The beads were first presented at the initial leadership course in September 1919 at Gilwell Park.

The origins of Wood Badge beads can be traced back to 1888, when Baden-Powell was on a military campaign in Zululand (now part of South Africa).
He pursued Dinuzulu, son of Cetshwayo, a Zulu king, for some time, but never managed to catch up with him.
Dinuzulu was said to have had a 12-foot (4 m)-long necklace with more than a thousand acacia beads.
Baden-Powell is claimed to have found the necklace when he came to Dinuzulu's deserted mountain stronghold.
Such necklaces were known as iziQu in Zulu and were presented to brave warrior leaders.

Much later, Baden-Powell sought a distinctive award for the participants in the first Gilwell course.
He constructed the first award using two beads from the necklace he had recovered, and threaded them onto a leather thong given to him by an elderly South African in Mafeking, calling it the Wood Badge.

While no official knot exists for tying the two ends of the thong together, the decorative diamond knot has become the most common.
When produced, the thong is joined by a simple overhand knot and various region specific traditions have arisen around tying the diamond knot, including: having a fellow course member tie it; having a mentor or course leader tie it; and having the recipient tie it after completing some additional activity that shows he or she has mastered the skills taught to him or her during training.
The beads were first presented at the initial leadership course in September 1919 at Gilwell Park.
The origins of Wood Badge beads can be traced back to 1888, when Baden-Powell was on a military campaign in Zululand (now part of South Africa). He pursued Dinuzulu, son of Cetshwayo, a Zulu king, for some time, but never managed to catch up with him. Dinuzulu was said to have had a 12-foot (4 m)-long necklace with more than a thousand acacia beads. Baden-Powell is claimed to have found the necklace when he came to Dinuzulu's deserted mountain stronghold. Such necklaces were known as iziQu in Zulu and were presented to brave warrior leaders.
Much later, Baden-Powell sought a distinctive award for the participants in the first Gilwell course. He constructed the first award using two beads from the necklace he had recovered, and threaded them onto a leather thong given to him by an elderly South African in Mafeking, calling it the Wood Badge.
While no official knot exists for tying the two ends of the thong together, the decorative diamond knot has become the most common. When produced, the thong is joined by a simple overhand knot and various region specific traditions have arisen around tying the diamond knot, including: having a fellow course member tie it; having a mentor or course leader tie it; and having the recipient tie it after completing some additional activity that shows he or she has mastered the skills taught to him or her during training.
Wood Badge