Boy Scouts Founder Robert Baden-Powell Became a National Hero
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Lord Robert Baden-Powell (full name Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell) was not only the founder of the Boy Scouts, but he was also a British intelligence officer. In 1899, he was an officer during the Second Boer War in South Africa. His army of 500 was hugely outnumbered by an 8,000-strong Boer army, so he incorporated espionage-like tactics to survive, including setting up fake mines and enlisting young boys to act as guards. He outlasted the Boers until British reinforcements arrived and became a national hero. He wrote My Adventures as A Spy and revealed he caught three spies by himself and once pretended to be American to get intel from the Germans. He wrote: “A good spy—no matter which country he serves—is of necessity a brave and valuable fellow.”