ELY Cathedral will be hosting a thanks-giving service later this month, to celebrate founder of the Scouts, Lord Robert Baden Powell s 150th birthday and all former and current members are welcome to attend. ADAM LAZZARI reports. WHAT do the youngest pe

ELY Cathedral will be hosting a thanks-giving service later this month, to celebrate founder of the Scouts, Lord Robert Baden Powell's 150th birthday and all

former and current members are welcome to attend. ADAM LAZZARI reports.

WHAT do the youngest person to climb the seven highest summits on each continent, the youngest person to walk to the South Pole, and 26 of the first 29 astronauts have in common? They were all boy scouts.

2007 is the centenary year of the Scouts and February 22 would have been the 150th birthday of Lord Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the World Scout Movement.

Deputy County Commissioner for Scouts in Cambridgeshire, Chris Ward, said: "We expect more than 500 adults to attend. In particular we would love to encourage former Scouts to join us in this celebration. We have been busy across Cambridgeshire contacting former members and all are warmly invited to attend. I have already heard from Scouts from Wales and York who are planning to be there, simply to meet old friends and swap campfire yarns."

The service will be followed by a reception at the King's School in Ely.

The 150th anniversary of Baden-Powell's birth, known as Founder's Day, is celebrated by nearly 28 million Scouts across the world.

Baden-Powell shared his birthday with his wife, Olave, who later became World Chief Guide. Girlguiding UK also celebrates February 22 as Thinking Day.

A special national service will take place at Westminster Abbey attended by Scouts and Guides from all parts of the UK. It is an occasion, not just to celebrate the founder of the Scouts, but also the special spirit of unity that exists between the two youth movements.

# The thanks-giving service and reunion will be on February 25 at Ely Cathedral, from 1.45pm. Those wishing to attend should e mail: foundersday@cambridgeshirescouts.org.uk in advance to inform the organisers.

# To find out where your nearest Scout group is, go on-line to: www.cambridgeshirescouts.org.uk, email:join@cambridgeshirescouts.org.uk or telephone Mr Ward on 07803 023862.

FACT FILE

# Scouting is for girls and boys. Young women now make up almost 10 per cent of Scouts in the UK and approximately half of all leaders are women.

# People between the ages of six and 25 can join the Scouting movement.

# Scouting is active in more than 216 countries and territories and has more than 28 million members worldwide.

# The Scouts have been helping to change the world for the better for 100 years, with projects all over the globe that tackle local issues and make a difference in local communities.

# There are only six countries in the world that do not have Scouts - China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, Andorra and Myanmar.

# Lord Robert Baden-Powell was recently voted the 13th most influential person of the 20th Century in the UK.

# Famous former Scouts include Paul McCartney, Natasha Kaplinsky, Stephen Spielberg and David Beckham.

# Each day 100,000 people in the UK take part in scouting activities.

# Scouting for Boys, Baden-Powell's blueprint for the Scout Movement, is the fourth most popular book of all time after The Bible, The Koran and Mao's Little Red Book.