Frank Harper on the River Dee log raft – 1931
The image is courtesy of Anne and the late Allan Harper (Forester based at Huntly) both children of Frank G Harper.
Anne has compiled the following information on the Harper family involvement in forestry initially on Deeside in the very early 1800s and in several locations abroad, including Siam and the Gold Coast, in later years.
“My Father, 1910-1995, was called Francis, but he was always known as Frank. My grandfather was James Harper 1867 - 1945. He was not himself a timber merchant but had a fishing tackle and gunsmith business in Aberdeen. He had however been involved in tropical forestry in Siam in the 1890s with Derry Mott and Dickson and I imagine that the experiences he had had as a boy working with his father on Deeside had some impact on his professional life there.
It was the previous generation who were involved in rafting, especially my great-grandfather, also Francis Harper, 1826 - 1898, nicknamed The Baron. There were 3 brothers; Francis who was the eldest, was a timber merchant based in Aboyne; James had businesses in Ballater and John worked on the Dess estate. All were well known in fishing and forestry circles in mid/late 19th century Deeside. Their father Archibald, my great-great-grandfather was himself a timber merchant based in Kincardine O'Neil and probably a rafter. Rafting on the Dee was essentially over by the 1870s, as railways came in an forests were logged out, but I have a marginal note from my grandfather that he once accompanied his uncle John taking a raft from Dess to the sawmills at Banchory in 1884 which is the last reference I know to active rafting.
I have not written up what I know of the history of rafting on the Dee and have no photographs.
As to Father's history. After Aberdeen University he had a year studying tropical forestry in Oxford before going out to the Gold Coast, now Ghana in 1932? where he remained in the Forestry Service until independence in 1957, At that point he was Deputy Chief Conservator of Forests but all senior posts were being africanised and he retired. Back in the UK he established a forest tree nursery in Aboyne and throughout the 1960s and 70s grew and sold trees for planting, mainly on Deeside.
I have no photographs of his forestry class."
Groups: Forestry Areas, Northeast Scotland