History of Middlesbrough Gang Show

Ralph Reader put on his first troop show in London in 1933. Five years later in 1938 a troop show was held in Middlesbrough by te 39th Avenue Troop. It was then mooted to hold a town show in 1939, but that did not happen due to the war. Another show did not materialise until 1948, again staged by the 39th Middlesbrough Scouts with a cast of 22. In 1949 an augmented show was staged with a cast of 50.

We now come to our town shows. Midddlesbrough put on their first show in 1950 in St John’s Hall. It provided such success that Middlesbrough Empire was persuaded to host the next show in 1951. This again was a suuccess with us playing to packed houses, so we repeated the experience in 1953.

Now came a period of five years without a show, mainly due to the producer being too busy. In 1958, a nationwide appeal for funds was launched from Scout Headquarters to raise money for a new Scout Hostel in London (Baden Powell House). We responded by producing “We’ll Live Forever” – a play about a large Scout Troop putting on a show. It was then decided to put on a show every two years to raise funds for the benefit of Scouting in Middlesbrough.

This has been done ever since then, with Irwin Greenwood as producer until 1978. Frank Holiday took over until 1992, when Keith Nudd and Frank Rose took up the gauntlet until the turn of the millenium show in 2000. Geoff Cox and Chris Greenwood were responsible for upholding the tradition of Middlesbrough Gang Show, with Geoff handing gthe reins over to Chris in 2012.

It may interest you to know that the name Gang Show and the red necker are only awarded to shows which, over a period of time, have achieved and maintained a certain standard. This standard is decreed by Scout Headquarters and the title and necker can be withdrawn if the show fails to maintain the required standard.

Girls did not form part of the cast until 1972 and they have been an integral part of the show ever since.