Benmore Forestry School Magazine
From time to time items are received which are a complete surprise to the author. This item on the Benmore Forestry School Magazine (Bheinmhor) is certainly one such as prior to this there was no personal knowledge of a school magazine having ever been produced!
The images attached as a PDF are courtesy of Sheena Bell, Dundee, whose father Arthur Bell appears in the list of names and article as Paddy Bell.
The foreword is written by Harry Watson the Benmore Forester Training School principal and there is mention of Mrs Watson and Mr M Milne for their help.
Note the adverts for Dunoon shops and cafes - Zambonini, Smith's Library and James Marshall
Tongue in cheek comments litter the pages as pointers to situations and incidents behind which some well known but possibly unprintable versions are alluded to. The students who appear to have had a hand in producing this very first edition are:
Hugh Conn
Dennis B Crawford
J N R Jeffers
S R C Miller
C J MacPhee
J D Matthews
S R C Miller
J D M (J D Milne Instructor?)
Plus some others who wrote under ‘Pen Names’
The articles after the Editorial are headed:
Forest Psychology
East of Suez
Weekend Run
Fomes Annosus
Drama
News Items
Football
List of all the Students (Seniors and Juniors 1944-45)
The latter item which includes all the personal nicknames has kindly been typed up by Sheena Bell and produced below:
The Seniors and Juniors, 1944-1945
R G (Monty) Braine, Oak Dene, Wash Water, Nr. Newbury, Berks.
J E (Bucky) Buchanan, Drumclamp, Castlederg, C. Tyerone.
H (Hugh) Conn, Bourneside, Corckea, Keady, C. Armagh.
D B (The Baron) Crawford, 88 Victoria Avenue, Hull, Yorks.
W E (Bill) Dye, 36 Vicarage Road, Thetford, Norfolk.
V (Taffy) Gedrych, 54 Fairwater Grove, East Llandaff, Cardiff, South Wales.
J C (Gilly) Gilchrist, Eshiels Cottage, Peebles, Perthshire.
J (Lofty) Holmes, 238 Berkely Street, Glasgow C3
J T (Jimmy) Jardine, Weens, North Lodge, Bonchester, Bridge, Hawick.
J N R (Jeff) Jeffers, 18 Leigham Vale Road, West Southbourne, Bournemouth.
W G (Baronscourt Billy) Anderson, St John’s, 12 Holland Park, Knock, Belfast.
A M (Paddy) Bell, Main Street, Dungive, C. Derry & Park Knock Belfast.
D (Shorty) Jowett, 13 North Parade, Allerton, Bradford, Yorks.
J (Tinga) Ling, 75 Cemetry Road, Ipswich, Suffolk.
C O (Claude) Mackintosh, Knockloum, Cawdor, Nairn.
Moses Mattdye, The Strat Cat, No fixed abode.
C J (Mac) McPhee, Fearnoch, Taynuilt, Argyll.
J D (Haggis) Matthews, 5, The Aubynes, Grove Road, Wallasey, Cheshire.
S R C (The Man) Miller, 30 Howe Street, Edinburgh.
W (Ginger) Murray, Benna, Mossdale, Castle Douglas.
D (Yorkie) Nelson, Home Farm, Newby Bride, Ulverston, Nt. Lancs.
B F (Olaf) Oland, St Elms, Duncan Road, Park Gate, Southampton.
J (Bubbles) Owen, Fairholme, Avon Road, Westmoors, Dorset.
R W (The Duke) Reeve, 44 Cotton Hill, Bromley, Kent.
P C (Pete) Richmond, The Hollybush, Holmbury, St Mary, New Dorking, Surrey.
J A (Angus) Seaton, “Cally Lodge”, Dunkeld, Perthshire.
G (George) Stewart, Inverurie Street, Auchenblae, Fordoun, Kincardineshire.
D R (Bobby) Smith, High Street, Auchenblae, Fordoun, Kincardineshire.
P (Boots) Stuart, Campbusdhu, Lock Eck, by Dunoon, Argyll.
J A (Albert) Taylor, “Grasmere”, Bath Road, Cippenham, Slough, Bucks.
A L C (Geordie) Wilkinson, 23 Bainford Ave. Newcastle-on-Tyne.
There is some confusion on the entry headed Moses Mattdye and whether this refers to a real person!
Any comments and further details on the people very welcome.
The next image (Record No 3724) shows a group photograph of the Senior and Juniors Students taken at what is believed to be the end session and presentation of the Gold Medal in June 1944.
Groups: Forestry Areas, Forestry Records, Booklets and Reports
This photograph on the Benmore news showes some interesting names -
J D Mathews became the FC. Geneticist and later Prof. Mathewsat Aberdeen University. His practical background and forestry school training showed through even when he became Prof. He encouraged people of similar back ground to do the degree course, several did and became higher ranking officials in the F.C.
The other name that I recognised was D.B. Crawford who went on to serve with Scottish woodlands. His daughter Carol has quite recently become editor of the RSFS Journal, this shows a forestry link with two generations
Comment left on 29 August 2017 at 08:18 by Norman Davidson