About the object
We know very little about this Brownie photograph (1985.025.051), apart from a note on the reverse which indicates this Pack were based at St Paul’s Church on the Stoke Road in Slough during the early 1960s. It looks as though they are standing around jars of coins, perhaps as part of a game and/or fundraising endeavour.
Brownies is the second youngest section of Girlguiding in the UK; for those aged 7–10. Brownies were originally called Rosebuds, starting in 1914 and was originally for girls aged 8–11. Rosebuds were renamed to Brownies in 1915 and in 1937 Princess Margaret became the first royal Brownie.
Brownies work in small groups called sixes: each six is named after either fairies or woodland creatures. A six is led by a Sixer and has a Second who acts as deputy. The Brownie programme is called the Brownie Adventure and is divided into 3 parts: you, community, world.
About the artwork
Spoken word and poet Desree selected this photograph to represent women’s unity and comradery, but also to raise discussions around conformity and identity. Desree worked with young people from across Slough and across the world in a series of online poetry workshops exploring these themes.
