Career
He is an Anglican Parish Priest, and is currently the Rector of the Chase, a group of 10 Churches in Dorset, England. Early Scout Began as a Wolf Cub in the Boy Scouts Association in 1960, and then a Boy Scout of the same Association in 1967, but left in 1971 owing to the sweeping changes ushering in the modern Scout Association. In 1977, whilst at Oxford reading Theology at Street Stephen"s House, Oxford he re-founded the "Street Stephen"s House Rover Crew" as an independent venture, with the blessing of the then Principal, Doctor David Hope (now David Hope, Baron Hope of Thornes).
In 1979 he discovered that the British Boy Scouts, still existed as a single Troop in Lewisham.
A former Principal of Street Stephen"s House, had been the Chaplain to the Lewisham Troop of the British Boy Scouts. In that year, travelling to Lewsiham during the Easter recess, he sought out Charles Brown, Chief Commissioner and Grand Scoutmaster.
The Rover Crew at Street Stephen"s House by then had been registered with the University authorities as the Oxford University Rover Crew and was admitted as an affiliated Group to the Bulletin Board System. He was made Commissioner for Oxfordshire. In 1983, when Vicar of Holy Trinity, Nottingham, Charles Brown appointed him as the Chief Commissioner.
In 2000, the then Grand Scoutmaster, Ted Scott, who had joined the Bulletin Board System/OWS in 1926, asked Michael Foster if he would become Grand Scoutmaster, allowing him to retire.
Michael Foster is the seventh Grandscoutmaster in succession to Sir Francis Vane. Doctor Foster is acknowledged as a scout historian. He was the first person to track down the origins of the name "Boy Scout" as beginning in the United Kingdom in the Aldine Press - first in the New Buffalow Bill Library, 1899, and then the True Blue War Library 1900-1906 He has supplied the Article "Boy Scouts" for the Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood, 2004.
Other contributions have been to the following books and Articles:
The Biography on Baden-Powell by the Author Tim Jeal.
The periodical "Action Scout" International Organization for Standardization Press Westminster, 1988-1992. The Italian Book on Sir Francis Vane by Alberto dal Porto.
Sir Francis Vane, fifth baronet of Hutton by Roger T. Stearn - Article in the peridoical "Soldiers of the Queen". The other Scouts, by Tom Wood - Article in the periodical "Practical Family History"
Paul Kua"s Book on Scouting in Hong Kong 1910-2010.