He travelled 10,000 miles to be reunited with the old friends he had not seen in more than 50 years.
Peter Lack, from Melbourne, Australia, was one of 200 Scouts past and present who marked the 100th anniversary of one of the oldest surviving packs in the world at a special event in the Black Country.
First Bilston Scout Group was established in 1908, the same year that Robert Baden-Powell founded the movement, and the centenary celebration took place at the £2.5 million newly-refurbished town hall.
The hall was bursting with memorabilia including hundreds of black and white photographs, videos of past gang shows, flags, badges, newspaper cuttings and even a warrant signed by Baden-Powell himself.
One of the photographs on display dated back to 1957 and showed a fresh-faced Mr Lack with fellow Scouts Colin Evans, Malcolm Bennett, Granville Bates, Denis Evans and Roy Evans.
The old friends, most of whom had not seen each other in decades, recreated the snap at the reunion on Saturday night.
Mr Lack was born and bred in Bilston but moved to Australia with his family when he was 17.
The 66-year-old said: “It is very special to come back and see everyone.
“My family always wanted to move to Australia but I didn’t want to go when I was 17. I was in the Senior Scouts at that point and we were getting ready for adventures all over Europe. I was disappointed when I had to leave everyone behind as we were great friends.
“The First Bilston group has such family feel, that’s why it has lasted so long.”
Mr Bates, now aged 61, travelled from Llanfair Waterdine near the Welsh border for the celebration.
The school technician said: “I haven’t seen these guys in 26 years but we were so close back then. We had an amazing Scout master called Joe Parker who was so passionate and dedicated. We all learned a lot from him.
“I went on to work in schools and with youth clubs and I think that’s because of my time in the Scouts.”
The reunion was organised by 65-year-old treasurer Denis Evans, who has been involved in the group since he was 10.
In the revamped ballroom, which was home to a disco, buffet and balloons, Mr Evans announced the group had received a 50,000 dollar donation from America’s Timken Foundation to mark the centenary. The independent foundation provides grants to good causes around the globe.
He said: “This is wonderful news and we are going to spend the money on expanding the scout hut in Prouds Lane. We’ll have new floors and a new roof.
“As part of our 100th anniversary, we raised £60,000 ourselves over two years and this is the icing on the cake.”
The group’s original scout leader in the 1900s was Tom Chambers. A century down the line it is Stuart Evans, aged 43, from Sedgley.
Mr Evans, who has been in charge for 15 years, said: “This was an opportunity for everyone to get together and share their memories. We could have sold 350 tickets to be honest.
“I started out as a Cub 37 years ago and this group has always had a real family atmosphere that gets passed on from generation to generation. That’s the secret to its success.”
Poring over the old photographs were 74-year-old Tom Hewitson, of Sunningdale Road, Sedgley, and 72-year-old John Niblett, of Leicester. Both were in the group in the 1940s and 50s.
Mr Niblett said: “We had such adventures and would go hiking and on trips to London. It’s so funny looking back at these old pictures – I found myself straight away as I spotted my old crew cut.”
One of the VIP guests at the celebration was 93-year-old George Legg, a former group chairman whose two sons Patrick and Michael were in the Scouts in the 1950s.
Mr Legg, who lives in Dilloways Lane, Portobello, with his 88-year-old wife Winnie, said: “My boys loved the Scouts and it’s an honour to be here tonight with everyone again.”
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