Brownie points
This Brownie Guide Test Card belonged to Joy Collet of the Crick Brownie pack who joined the pack in July 1935. The front of the card features a brown owl sitting in a tree and a Brownie sitting on a toadstool looking up at it. Written on the front is 'We're the Brownies, Here's our aim, Lend a hand, And play the game'. The inside of the card details the enrolment ceremony for a new recruit, and the recruit test. The Brownie was expected to know her Brownie promise, the Law, the motto, the Salute, the Smile, the Good Turn, the Fairy Ring, and to be able to tie up her own hair and plait her own hair (if her hair was bobbed she had to know how to part it straight) and to wash the tea things. The tests which then followed while the girl was a Brownie included knowing the composition of the Union Flag, being able to sew and knit, being able to catch a ball, knowing the Semaphore alphabet, knowing the eight points of the compass, being able to clean shoes, being able to skip 30 times without a break, and being able to bind a grazed knee. Joy passed all of these by December 1937. Also on the card is the Brownie promise: 'I promise - To do my best:- 1. To do my duty to God and the King 2. To help other people every day, especially at home.' The Brownie law: 'The Law of the Brownie pack is - 1. The Brownie gives in to the Older Folk 2. The Brownie does not give in to herself.' and the Brownie Motto: 'Lend a Hand'. This card features in our ‘Join Our Club’ display in the local history gallery at Rugby Art Gallery and Museum until 17th June 2023.