Benmore Forestry student enduring the rain
This one of a set of images from photocopier scans and is courtesy of the staff at Glenbranter Forest Office.
Unfortunately image quality is not good but the atmosphere and ‘driech’ quality of the day is very dramatically portrayed in this image of a student sheltering from the rain under waterproofs on Kilmun Hill.
In the back ground is the village of Sandbank with, in front, the American ship stationed at this time to look after the nuclear submarines based in the Holy Loch.
Groups: Forester Training Schools and Universities, Forestry Areas
3 Comments
If the date(1959) is correct the ship can not be the USS Proteas which did not arrive in the Holy Loch until springtime 1961.
Comment left on 03 June 2018 at 11:41 by Frank Thom
Hi Frank. You are right - the year is too early for the American navy ships. Unfortunately the photographer or the year they were taken has not been identified but from the dozen or images placed on the website so far, summer 1960 appears to be the latest date in the series. Any details of a firm date for the images would be very welcome.
Comment left on 04 June 2018 at 08:10 by Norman Davidson
Until the US Navy arrived in 1961, the Holy Loch was used to moor laid up ships and some awaiting scrapping at Faslane.
I get the feeling that the student is trying to avoid the midges rather than the rain as the day seems to be fairly bright. He is well up the hill, above the normal tree line, where some attempt had been made to try out plantings up to 1200 feet. Most of the higher ones failed and were left as windswept stunted dwarfs. I had the experience, about 15 years after this picture, of crossing the flat top of the hill near this spot under a black threatening sky when I felt my (long) hair lifting. As I dropped and curled up in a ball, one of those stunted trees about 50 yards away vanished as it was hit by lightning. The four minute mile record was broken that day but it didn't count as it was all downhill. Comment left on 13 June 2018 at 22:54 by Andy MacNicol
I get the feeling that the student is trying to avoid the midges rather than the rain as the day seems to be fairly bright. He is well up the hill, above the normal tree line, where some attempt had been made to try out plantings up to 1200 feet. Most of the higher ones failed and were left as windswept stunted dwarfs. I had the experience, about 15 years after this picture, of crossing the flat top of the hill near this spot under a black threatening sky when I felt my (long) hair lifting. As I dropped and curled up in a ball, one of those stunted trees about 50 yards away vanished as it was hit by lightning. The four minute mile record was broken that day but it didn't count as it was all downhill. Comment left on 13 June 2018 at 22:54 by Andy MacNicol
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