Scout in his body and soul
Download image
Václav Kaňka was born on September 4, 1938 in Prague to Miroslav and Maria Kaňka. His parents had been active in Sokol and Junák since their teenage years, and that is why they brought up their two sons in the same spirit. He grew up alongside his brother Miroslav, who was only a year and a quarter younger. They spent a good part of their childhood years together in the gardening colony on Trojský ostrov. It was there, too, that one of his earliest memories traces back. He allegedly saw paratrooper Jozef Gabcik with Jan Kubiš in Jaroslav Křiklán’s garden after the attack on Reinhard Heydrich. Jaroslav Křiklán was indeed one of those who helped the paratroopers. Václav Kaňka spent the last year of the war with his grandparents in Sedlec-Prčice, where his parents hid them from possible bombing. After the war, he started attending the Karlin Sokol and Scouts. In 1948 he trained at the XIth All-Sokol Meeting. After 1948 he participated in secret scouting expeditions until 1950. On 8 September 1948 he went with his family to the funeral of Edvard Beneš. In 1953, he began to study at the Secondary Industrial School of Electrical Engineering in Ječná Street. After graduating in 1957, he joined Czechoslovak Radio, where he worked as a technician and managed broadcasting. In the autumn of 1957 he left for the army in Brno. Later he served in Pardubice and Čáslav. During the Prague Spring in 1968 he wanted to get involved in the restored Junák, but the invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops changed the situation. In 1972 he married Zdeňka Cepkova, also a technician at Czechoslovak Radio. After the Velvet Revolution he returned to his beloved scouting. He led a troop in Hostivař, worked as an instructor in the so-called forest schools. Later he was involved in the scout centre in Votice and worked as an educational newsletter of the Benešov district. In 2022 he lived in Sedlčany.
