FCA Magazine (FCAtoday) - Issue 35: August 2008
FC staff Retirement Association magazine. The content summary below was very kindly compiled by Diane Birkett, Bedfordshire. See PDF attachment below the text to view the full document. A total of 77 issues were completed between 1997 and the final issue in 2023.
Issue 35: August 2008
Articles
2008 AGM and Tour
A report on the 2008 AGM Tour and James Ogilvie’s talk on his sponsored climb of Mt Everest last year in aid of Tree Aid.
Join Us – Now!
Bart Venner invites membership of the Forestry Commission Association.
Ode to a Tree (of Doubtful Species)
Mike Whitlock (or his anagrammatic name Kime Lochtwik) has penned an ode.
Hazards to Wildlife in Highland Forests in the 50s and 60s – Part 2
More tales and brief “lessons” from David Paterson.
A Health & Safety Eager Beaver
Les Howe recalls making compost at Wareham Nursery every summer the same way from 1948, but changes were introduced by H&E in 1970 after an accident befell one of the workers.
A Prisoner’s Forestry Story
Hermann Dunkel was aged 14 and living on the family farm near Osnabruck in North West Germany at the start of World War 2. He joined the German Navy when he was 18 in 1943, and was sent to Hamburg for training before being posted to Danzig (Gdansk) on submarines, then to France. He was taken prisoner in September 1944 and transported to the PoW camp at Colchester, then to a PoW transit camp on the Douglas Water in South Lanarkshire, and finally to a permanent PoW camp at Carronbridge, near Dumfries. When the war ended, Hermann stayed on at the Carronbridge camp as a paid civilian. He went back to Osnabruch briefly in 1949, but his father has been killed on the Eastern Front and his family has sold the farm. He returned to Scotland in 1950 and worked at Auldgirth near Dumfries doing agricultural work and in 1952 met and married Peggy.
From the Editor
A comment from Richard Toleman.
Obituaries
Bernard Beard’s son-in-law told me that he died in May, aged 88. Following his return from wartime service, for which he was made MBE, Bernard joined the Commission as a foreman after completing training at Thetford FTS.
Peter Webb joined a large congregation at the funeral of Ray Braine, who died in late April, just before his 80th birthday. Ray had been the chairman and his wife Audrey the secretary of the FCA’s West Country group for many years. He attended Benmore FTS, and after training he went to the West Country. There he spent his whole career, starting at Savernake, moving on to Wilsey Down, Wareham and Dartmoor, and finally as Chief Forester at Halwill.
Jamie Scott remembers Ian Campbell, who died recently. He attended FTS at Peebles, after which he went on to sample plot work, based at Edinburgh. In 1960 he transferred to West Scotland to work on planning and economics, based in Argyll. In 1964 he took over Achray Forest, followed by service at Creran, Fearnoch and Raera.
Rod Pimm writes of D’arcy Black, whom he first met at Faskally FTS in 1959. D’arcey was one of my three instructors, alongside Norman Tulloch, the Principal, Sandy Cram and Iain Garioch. He started with the Commission in 1940 as a trainee forester, but was called up during the war and had a most eventful five years in the Royal Air Force, finishing up in India and Singapore and finally spent a year helping with reconstruction at Hiroshima. He resumed his forestry career In 1946, completing his training at Glentress FTS. He was then posted to Laiken, the Black Isle, Lochcarron, Aberfoyle, Drymen and Glenbranter, where he was promoted to chief forester, and finally to Dunkeld. He also had a period in between as instructor at Faskally. During his time at Drymen he was responsible for the Cashel caravan and camp site.
Dennis Harrison and Peter Noot recall Tony Ford, who died at home in Stamford, aged 70. Tony’s career in forestry started in Dorset as a forest worker. He entered Gwydyr Forestry School in 1959. His first forester post was at the Pembrey Forest in West Wales. In 1965 he joined Dennis Harrison on soil survey work throughout England and Wales. Between them they completed soil and wind-throw maps of most of the Welsh forests. In conjunction with Graham Pyatt they contributed to the ‘’Guide to Site Types in Mid and North Wales’’.
Roger Hay knew Charles Macmahon who died recently. Charles joined the Commission in North Scotland as an area engineer. Charles became directorate engineer for Wales, then assistant chief engineer to Basingstoke and moved to Edinburgh in 1975, Charles continuing in his post as assistant chief engineer (civil).
Peter Humphries, a friend and work colleague, remembers Shirley Davis, who died in December 2007. Shirley joined him at Ennerdale in the old North West England Conservancy in 1978.