PETERSFIELD District Scout Fellowship has waved an emotional goodbye to two of the group's founder members. Together the couple have contributed more than 100 years of scouting service. Dot and Dru Parsons have given a combined 109 years of adult service to Scouting, but now they have left the town to be close to one of their two daughters in North Elmham, Norfolk. But despite the move to pastures new, the duo may not say farewell to Scouting, as Dot explained: "We are just leaving the district – if we find another Scout fellowship who knows, we could carry on. "Someone very rudely said I had Baden Powell's signature on my warrant, which I thought was awfully rude." "But 109 years is a hell of a long time," she added, "if only we'd been paid." The couple met when they were both young leaders in the 1st Droxford Scout group in the early 1950s and have continued as active members of the Scout movement until the present day. Dru was brought up in East Hampshire and became a Scout in West Meon after the Second World War in the late 1940s. He became an assistant Scoutmaster at Meonstoke in 1951, then Scoutmaster at Droxford where Dot was an assistant Cubmaster. Dot grew up in Salisbury where she was a Brownie, and she became a Guide when her family moved to Bishops Waltham. In 1958, Dot and Dru left the area and moved to Reading, Berkshire, where they continued their Scouting association and then in 1971 moved to Shepton Mallet in Somerset where Dru became a group Scout leader and Dot became Cub leader. But a change of jobs brought the couple back to Petersfield in 1981 where they both became involved with the 1st Sheet Scout Group, Dru as group chairman and Dot as Cub Scout leader. The Scout Fellowship in Petersfield was set up by Dru and another keen local Scout leader, John West, in 1985. This arm of the Scout movement is a support group to assist and promote Scouting to the Scout groups in the district. Membership is made up of former Scouts and leaders who are not in a position to commit to a full leader role. In addition to the work put in with Petersfield Fellowship, the Parsons still managed to find time to continue in their leadership roles. Dru took over as group Scout leader at Sheet in 1990 and as assistant district commissioner (international) in 1995. Dot became assistant district commissioner for leader training in 1985 and assistant district commissioner of the Beaver Scouts in 1989. Both Dot and Dru have been recognised by the Scout association, both receiving the medal of merit for outstanding service to the movement and relevant long-service awards. In the last 10 years the couple have been active members of the Scout Fellowship, helping with the running of such events as the St George's Day parades, carol concerts and the annual Pinewood Derby where the Beavers, Cubs and Scouts design and build model cars and then race them. They have also helped to run Beaver and Cub meeting when the leaders are absent. "We've done camps every year that we can remember," Dot said. "One year I did 13 camps and my husband said he was going to divorce me because I'd been off with other people." Dot and Dru's colleagues in the Fellowship laid on a farewell lunch and presented them with some Scouting glass and china.