Keppernach Canadian Forestry Corps camp on A939 – South of Nairn - 1917
The site map is a hand drawn version by CCF staff at the camp and as its title suggests is a Progress Report on felling as at May 26th – the year may well be 1917. The writing also indicates that this is No 7 Company location. The dark hatched rectangle with figure 1 in middle appears to be the camp, southeast from it is the mill numbered as 2 and further southeast the stables numbered as 3. The chain line running northwest and southeast beside the camp and sawmill is the route of the present day A939 road. The OS Grid Ref for the camp is NH927 486 and the outline of the site can still be seen on aerial maps.
No. 107 Company, Canadian Forestry Corps - Background Information - Organized in December 1916 as No. 7 Company, Canadian Forestry Corps under the command of Major Burwash. Originated as a detachment from No. 6 Company, Broadshaw. Employed at Keppernack, near Nairn, Scotland. Redesignated as 107th Company, Canadian Forestry Corps on 7 August 1917.
The newspapers of the time hinted that a number of local ladies had married some of the Canadian Forestry Corps personnel. Moray and Nairn Family History Society have generously published a list from the marriage records of the day and list a total of 26 marriages where local ladies married the Canadian men who worked at the sawmills located at Keppernach (Ardclach), Broadshaw (Aldearn), Achneim (Cawdor) and Orton. Some of the Canadians have camp addresses further afield and may have been posted to other locations following their initial postings to the Morayshire camps.
Please see the list on the PDF link below.
Any comments on the locations of the other CFC camps and mills would be very welcome as would any mill and forest operations photographs from those early days.
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Groups: Canadian and Newfoundland sawmillers in Scotland, Maps of Forest and Woodland Areas