Yorkshire Young Friends Campers

After the death of John Wilhelm Rowntree in 1905, a conference at Scalby organised by some of his friends proposed to spread the Quaker message by travelling on foot through Yorkshire. These journeys became known as 'Quaker tramps' and in the years leading up to the First World War, tramps took place in Wensleydale, Nidderdale, and the Pateley Bridge, Osmotherley, Pickering and Whitby areas. After the war, activity revived on the intiative of the Yorkshire 1905 Committee and a camp was held in Carperby, Wensleydale in 1922. Camps were then held on an annual basis until 1939, with numbers attending ranging from 24 to 60, drawn mainly from the Yorkshire and Durham Young Friends and including many visitors from overseas. Camps were held in many locations in the Yorkshire Dales and North Yorkshire Moors. The campers' motto was 'Smile you beggars, smile', which, abbreviated to SYBS, became a shorthand for the movement itself.

From the guide to the Records of Yorkshire Young Friends Campers, 1922-1974, (Leeds University Library)