Forest of Deer - Payday for workers
The photograph is courtesy of the family of George Dey. George took many photographs in his forestry career and some are now shown on this web site. Check under ‘Groups’ and George Dey Collection.
Thought to be a pay check carried out by the District Officer in this case George who has taken the opportunity for a photograph. Jack Christie (Head Forester at Forest of Deer) outside the office is handing over the weekly pay packet to Johnny Ogg. Pay checks were carried out to confirm that then names of men on the pay list actually existed!
Forest Worker's pays were all manually calculated in the forest offices by the clerk/clerkess or the forester if she was on holiday. The total money required with all the change was worked out and the cash drawn from the bank. The clerkess and forester checked that the correct total was received from the bank, put the copy payslip and correct sum into each packet and then balanced the cash account. This final balance was not without its dramas as mistakes could be made or notes stuck together etc and then everything and every pay packet had to be checked over again and sometimes a second time. Even a penny out was a serious event. Sometimes if the sum was small it would be put in by the forester from his pocket but as the cash account went up to the conservancy office at the end of the month and they discovered the original error, trouble came in bucket loads! Foresters were paid monthly via a cheque in the post before the days of going straight into the back account.
The people lined up outside the office from the left are:
Jack Christie (Head Forester – FOD)
Jimmy Riddoch (Ganger) Hidden behind Jack
Bill Taylor (Forester – Forest of Deer)
Gordon Innes
Johnny Ogg
Emslie Wilson (Ganger) at back
Harold Ritchie
Bill Scott
Syd Farquhar (Keeper)
Bill Burnett
Names have been identified from other photographs - welcome any corrections.
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Groups: Buildings in Forests, Forestry Areas, Forestry in Action, George Dey Forestry Collection, Groups of people, Northeast Scotland