Posted 5 years ago
fortapache
(3304 items)
A quartet of Quartermaster position patches. The Quartermaster keeps track of the equipment of a boy scout troop and makes sure it is working order. Also oversees the distribution of said equipment and sees to its return. Toyrebel can tell us a bit more I think.
The top patch in Photo #2 is the one used from 1946-1954. It is 2 1/2" x 2" and has no border. The next two are a bit smaller at 2" x 1 3/4".
At bottom left in photo #2 is the patch used from 1955-1964, it has a border that makes it more durable. Next to it is the one used from 1965-1971. It has a backing seen in photo #3 to make it even more durable.
Back to photo #1 at the bottom is the patch used from 1972-1989. After that a similar patch was used but the background is tan and is hard to distinguish from any distance.
Photo #4 is a photo from Boys Life showing scout wearing the 1972-1989 patch on the left sleeve. Also has a scout 2nd class rank patch on the left front pocket. Sadly there are no junior assistant quartermasters.
Great post Apache. In our troop/patrol the primary Quartermaster duty was kind of like being a inventory clerk. If our patrol was going to have a separate campout from the tropp you had to make sure you could get enough tents, supplies, etc. The patrol liked my father(he was pretty lax about us having fun) so he took us on the majority of the patrol outings. He would usually get the food required(my old man was a great cook) and I would just divide up what everybody owed. My father usually would pay for the majority of the food, he really enjoyed the Scouts. He was the best unauthorized Quartermaster asst. in the B.S.A. That's the main duty of our quartermasters, I learned which were the better tents and would air them out and make sure all the poles, stakes, ropes were present, things like that.
Speaking of my father, one time we camped out on an island on Lake Martin. It had rained a lot for days and we Scouts were trying to start a fire, with no luck. The old man went to the boat grabbed the gas can doused the wood and tossed a match. He then said, "there's your fire I'm going to bed."
Thank you very much Toyrebel. You did a much better job than I for a description. Always good to know when you can relax a bit on the description. Your dad sounds like my kind of scout leader .
Thank you
fattytail
elanski
Newfld
bobby725
Toyrebel
Watchsearcher
oktreedude
jscott0363
vetraio50
Brunswick