2nd Ararat Scout Group Leader in Charge John Wilson, who was also recently awarded for his 70 years' service to the Scouting movement, proved this recently on a visit to his home country of Ireland.

Mr Wilson and John Lawlor, the CEO of Scouting Ireland, were swapping notes over coffee in the Buttery of Trinity College Dublin - the 400 year old University of Dublin - earlier this year, when he gave Mr Wilson the scarf that he had worn as leader of the Irish Contingent to the last World Jamboree in Sweden in 2011 - but the proviso was that Mr Wilson wear it to an important Scouting event when he returned to Australia.

That important occasion turned out to be the Ballarat District Annual Reports and Presentations night, at which Mr Wilson was presented with a Distinguished Service Award by Scouts Australia for his 70 years service to Scouting, and a 2nd Ararat Scout Group award for a 10 percent or better increase in membership for the past year.

Mr Wilson was invested into the 1st Kilkeel Scout Troop in Ireland in 1944, reformed as World War II drew to a close.

He continued his involvement while at boarding school and in the early 1950s was a member and scribe of the 26th Dublin University Rover Crew. In the late 1950s he was a member of the Oxford University Scout and Guide Club.

From 1956 to 1959 he lived in Tanganyika, now Tanzania, and was heavily involved in Scouting in that country.

Mr Wilson ran training courses in Ujiji staffed with African, Indian and European Scouters. During his time there his Scout training came in handy.

"I fished a colleague off the bottom during an embarkation gone wrong after a storm suddenly blew up on Lake Tanganyika," he said.

"A doctor travelling with us gave him a heart stimulant injection and I used the Holger-Nielsen method (CPR hadn't been invented then) to revive him."

Mr Wilson returned to England in the early 1960s, continuing his involvement in Scouts and in 1961 migrated to Australia, where he had involvement with troops in Prahran, South Moorabin, Monash University Scout and Guide Club, Diamond Creek and Beaufort, attending many Jamborees and Scouting events and holding a number of positions.

After becoming involved in the 2nd Ararat Scout Group in 2010 he has continued his involvement with the Ararat group and is currently Leader in Charge.