Francis Vane
Encyclopedia
For the murder exposed by Major Sir Francis Fletcher Vane, see Francis Sheehy-Skeffington
Sir Francis Patrick Fletcher-Vane, 5th Baronet (16 October 1861, Dublin, Ireland
– 10 June 1934, London
) was an early aide of Lord Baden-Powell
's and a Scout Commissioner of London before Baden-Powell ousted him from the Scout Association
. He later founded the Order of World Scouts
, the earliest multinational Scouting
movement, and is counted one of the founders of Scouting in Italy
.
, Devon
, England
. In 1876, Vane enrolled in Oxford Military College
.
and for a stint with the Submarine Mining Regiment over the period of 1883-1888. In 1886 he began residing at Toynbee Hall
in East London. That same year he started a 'Working Boys Cadet Corps'. He became a captain in the 26th Middlesex Cyclists in 1888. While serving in the Second Boer War
(1899–1902), he was appointed a magistrate
in 1902. He was removed from that position for supposedly being too "pro-Boer". He wrote "The War and One Year After" pamphlet in 1903 criticizing the British method of war. With his follow up pamphlet, Vane was "retired" from the military.
, Vane returned to the Army as a recruiting officer with the rank of Major and was sent to Ireland, attached to the 8th Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers
. During the Easter Uprising, he was directed to take command of Portobello Barracks
, Dublin, then garrison for the largely Belfast-recruited Royal Irish Rifles and the Ulster Militia Battalion. On the third day of the Rising, he had taken up an observation position in the tower of the Rathmines Town Hall. On returning to barracks he learned that civilian hostages had been taken and later killed there by order of Captain Bowen-Colthurst. They included the well known pacifist Francis Sheehy-Skeffington
and two pro-Union journalists who were misidentified as Nationalists. Bowen-Colthurst led several raids against supposedly pro-Sinn Féin
civilians and had summarily executed a youth named Coade in the street in view of the hostages. With his superiors covering up and having been removed from command, Vane went directly to Field Marshal Lord Kitchener
and to Maurice Bonham Carter
, private secretary to the Prime Minister to expose the murders. When a closed military court-martial
found Bowen-Colthurst guilty but insane, Vane was dismissed.
's (BSA) London Commissioner
. He felt that Scouting
should be nonmilitary and reconciled through mediation
the British Boy Scouts(BBS) with the Association by having BBS as an affiliated organisation of the BSA. The BBS split from the BSA over perceived militarization and nondemocratic nature of the national headquarters. With Vane pushing for more democratic BSA, his position was eliminated by Baden-Powell's BSA headquarter staff. In protest meeting, the London area scoutmasters voted overwhelming in support of Sir Francis, however Baden-Powell, even though he promised, never reinstated him. Members of the National Service League, a pro-military group, were appointed to BSA headquarters. On December 3, 1909, Vane accepted the presidency of the British Boy Scouts taking most London area Troops with him. The Quakers' Birmingham and Midland Troops also followed as Vane was key in have Quakers sponsor Scouting Troops.
Vane got the Boy's Life Brigade(BLB) to join the British Boy Scouts in a loose federation called The National Peace Scouts in February 1910. At the merger the BBS had 45,000 Scouts and BLB had 40,000 members. With Vane having an Italian summer home, he was able to launch the Scouting Movement in Italy with the Scouting in Italy
(Ragazzi Esploratori Italiani) in 1910. In 1911, Vance assisted Augustin Dufresne, a shipowner, to organise a French scouting organisation.
With spread of the alternative British Boy Scouts program throughout the world, Vane informally aligned the various groups as the Legion of World Scouts, the first international organisation, in 1911 then more formally as the Order of World Scouts
on November 11, 1911. Vane became the Grand Scout Master of the Order of World Scouts.
Vane put his wealth behind the organisations: providing a London headquarter and financed the organisation, even the manufacture of BBS uniforms. This over burdened his finances to the point of having to declare bankruptcy. Thus the British Boy Scouts lost their headquarters, source of equipment and uniforms and their leader, Sir Francis Vane. Vane continued his involvement with the remnant BBS, as he inspected the Troop of the London Commissioner Mr Percy Herbert Pooley in 1915.
Vane returned to Italy after World War I to find that the Italian Boy Scouts he founded had been mainly absorbed by the National Scouts Corps (Corpo Nazionale Giovani Esploratori Italiana - CNGEI). Some joined in with the creation of the Catholic Association of Scouts (Associazione Scautistica Cattolica Italiana - ASCI) in 1916, later named AGESCI. He began working with the latter group. He tried to get Baden-Powell to accept the ASCI as a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
. He also try to get the BBS back together with the Boy Scout Association. Both of these efforts were without success. In 1927, he left for the United Kingdom as the Fascists quashed the Italian Scouting Movement, in favour of the Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB), an Italian Fascist youth organisation. Despite a private letter to Sir Francis Vane 24 April 1933, sympathising with Vane’s worries, the Balilla was an organisation that was publicly highly praised by Baden-Powell, as the application of scouting as part of national education.
