A trip to the archive: celebrating our most remarkable members
Girlguiding has a long history of celebrating our pioneering volunteers. And our Silver Fish and Laurel awards have been there throughout the years to recognise exceptional volunteers.
Let’s delve into the stories of some of our extraordinary members who’ve received these awards through the ages, including nominees who attended last year’s Girlguiding Celebrates.
Launched in 1910, the Silver Fish award is as old as guiding itself.
It’s our highest honour for adult members, and just a few volunteers receive it each year for their exceptional impact through lots of different guiding roles.
The Laurel is another of our oldest awards. It began as the Medal of Merit back in 1912, becoming the Laurel award in 1983.
Our 2nd highest honour, it goes to members who have gone above and beyond and given an outstanding contribution to Girlguiding with their service.
Did you know?
The fish emblem was chosen for the Silver Fish badge because it signifies the ability to swim successfully against the stream of life’s challenges.
Photo of our Silver Fish award from 1910-1918.
Meet Solange and Hilary
And the legacy of those awards is still going strong. Solange and Hilary, both volunteers in Jersey, nominated each other for awards! Solange received the Silver Fish award in 2023 and Hilary received the Laurel award in 2020. They attended Girlguiding Celebrates 2024 together last year.
Nominate someone for a Silver Fish or Laurel award
Remember, you can nominate a volunteer you know for Silver Fish and Laurel awards by emailing awards@girlguiding.org.uk to ask for a nomination form.
The volunteers who receive these awards are nothing short of amazing. Here are some more stories of exceptional volunteers who’ve earned these awards from across the last 100+ years.
Olive Hillbrook MBE: trailblazer for Rangers and exceptional fundraiser
In 1918, aged just 22, Silver Fish recipient Olive founded the 1st Sutton Guides. Olive held many leadership positions in Sutton and Surrey right up until 1970, from camp adviser to division commissioner. Olive’s pioneering spirit really shone through when she became commissioner for Rangers for England in 1945. Her great love of the outdoors led her to organise and run the first Ranger adventure camp in Derbyshire, giving girls a rare opportunity at the time to enjoy climbing, caving, horse riding and hill walking.
Front cover of The Ranger from August 1949 - 4 Rangers are pictured rock climbing.
Front cover of the Land Ranger Adventurer Test written by Olive Hillbrook from 1954.
Olive’s achievements also extended to fundraising. In 1953 Winston Churchill launched an appeal to raise £1 million to restore Westminster Abbey. Olive came up with and organised an ingenious idea for the Guide Association to contribute.
Members were asked to post in silver coins. On 21 December, members laid these outside the Abbey to create a ‘silver mile’ of donations totalling more than £1,250 (around £30,000 in today’s money). A lady-in-waiting even brought down a contribution from Princess Margaret on the day.
Olive received her Silver Fish in 1951, and an MBE for services to guiding in 1957.
Did you know?
The Silver Fish actually started life as an award for girls for completing a number of badges. It became an award for outstanding service in 1917.
Photo of Olive Hillbrook in her uniform when she was with the 1st Abbey Guides.
‘Her breadth of vision, her caring for people, especially children, her patience, her energy and enthusiasm, her ability to encourage others and get the best out of them, made her the great friend and leader that she was.’
- Olive Hillbrook MBE’s obituary in Guider magazine, 1981.
Dame Helen Gwynne-Vaughan: professor, Air Force commandant, defender of women’s rights – and devoted Girlguiding member
Dame Helen, born in 1879, was a woman ahead of her time - not only in guiding, but in academia, the Women’s Royal Air Force, and women’s rights. She received the Silver Fish in 1933.
One of the first women to study botany at King’s College London in the late 1800s, Dame Helen became an eminent botanist and mycologist (scientist who works with fungi). By the time she was 30, she was professor of botany and head of department at Birbeck College, University of London.
Dame Helen took a break from academia to serve during World War I. In 1917 she was appointed joint chief controller of the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps in France, before being promoted to commandant of the Women’s Royal Air Force.
Dame Helen also fought strongly for women’s rights, co-founding the University of London Suffrage Society in 1907 to campaign for women’s right to vote.
With a background like this, the Guide Association was lucky to have Dame Helen as a dedicated and long-serving member.
Did you know?
Olave Baden-Powell received a gold Silver Fish in 1918 to recognise her special contribution to guiding.
Photo of Helen Gwynne-Vaughan (left) in 1931.
‘If Guiding ceased to be a game it would grow old and its value as a preparation for life would end; it is dynamic, not static; it is a road, not a goal, a means, not an end. We are not training girls to be Guides, we are training them to train themselves to be good citizens.’
- Dame Helen Gwynne-Vaughan.
Margaret Brumwell: a pioneer in welcoming disabled girls
As our previous a trip to the archive feature showed, we’ve welcomed and included disabled girls since guiding began. Margaret embodied our inclusive nature, setting up the 67th Bournemouth Rangers for girls with learning disabilities in 1961. She received the Laurel award in 1967.
The unit started out with 7 girls, and Margaret served as its captain until 1973. She later became an assistant guider, treasurer and a unit helper until she died in 1980.
Ann Mitchell: champion of international guiding
Ann Mitchell, now archives and archivists lead volunteer for Anglia, has spent an incredible 65 years in guiding. She received the Silver Fish in 1993 followed by an MBE for services to guiding at home and abroad.
Ann ran units in Cambridgeshire for 40 years. She also held many roles in Cambridgeshire East and Anglia including county commissioner.
Lots of Ann’s guiding achievements also lie further afield. She first got a taste of international guiding while working at Our Chalet, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) centre in Switzerland, and has also acted as an adviser to British Guides in Foreign Countries (later known as British Guiding Overseas).
Later, Ann became chair of Our Chalet’s management committee, and visited countries around the world to train volunteers.
Ann says: ‘I was flabbergasted to receive the award, because in the 1990s getting a Silver Fish was rare. I only knew 1 other person who had received the award. So it was a great honour. ‘I think all our awards are an important way to say thank you. They’re never yours entirely – they’re recognition for everybody on your team and they reflect a huge amount of effort and work. I was very proud.’
‘What’s most important is the girls. In my time as a Guide leader, 700 girls went through my unit, and I hope I made a difference, that being a Girl Guide meant something to them and has influenced their lives for the better. That’s the most important thing about Girlguiding.’
- Ann Mitchell.
Help us unearth more history
We hope to cover more stories from our history in the future – and we need your help. We’re delving into our national archive and looking for real life stories from the members who helped us be pioneering. Is that you or someone you know? Get in touch using our online form.
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