UpdateBot at 02:32, 11 May 2022

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{{distinguish|John Skinner Wilson (rugby union)|John S. Wilson (economist)}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = Colonel
| name = J. S. Wilson
| native_name = 
| native_name_lang = 
| honorific-suffix =
| image = J. S. Wilson Michiharu Mishima December 1952.png
| image_size =
| smallimage = 
| alt =
| caption = J.S. Wilson with [[Mishima Michiharu]], Chief Scout of Japan, at the [[Yamanaka Scout Camp|national training camp]] at [[Lake Yamanaka]], on the slopes of [[Mount Fuji]], December 1952
| order =
| office = Secretary General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement
| term_start = 1938
| term_end = 1951
| alongside = 
| monarch =
| president =
| governor_general =
| primeminister =
| taoiseach =
| chancellor =
| governor =
| vicepresident =
| viceprimeminister =
| deputy =
| lieutenant =
| succeeding = 
| constituency =
| majority =
| predecessor = Hubert S. Martin
| successor = Daniel Spry
}}
[[File:Baden-powell-4th-world-jamboree.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Robert Baden-Powell]] and J.S. Wilson during the 4th World Jamboree held in [[Gödöllő District|Gödöllő]], Hungary (1933).]]
Colonel '''John Skinner "Belge" Wilson''' (1888–1969) was a Scottish [[scouting]] luminary and friend and contemporary of [[Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell|General Baden-Powell]], recruited by him to head the International Bureau, later to become the [[World Scout Bureau|World Bureau]] of the [[World Organization of the Scout Movement]]. Wilson was acting director from 1938 to 1939 following the death of [[Hubert S. Martin]]; he was elected in 1939 and remained in office until 1951. He then became Honorary President of WOSM for four years.

==Scouting==
Baden-Powell visited [[India]] in 1921, where he met and recruited Colonel Wilson, who was then Senior Deputy Commissioner of Police in [[Calcutta]], and in his free time was serving as [[The Bharat Scouts and Guides#Boy Scouts|Calcutta's District Scout Commissioner]].

Wilson ran [[Gilwell Park]] for [[The Scout Association]] in the early 1920s. He served as Director of the Boy Scouts International Bureau for 15 years, tasked with co-ordinating various Scout movements within countries and between them prior to the establishment of World Scout Regions. After retirement, he served as Honorary President of the Boy Scouts International Committee for a further four years.

To encourage the creation of [[Rover Scout|Rovering]] in the [[Boy Scouts of America]], the first [[Wood Badge (Boy Scouts of America)|Wood Badge]] course held in the United States was a Rover Scout Wood Badge course, directed by Wilson.

Wilson introduced an [[World Scout Emblem|international Scout badge]] in 1939-a silver [[fleur-de-lis]] or arrowhead badge on a purple background surrounded by the names of the five continents in silver within a circular frame. The wearing of it was not universal, but was confined to past and present members of the International Committee and staff of the Bureau. A flag of similar design followed, the flying of which was restricted to international Scout gatherings.

Wilson was awarded the [[Bronze Wolf]], the only distinction of the [[World Organization of the Scout Movement]], awarded by the [[World Scout Committee]] for exceptional services to world Scouting, in 1937.<ref name="wolfie">{{Cite web|url=https://www.scout.org/BronzeWolfAward/List | title = List of recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award | publisher = [[World Organization of the Scout Movement|WOSM]] | website=scout.org |access-date=2019-05-01}}</ref> In 1952 he also received the highest distinction of the [[Scout Association of Japan]], the [[Golden Pheasant Award]].<ref name="reinanzaka">{{Cite web |date=2014-05-23|script-title=ja:䝪䞊䜲䝇䜹䜴䝖日本連盟きじ章受章者 |trans-title=Recipient of the Golden Pheasant Award of the Scout Association of Japan |url=http://reinanzaka-sc.o.oo7.jp/kiroku/documents/20140523-3-kiji-list.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811030258/http://reinanzaka-sc.o.oo7.jp/kiroku/documents/20140523-3-kiji-list.pdf |archive-date=2020-08-11 |website=Reinanzaka Scout Club| language=ja}}</ref> During a visit in [[Austria]] in 1957 he was awarded with one of the highest honours of [[Austrian Scouting]] the ''Silbernen Steinbock'' [[Silver Capricorn]] (on red-white-red ribbon).<ref>{{cite journal |title =Aus Österreich-Bundeskorps| journal = Unser Ziel-Monatsschrift für Pfadfinderführer|publisher= Pfadfinder Österreichs| pages = 31|language = de |date=October 1957}}</ref>

Wilson took a six-year world tour reviewing the world's Scout organisations, culminating in a five-month tour of Asia in October 1952. Upon the 50th anniversary of World Scouting in 1957, Colonel Wilson took his research notes gathered on the trip and authored the publication of the first edition of the seminal work on world Scouting, ''Scouting Round the World''.

==Military==
Wilson, a [[colonel]], became known for heading the Scandinavian branch of the [[Special Operations Executive]] during [[World War II]]. He was also involved in the Anglo-Norwegian Collaboration Committee, and for his work he was proclaimed Commander of the [[Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav]].<ref name=nkl1>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Kraglund |first=Ivar |editor=Dahl, Hans Fredrik |editor-link=Hans Fredrik Dahl |encyclopedia=[[Norsk krigsleksikon 1940-45]] |title=Wilson, John Skinner |url=http://mediabase1.uib.no/krigslex/w/w2.html#wilson-john |access-date=7 November 2008 |year=1995 |publisher=Cappelen |location=Oslo |language=no |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301185300/http://mediabase1.uib.no/krigslex/w/w2.html#wilson-john |archive-date=1 March 2012 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

==Further reading==
*{{cite book | author = John S. Wilson | author-link = J. S. Wilson | date = 1959 | title = Scouting Round the World | edition = First |publisher = Blandford Press | asin= B000AQMKTI |title-link=Scouting_Round_the_World}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-npo|wosm}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Hubert S. Martin]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Secretary General]]|years=1938–1951}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Daniel Spry]]}}
{{end}}

{{scouting|founders}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, J. S.}}
[[Category:1888 births]]
[[Category:1969 deaths]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award]]
[[Category:The Scout Association]]
[[Category:Scottish police officers]]
[[Category:International Scouting leaders]]
[[Category:Scouting pioneers]]
[[Category:British police officers in India]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:Scouting and Guiding in India]]
[[Category:19th-century Scottish people]]
[[Category:20th-century Scottish people]]
[[Category:British people in colonial India]]

J. S. Wilson - Revision history

UpdateBot at 02:32, 11 May 2022