(British) OriginsOfTheWoodBadge

The
Scout Woggle
Origins of the woggle
In the early days of the Scout Movement in Great Britain, the Scout neckerchief (scarf) used
to be tied with a loose knot at the neck and naturally became very creased. However it was
known the Americans were experimenting by using a ring made from bone, rope or wood to
keep their scarves together. A young Australian, Bill Shankley, aged 18 and one of two
permanent camp site employees at Gilwell Park, had the job of running the workshop and
coming up with ideas for camping equipment. He found out about the American rings and
decided to try and go one better. After various attempts with different materials he finally
made a Turks Head knot ‐ adopted in the days of sailing ships when seamen developed
decorative forms of rope work as a hobby ‐ made from thin sewing machine leather belting.
He submitted this to the Camp Chief and, no doubt, to the Chief Scout, for approval and had
it accepted. The result was the Gilwell Woggle.
On the origin of the Woggle, Shankley said:
“…They used to knot their scarves, which used to get creased and stick out at the
ends. But in America the early scouts used to plait up various stuffs to make a ring for
theirs — they called it a boon‐doggle. I got some thin sewing machine leather belting,
plaited it into a neat ring, submitted it, and had it accepted. I called it a Woggle and
that’s the name it’s known by throughout the world…”
The Gilwell Woggle is made of round leather cord and has two braided strands. It is to be
worn only by those that have successfully completed the Wood Badge training. The Scout
Woggle is made of cord and it has three braided strands. The three strands stand for the
three principals of the Scout Oath: Duty to God and Country, Duty to Self, Duty to Others.
The cord is there to represent the family of the World Scout Movement and it is tied in a
circular manner to resemble a never ending knot to symbolize strength of unity of the
World of Scouting. It is said that the length of the woggle was the length needed to make a
scout fire bow.

www.troop567.org
How to tie a Scout Woggle
Start with a cord about 40 inches long (45in. for tassels).
In the figures below, the Orange cord is to indicate the stationary end (Y) or to indicate the first wrap, the
green is to indicate a previous wrap, and the red is the working end (X) or final wrap.
1. Place the cord around three 2. Bring the (red‐X) working end over

fingers (two, if they’re large) of the the (green) previous wrap and under
left hand, palm up. Hold the the (orange‐Y) stationary end.
stationary end (orange Y) with left
thumb. The working end of the cord
is red (X).
3. After step 2 is done, it should look 4. Turn the left hand over, palm

like this. Note that the (red‐X) down.
working end is now towards the back
of the hand.
5. Pull the second wrap (green) over 6. Thread the (red‐X) working end

the first wrap (orange). Hold the under orange and up through the
green wrap in position by placing the crisscross eye formed by orange and
forefinger of the right hand between green.
the green and orange wraps.
7. Thread the (red‐X) working end 8. After step 7 is done, it should look

over the green and under the orange like this.
again.
9. Turn the left hand over, palm up. 10. After step 9 is done, it should

Bring the (red‐X) end alongside of look like this. At this point, you may
and parallel to stationary (orange‐Y) find it easier to work with only two
end by threading the strand over fingers inside the woggle.
green, under orange, and over
green again.
The start of the second wrap is indicated in 10. Lay the working end on
the right hand side as you follow the orange strand around the knot.
At some point, it will be easier to remove the woggle from your fingers
as you thread end X around for second time. It is important to adjust
the slide as you go, so that it will be neat, as well as the right size.
The Turk’s‐head neckerchief slide (AKA woggle) is formed by following the strand around three times. The
braided strands are parallel to each other all around the slide. The slide will end at the same point at which
it was begun. It will likely be necessary to go back around the knot and take in any slack. When complete,
tuck both ends underneath a convenient strand and trim.

www.troop567.org

(British) OriginsOfTheWoodBadge

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

(British) OriginsOfTheWoodBadge

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

(British) OriginsOfTheWoodBadge

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The

1. Place the cord around three 2. Bring the (red‐X) working end over

3. After step 2 is done, it should look 4. Turn the left hand over, palm

5. Pull the second wrap (green) over 6. Thread the (red‐X) working end

7. Thread the (red‐X) working end 8. After step 7 is done, it should look

9. Turn the left hand over, palm up. 10. After step 9 is done, it should

You might also like