Vane's first wife, Anna Oliphant da Costa Ricci died in 1922. Vane married his second wife, Kathleen Crosbie in 1927. Sir Francis died in 1934 aged 72, after spending his last year of life in ill health at St Thomas' Hospital in Lambeth.
Francis Sheehy-Skeffington
Francis Skeffington from Bailieborough, County Cavan, was an Irish suffragist, pacifist and writer. He was a friend and schoolmate of James Joyce, Oliver St John Gogarty, Tom Kettle, and Conor Cruise O'Brien's father, Frank O'Brien...
Sir Francis Patrick Fletcher-Vane, 5th Baronet (16 October 1861, Dublin, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
– 10 June 1934, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) was an early aide of Lord Baden-Powell
Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell
Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, Bt, OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB , also known as B-P or Lord Baden-Powell, was a lieutenant-general in the British Army, writer, and founder of the Scout Movement....
's and a Scout Commissioner of London before Baden-Powell ousted him from the Scout Association
The Scout Association
The Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...
. He later founded the Order of World Scouts
Order of World Scouts
The Order of World Scouts founded in 1911, was the first international Scouting organisation. It is headquartered in England, with the administration headquarters in Italy...
, the earliest multinational Scouting
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
movement, and is counted one of the founders of Scouting in Italy
Scouting in Italy
The Scout Movement in Italy consists of about 40 different associations and federations with about 220,000 Scouts and Guides. Next to Germany, France and Russia, Italy is the country with the most fragmented Scout movement.-History:...
.
Early life
Vane was born at 10 Great George’s street, Dublin 1861 to an Irish mother and English father. He was raised in SidmouthSidmouth
Sidmouth is a small town on the English Channel coast in Devon, South West England. The town lies at the mouth of the River Sid in the East Devon district, south east of Exeter. It has a population of about 15,000, of whom 40% are over 65....
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In 1876, Vane enrolled in Oxford Military College
Oxford Military College
Oxford Military College was an all-male private boarding school and military academy in Cowley, Oxford, England, from 1876–1896. The military college opened on 7 September 1876. Prince George, Duke of Cambridge was the patron of the Oxford Military College....
.
Military career
After military college, Vane was assigned to the Worcester Militia, Scots GuardsScots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
and for a stint with the Submarine Mining Regiment over the period of 1883-1888. In 1886 he began residing at Toynbee Hall
Toynbee Hall
Toynbee Hall is a building in Tower Hamlets, East London which is the home of a charity working to bridge the gap between people of all social and financial backgrounds, with a focus on eradicating poverty and promoting social inclusion....
in East London. That same year he started a 'Working Boys Cadet Corps'. He became a captain in the 26th Middlesex Cyclists in 1888. While serving in the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
(1899–1902), he was appointed a magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
in 1902. He was removed from that position for supposedly being too "pro-Boer". He wrote "The War and One Year After" pamphlet in 1903 criticizing the British method of war. With his follow up pamphlet, Vane was "retired" from the military.
Ireland
At the start of World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Vane returned to the Army as a recruiting officer with the rank of Major and was sent to Ireland, attached to the 8th Battalion, Royal Munster Fusiliers
Royal Munster Fusiliers
The Royal Munster Fusiliers was a regular infantry regiment of the British Army. One of eight Irish regiments raised largely in Ireland, it had its home depot in Tralee. It was originally formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of two regiments of the former East India Company. It served in India and...
. During the Easter Uprising, he was directed to take command of Portobello Barracks
Cathal Brugha Barracks
Cathal Brugha Barracks is an Irish Army barracks in Rathmines, Dublin. A key military base of the Irish Defence Forces, it is the headquarters of the Eastern Command, and houses the Military Archives of the Department of Defence.-History and name:...
, Dublin, then garrison for the largely Belfast-recruited Royal Irish Rifles and the Ulster Militia Battalion. On the third day of the Rising, he had taken up an observation position in the tower of the Rathmines Town Hall. On returning to barracks he learned that civilian hostages had been taken and later killed there by order of Captain Bowen-Colthurst. They included the well known pacifist Francis Sheehy-Skeffington
Francis Sheehy-Skeffington
Francis Skeffington from Bailieborough, County Cavan, was an Irish suffragist, pacifist and writer. He was a friend and schoolmate of James Joyce, Oliver St John Gogarty, Tom Kettle, and Conor Cruise O'Brien's father, Frank O'Brien...
and two pro-Union journalists who were misidentified as Nationalists. Bowen-Colthurst led several raids against supposedly pro-Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
civilians and had summarily executed a youth named Coade in the street in view of the hostages. With his superiors covering up and having been removed from command, Vane went directly to Field Marshal Lord Kitchener
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC , was an Irish-born British Field Marshal and proconsul who won fame for his imperial campaigns and later played a central role in the early part of the First World War, although he died halfway...
and to Maurice Bonham Carter
Maurice Bonham Carter
Sir Maurice Bonham Carter, KCB, KCVO was an English Liberal politician and cricketer.Bonham Carter was the second son of Sibella Charlotte and Henry Bonham Carter. He was born in London and educated at Winchester College and Balliol College, Oxford...
