Mick Stocks MBE

Mick Stocks, Deputy County Commissioner has been awarded  an MBE for Services to Young People in the Queen's Birthday Honours June 2007.

Mick Stocks is never happier than when he is involved in work with young people. He inspires young people and young adults to help them have the adventures that so many young people today often miss out on. Mick’s current adventure is of massive proportions. He is part of the management team that is organizing the forthcoming 21st World Scout Jamboree. This event will be held in Essex in August of this year – celebrating the centenary of Scouting. Mick has specific responsibilities for organsing the transport for this event which will be the largest World Scout Jamboree ever to be held anywhere in the world. Mick’s responsibilities include managing transfers for 40,000 Scouts on arrival in the UK from nearly 200 countries; transport for 10,000 Scouts going off-site each day for off-site activities; and bringing in 8,000 day visitors to the site each day! If you were to line all the coaches involved in this project up one after another they would stretch for 3 kms.

Mick Stocks joined 1st Crich Scout Group (Derbyshire) at the age of 10 years. Enjoying most of his Scouting in the outdoors of the Peak District. He achieved his Queen’s Scout Award in 1962 before becoming a young Leader within the Scout Group.

Mick moved to Berkshire in 1965 to take up a new career at the University of Reading and continued his Scouting as a Leader with 73rd Reading (Park) Scout Group. Following many years in Group leadership he moved on to support more young people through roles in the East Reading Scout District. During this period he organized many innovative activities including ‘wide games’ lasting several days rather than several hours and Operation Sealion (a relay of Scouts ‘navigating’ the full length of the Kennet & Avon Canal before it was a restored waterway to raise funds for a nationally Scout sponsored lifeboat – ‘The Scout’).

 

At a relatively young age Mick was appointed an Assistant County Commissioner for Berkshire. Scouting at County level included supporting young people through the roles of Adventurous Activities; the Scout Section (11–14 years); Adult Leader Training; and International Scouting (an aspect of Scouting that has always remained a key interest). Mick was a founder member of the team that developed the WINGS international camps that are held in Windsor Great Park every few years for thousands of Scouts and Guides from around the World. He was acting County Commissioner for a period; a former member of the County Scout Executive Committee; Chair of the County Centre Management Team; and remains active in the role of Deputy County Commissioner.

Mick gained a reputation for organizing expeditions and large-scale activities. These activities offered many young people a wide range of challenges and opportunities. Expeditions included Norway; Picos de Europa (Spain); Slovenia and camps in most European countries. Mick was also introduced to World Scout Jamborees when he led the Berkshire Unit to the Jamboree in Canada. This wide experience in international activities was soon to be recognized by Headquarters and he subsequently supported national contingents attending World Scout Jamborees in Australia; Chile; and the Netherlands.

Major national and international activities also included being part of a team that chartered two ships with onboard activities to Sweden and Denmark aptly known as ‘Viking Venture’. A few years later Scandinavian Scouts were invited to the UK (‘London Venture’) for activities with a memorable Scout Show at the Royal Albert Hall. The sequence of ‘Venture’ activities was culminated in taking 4,000 Venture Scouts on a mystery destination activity to many European countries – known as ‘European Venture’.

In addition to expeditions and activities Mick was also involved in supporting community development projects. This included Sherpa 88 when the Venture Scout Section at national level raised funds for the Sherpa of the Himalayas. This involved working directly with Sir Edmund Hilary and other members of the expedition team that successfully conquered Everest.

Mick was appointed Chairman of the National Venture Scout Advisory Board and was a member of the national Programme & Training sub-Committee. During this period he was a delegate to European Scout & Guide Conferences and also World Scout Conferences in Norway and South Africa.

Mick was engaged in a number of key youth development initiatives including the introduction of girls to all sections of Scouting and was also involved in the initial research and proposals for a new youth programme.

Mick was awarded the Silver Wolf (the highest award for service to Scouting) in 1990 ‘in recognition of services of the most exceptional character to Scouting over many years’.

In addition to mainstream Scouting, Mick is a Director of Berkshire Scout Enterprise Ltd. A charity-based company that supports local and international projects to help disadvantaged young people get a better start in life. The company supports projects in Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, and the Philippines, as well as local projects.

Mick has been married to Patricia for 38 years and they have two children and three grandchildren.

Mick is the Manager of the Design & Print Unit within the Department of Typography & Graphic Communication at the University of Reading. Until recently he was also a member of the national executive of the Universities Print Managers’ Group.