Forest Policy Committee visit Argyll Forests
The document is courtesy of Glenbranter Forest office staff with particular thanks to Ian Adams who has stored these old files for many years.
A two day tour organised by the Forestry Commission, West Conservancy, leaving and returning to Glasgow and calling in at Glenbranter Forest, Cowal Ari Sawmill, Minard Forest, Kilmartin Forest, Knapdale Forest, Inverliever Forest, Eredine Forest and Ardgartan Forest.
Although there are no stops the Forests of Benmore and Loch Eck are also described in a little detail with that of the other forests. In fact there is a brief over sight of the West Conservancy’s area under plantations, planting and production programmes and total industrial labour force. Throughout there are details of the numbers of forest workers in each of the forests, the numbers of forest worker houses and holdings and the total amounts of wages paid out over a one year period. There are a couple of interesting hand written additions on the notes which give the total farm areas rented, a breakdown of the farm stocks, rental and also some details of Forest Worker Holdings and House in Glenbranter Forest. The other additional note refers to numbers of pupils in Strachur School from 1950 (68 Pupils) up to 1962 (83 Pupils) and of the 42 Council Houses built 23 were allocated to sawmill workers.
The section on the Ari Sawmill covers some of the history and the annual input of logs from the forests at 3/7½ per hoppus foot OB delivered and a little about the product markets.
Short section on the Argyll National Forest Park and the number of paying visitors to the caravan and camping park in 1961 as 22,834.
People named are as follows:
W B Sutherland (Bill) District Officer at South Cowal District
John Jackson Head Forester Benmore Forest
J A Goodlet (Ian) District officer North Cowal District
A M Stuart Forester i/c Loch Eck Forest
J A Goodlet District Officer 2 North? Cowal District
D J MacRae Head Forester Glenbranter Forest
I Gillespie District Officer Mid Argyll South District
K N V Townsend District Officer Kintyre District
H MacKinnon Head Forester Knapdale Forest
George Dey District Officer Mid Argyll
I H MacKenzie Head Forester Inverliever Forest
C R Johnston (Bob) Forester i/c Eredine, Dalmally and Glenorchy Forests
R S Angus Forester i/c at Ardgartan Forest.
See all the details in the attached PDF. Any comments very welcome.
Groups: Forestry Areas, Forestry Records, Booklets and Reports