, private secretary to the Prime Minister to expose the murders. When a closed military court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
found Bowen-Colthurst guilty but insane, Vane was dismissed.
Between military stints
Daily News, Manchester Guardian, Westminster and Truth employed Vane from 1902 to 1904 as a reporter for South Africa. He was a Liberal general election candidate for Burton on Trent constituency. Following that he became active in antiwar and suffragette campaigns from 1907-1912. He published two more items: Walks and Peoples in Tuscany (1908) and On Certain Fundamentals (1909).Scouting
By 1909, Vane was the Boy Scouting AssociationThe Scout Association
The Scout Association is the World Organization of the Scout Movement recognised Scouting association in the United Kingdom. Scouting began in 1907 through the efforts of Robert Baden-Powell. The Scout Association was formed under its previous name, The Boy Scout Association, in 1910 by the grant...
's (BSA) London Commissioner
Scout Commissioner
In the Scout Movement, a commissioner is the person whose role it is to oversee a Scout association's programs, usually within a particular geographic area. Normally, commissioners are volunteers. In some Scout associations, the term Executive Commissioner is used to refer to a paid staff...
. He felt that Scouting
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....
should be nonmilitary and reconciled through mediation
Mediation
Mediation, as used in law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution , a way of resolving disputes between two or more parties. A third party, the mediator, assists the parties to negotiate their own settlement...
the British Boy Scouts(BBS) with the Association by having BBS as an affiliated organisation of the BSA. The BBS split from the BSA over perceived militarization and nondemocratic nature of the national headquarters. With Vane pushing for more democratic BSA, his position was eliminated by Baden-Powell's BSA headquarter staff. In protest meeting, the London area scoutmasters voted overwhelming in support of Sir Francis, however Baden-Powell, even though he promised, never reinstated him. Members of the National Service League, a pro-military group, were appointed to BSA headquarters. On December 3, 1909, Vane accepted the presidency of the British Boy Scouts taking most London area Troops with him. The Quakers' Birmingham and Midland Troops also followed as Vane was key in have Quakers sponsor Scouting Troops.
Vane got the Boy's Life Brigade(BLB) to join the British Boy Scouts in a loose federation called The National Peace Scouts in February 1910. At the merger the BBS had 45,000 Scouts and BLB had 40,000 members. With Vane having an Italian summer home, he was able to launch the Scouting Movement in Italy with the Scouting in Italy
Scouting in Italy
The Scout Movement in Italy consists of about 40 different associations and federations with about 220,000 Scouts and Guides. Next to Germany, France and Russia, Italy is the country with the most fragmented Scout movement.-History:...
(Ragazzi Esploratori Italiani) in 1910. In 1911, Vance assisted Augustin Dufresne, a shipowner, to organise a French scouting organisation.
With spread of the alternative British Boy Scouts program throughout the world, Vane informally aligned the various groups as the Legion of World Scouts, the first international organisation, in 1911 then more formally as the Order of World Scouts
Order of World Scouts
The Order of World Scouts founded in 1911, was the first international Scouting organisation. It is headquartered in England, with the administration headquarters in Italy...
on November 11, 1911. Vane became the Grand Scout Master of the Order of World Scouts.
Vane put his wealth behind the organisations: providing a London headquarter and financed the organisation, even the manufacture of BBS uniforms. This over burdened his finances to the point of having to declare bankruptcy. Thus the British Boy Scouts lost their headquarters, source of equipment and uniforms and their leader, Sir Francis Vane. Vane continued his involvement with the remnant BBS, as he inspected the Troop of the London Commissioner Mr Percy Herbert Pooley in 1915.
Vane returned to Italy after World War I to find that the Italian Boy Scouts he founded had been mainly absorbed by the National Scouts Corps (Corpo Nazionale Giovani Esploratori Italiana - CNGEI). Some joined in with the creation of the Catholic Association of Scouts (Associazione Scautistica Cattolica Italiana - ASCI) in 1916, later named AGESCI. He began working with the latter group. He tried to get Baden-Powell to accept the ASCI as a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
World Organization of the Scout Movement
The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...
. He also try to get the BBS back together with the Boy Scout Association. Both of these efforts were without success. In 1927, he left for the United Kingdom as the Fascists quashed the Italian Scouting Movement, in favour of the Opera Nazionale Balilla (ONB), an Italian Fascist youth organisation. Despite a private letter to Sir Francis Vane 24 April 1933, sympathising with Vane’s worries, the Balilla was an organisation that was publicly highly praised by Baden-Powell, as the application of scouting as part of national education.
Vane's first wife, Anna Oliphant da Costa Ricci died in 1922. Vane married his second wife, Kathleen Crosbie in 1927. Sir Francis died in 1934 aged 72, after spending his last year of life in ill health at St Thomas' Hospital in Lambeth.
External links
- ODNB article by Roger T. Stearn, ‘Vane, Sir Francis Patrick Fletcher, fifth baronet (1861–1934)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006 http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/77196, accessed 7 April 2008.