HE founded the Scouts whose motto is Be Prepared but, oddly, Lord Baden-Powell wasn't prepared himself when he married his bride at St Peter's Church in Parkstone.

He forgot his razor and had to be loaned one by a butler.

That odd fact is one of many in A Quirky Biography of Baden-Powell and his Boy Scouts by Steven Harris that has just been published in this year that celebrates the centenary of the first camp for boys he held on Brownsea Island.

Steven Harris, from London, includes a wealth of unusual details in his book, including an insight into the romance between Baden-Powell, the hero of the Siege of Mafeking in the Boer War, and Olave, his bride who lived with her family in Crichel Mount Road, Lilliput.

Robert Baden-Powell had first been to Poole Harbour - where he held that first camp for boys in 1907 that gave rise to the Scout and Guide movement - when he was a boy and had sailed across to a Brownsea beach with his brother.

He met Olave on the Arcadian, a cruise ship heading for America on its maiden voyage in 1912, but, oddly, Baden-Powell recalled in his diary that he had observed her before, four years earlier when she had walked in Hyde Park with her dog.

Baden-Powell was heading for a promotional tour aboard the ship where another passenger from Dorset on board was Dr Treves, the founder of the British Red Cross who also, famously, treated the "elephant man" case.

But it was Olave Soames, on the cruise with her father, who caught his eye. and they fell in love.

In his biography, Steven Wilson states: "She wrote in her diary: There is only one interesting person on board and that is the Boy Scout man."

She also wrote, on January 17 that year: "Up before dawn just to see him and kiss him. See Venezuela in distance. Small talk with various people and the beloved Scout is always there. He gives me a photo album and sketches I adore him."

He tells of the furtive rendezvous and notes between the couple that were secreted in the cleats of covered lifeboats.

Olave was aged 23 and he was 55, but the wide age gap would not have been as surprising as today, although her beloved was slightly older than her father.

The couple - who both celebrated their birthdays on February 22 - married quietly at St Peter's Church in Parkstone on October 30 1912.

"Some Scouts thought Baden-Powell had let them down but they soon saw how Olave was prepared to work just as hard as her husband for the movement," writes Steve Wilson in his book that focuses on many coincidences that he sees recurring in Baden-Powell's life.

How did she come by the name Olave? Her father had anticipated the birth of a boy and planned to name the baby by the Danish name of Olaf.

And one last thing? Lord Baden-Powell was a man with a saintly reputation, says Harris. But his son-in-law discovered he had his human side, too.

"Gervas was surprised to learn that Olave disliked being driven by her husband since he swore so much!"

n A Quirky Biography of baden-Powell and his Boy Scouts by Steven Harris, Lewarne Publishing, PO Box 26946, London SE21 8XG. ISBN 978-0-9513168-6-3. It is available from Borders, in Bournemouth Square.