Lifetime Of Service: Island Couple Honoured For 70 Years In Scouting

Few milestones can match 70 years of dedicated service, but Val (89) and Don (90) Sambrook have spent seven decades giving freely of their time to Scouting.

This week their extraordinary contribution was celebrated at the Isle of Wight Scouts AGM.

The couple were each presented with awards for 70 years of service by Lord Lieutenant Susie Sheldon and High Sheriff Jacqueline Gazzard, both Scout Champions.

Their achievement also received a personal acknowledgement from the UK’s Chief Scout, Dwayne Fields, who praised the Sambrooks as “shining lights for our movement, selflessly supporting both volunteers and young people throughout this time.”

Val and Don’s Scouting journey began long before their move to the Isle of Wight in 1967.

Val started as a Cub leader in Birmingham, while Don followed a family tradition—his father and uncles had also been involved in Scouting.

One of Don’s standout memories from that time involved buying a disused canal boat and pulling it by hand to Birmingham’s canal basin, where it was transformed into a floating Scout headquarters.

Their Scouting lives have been intertwined with family and love. Val and Don married in 1957 at what the local press called the ‘Jamboree wedding of the year’, with the entire wedding party dressed in Scouting uniforms to coincide with the 9th annual Scout Jamboree in Sutton Coldfield.

On the Isle of Wight, the couple continued their work with local groups, including the 1st Sandown Sea Scouts and Venture Scouts, with Val founding the Island’s first Beaver Colony in Sandown.

Over the years, they have maintained friendships with fellow volunteers, welcoming a former colleague from Birmingham back to the Island this summer.

Among their most treasured memories is a 1963 trip to Norway, when they took 24 inner-city young people on a 14-day camp by boat. Don and Val recall how one young camper, seeing the sea for the first time, asked, “Where’s the other side?” 

Their then three-year-old son Mitchell accompanied them, remembering the vast mountains and sky as some of his first childhood experiences.

Despite their many decades of service, the couple’s enthusiasm for Scouting remains undimmed.

Chief Scout Dwayne Fields’ letter to them celebrated not only their longevity but their enduring commitment to helping young people and supporting volunteers, stating:

“Huge congratulations on reaching the magnificent milestone of 70 years’ service to Scouting.

"Both of you are shining lights for our movement, selflessly supporting both volunteers and young people throughout this time.

"Both of you truly live your promise to help other people.”