Trade Union Membership and Payment Record Card – John Anderson
Will Anderson (Seafield Estates) has forwarded some images of his grandfather's (John Anderson) trade union membership card of the National Union of General and Municipal Workers while employed by the Forestry Commission at Ratagan Forest. His address is given as No 3 Swedish Houses, Ratagan. John’s name also appeared in the Register of Workers for Ratagan shown in Forestry Memories Record No 5137.
Will writes:
‘I asked my father for a potted history of why they moved in and out of Ratagan. He can’t remember the reason for the first leaving but the second was because they had been promised a job for my Grandfather and Father by Inverness District but it transpired that Inverness could only allocate the housing while the local Forester had the final say on employment and he said there was not a job for my father. They moved back to the central belt where Father got a job in a cooperage before joining FC at Garshelloch after his National Service.
My Grandfather’s post war employment history is set out below: -
WW2 REME
Foundry worker Larbert 1946-1951 left as it was causing ill health.
Greenkeeper Larbert 1951-1952
FC Ratagan Forestry Worker 1952-1953
Ballochneck Estate handyman/Forester 1953-1954
FC Ratagan Forestry Worker 1954-1954 left as no job for eldest son in FC. Inverness had said there would be but local Forester said no. Inverness allocated houses but local forester had the say on employment.
Ballochneck Estate Forestry Worker 1954-1956
FC Achnamarra 1956 -1958 left to go back to central Scotland to give younger sons a chance to get a trade but both ended up in FC.
Touch Estate Forestry Worker 1959 – 1962
FC Carron Valley 1962 – 1965
FC Tulliallan 1965 – 1968 retired due to ill health (cancer)’
See the PDF below for a view of the weekly payment of 7d (old pence) noted on the union card.
Download Large Version (1.1MB)
Groups: Forestry Areas, Forestry Records, Booklets and Reports