Canadian Forestry Corps Company No 25 sawmill at Mar Lodge
Canadian Forestry Corps Company No 25 sawmill at Mar Lodge
The image is courtesy of Alistair Cassie, Ballater, who received the images from a contact in Australia.
Canadian Forestry Corps (CFC) Company No 25 was one of eight companies based in the Deeside area as part of CFC District No 2. Records indicate the Mar Lodge camp construction began in December 1941 aided by men from Companies 2, 3, 4, 13 and 16. The team of men (around 200) that formed Company No 25 arrived in Deeside at the end of March or early April 1942 and no doubt began timber production shortly after.
This image possibly poses more questions than answers. This part of the building could be at the other end of the building from the log chain – and looking onto the end of the same long side.
There are the outlines of two men in the darkness looking out with the nearest leaning on a machine or bench which has a very visible round wheel structure. A flywheel would surely be guarded and wonder if this is a saw blade height or width adjusting mechanism. Any suggestions?
The Spooler is mentioned several times and it seems there was a special production line for birch spool wood. Assume this was for making all types of bobbins and spools. Relatively short pieces of birch may have been either cut with saws into a square cross section or even roughed out into a cylinder on a heavy automatic lathe all which would have begun the drying process critical for starting the manufacture of the spools on arrival at the factory.
Again the short slide down to the waiting man indicates it could be small products or boards being produced here but by no means certain.
The angled chute to the right has the look of a system to carry a tube for blowing sawdust to a pile some distance away but looks empty.
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Groups: Canadian and Newfoundland sawmillers in Scotland, Forestry Areas, Northeast Scotland , Sawmills, pulp mills, chipboard mills, War time constructions and defence structures in woods and forests