Lorne W. (Lorne Webster) Barclay

Born in Ontario in 1885, Lorne Webster Barclay is chiefly remembered today for writing about scouting and youth education. His best-known work, Educational Work of the Boy Scouts, was published by the U.S. Government Printing Office in 1921 and presents scouting as more than outdoor recreation: a structured way to build responsibility, service, and good habits in young people.

Records connected with his books also show Barclay's close ties to the Boy Scouts of America. In Educational Work of the Boy Scouts, he is identified as Director of the Department of Education for the organization, and another surviving title, The Scout Circus: A Manual of Inter-Troop Demonstrations, shows his practical interest in scout programming and public activities.

Barclay died in 1970. While detailed biographical information about his personal life is not easy to confirm from readily available sources, his surviving books still capture an era when scouting was being presented as a serious educational movement as well as an adventure for boys.