cubs leaping into the air after shouting 'Akela, we'll do our best', then standing to attention and saluting with both hands as they completed the yell. Others remember the Cubs waiting until the final 'Wolf'' cry before leaping into the air. It is possible that there were variations in how the Grand Howl was carried out from Pack to Pack and from year to year.
Figure 1 Christopher Wilson as Sixer of the White Six (1960s)
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Figure 1.6 The Grand Howl being performed outside the front door of Finnart Church in the late 1940s.
Figure 1.7 The squat position during the Grand Howl (the two fingers of each hand were more splayed than shown here).
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2.7 Cub Instructions
Akelas used various instructions when running Pack meetings, which may well have varied from Pack to Pack and from year to year. In the sixties, Akela called out 'Pack! Pack! Pack!' to which all the Cubs yelled 'Pack!' in response, then rushed to stand ‘quietly’ in their sixes.
In the 70th, the sixes stood across the middle of the hall, one six behind the other, facing the leaders and the flag at the end of the hall. The Cubs in each six stood shoulder to shoulder with the Sixer at one end of the line and the Seconder at the other. It is not certain whether there was any significance to the order in which each six stood.
2.8 Cub Totems
Cub totems were popular in the thirties and forties (Fig. 9.3). When a Cub gained a proficiency badge, a coloured flash was pinned or attached to the totem making it a kind of honours board that marked the Pack’s achievement. It may have been possible to purchase totems, but they could also be home-made. The Cub totem visible in figure 9.3 is thought to be the first totem used in the 70th. Unfortunately, it went astray during the Second World War - believed to have ended up in the attic of an ex-leader who went into the services. After the war, the totem was home-made from a broom handle and coat handles! It is not known how long Cub totems persisted in the 70th Wolf Cub pack, but they had certainly vanished from the scene by the 1960s. Unfortunately, no 70th totems survive, as far as is known.
Figure 1.8
The 70th Wolf Cub Totem Pole in the late 1940s
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