County Commisionner’s Message
Congratulations and best wishes to the cast, backstage crew, and management team of the Middlesbrough Scouts Gang Show. The weeks of hard work and dedication to rehearsals have now come to fruition. The stage is set, the costumes are made, and the show is ready to “tread the boards”.
Once again the “Gang” are waving the flag for Scouting. I am sure that Mr. Gang Show would be very proud of the performance you have all managed to produce. Ralph Reader`s passion for music and fun all rolled together in a show for the public, is once again
being realised.
Your audience, I feel sure, will be entertained by the inspiration and fun you have all enjoyed over recent weeks.
Best wishes and “on with the show”
David Clark
Ralph Reader Memorial Fund
Ralph Reader CBE was the creator of the “Gang Show”. He staged his first Gang Show in 1932 at the Scala Theatre which was to become the greatest amateur production at the theatre. Despite a short break during World War Two the London Gang Show was held every year up until 1974 when Ralph felt it was time to give up. Gang Shows have continued to flourish all over the country and indeed in manyother parts of the world ever since.
When Ralph Reader died in 1982 a special fund was set up by The Scout Association as a permanent reminder of his valuable service to Scouting. Its aim is still to assist young people in both the Scout and Guide Movements who are in need of any kind of financial help. Grants are made from the annual interest but the fund’s capital is relatively low.
It is therefore essential that donations continue to be received if it is to offer worthwhile help to an increasing number of young people up to the age of 20 years.
The Middlesbrough Gang Show has always helped to support a charity for young people by donations collected during the production of its shows. This year we are proposing to donate any monies collected to the ‘Ralph Reader Memorial Fund’
Middlesbrough Gang Show 