The government believed that these young men had dropped below the mark. The aims of the work camps were to simply get them fit again, and encourage them to move away from home and find a job. The men were set to work on Forestry Commission land, preparing it for planting trees. It was a useless way of reducing unemployment, but it helped create some of the most beautiful landscapes in Britain.
The young jobless individuals naturally hated being forced to go to rudimentary work camps in unknown places. Some quoted comments from residents of the Langdale End area at the time stated warnings of locals being murdered in their beds by unruly incomers from slum areas of industrial cities.
The work camp closed in 1939 when the Second World War broke out. The camp was then used for military activities, and eventually in 1955 the camp came into the hands of the Scarborough Scout Movement.
In 2003, Birch hall began a major redevelopment plan and after four years of hard work by volunteers, the Baden cabin was officially opened. The volunteers put thousands of hours of hard work into the renovation of the cabin and this now offers the best indoor accommodation to both scouts and other organizations.
During 2008, work has been continuous with a new toilet and shower block being installed. Also the Powell cabin has undergone further refurbishment with new kitchen facility's being added to the renovated area.
So lets think, if it hadn’t have been for the detested work camp for the unemployed, maybe Birch Hall wouldn’t have existed, maybe thousands of youngster wouldn’t have been able to experience life in the outdoors in this picturesque area.