FCA Magazine (FCAtoday) - Issue 48: Spring 2013
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 48: Spring 2013
Articles
AGM 2013 Details
A reminder about the forthcoming AGM in York on 14th & 15th May 2013.
Sounds of the South
Ex-FC worker Phil Ratcliffe has written about his ‘Sounds of the South’ show on Dunoon Community Radio.
Book Reviews
Conquering the Highlands – A History of the Scottish Uplands by Jan Oosthoek
Jan Oosthoek tells the story of how 20th century foresters devised ways to successfully reforest the poor Scottish uplands, land that was regarded as unplantable, to fulfil the mandate they had received from the Government and wider society to create a timber reserve. He raises the question whether the adopted forestry practice was the only viable means to create forests in the Scottish Highlands by examining debates within the forestry community about the appearance of the forests and their long term ecological prospects. The book is downloadable from the ANU E Press website as a free e-book at http://epress.anu.edu.au/titles/world-forest-history-series/conquering-the-highlands
Wind on the Hills by Roger Cartwright
A profile of Roger Cartwright who was one of very few foresters in England to train and qualify as a landscape architect. On completion of a landscape design course in 1965 he found that there were plenty of job opportunities for people with this combination of qualifications. He had started work with the Forestry Commission in 1953 as a forest worker at Quantock Forest in Somerset and after National Service in the Army he went to Faskally Forester Training School at Pitlochry from 1956-1958. On completing his training, he obtained a job as a forest assistant in the Central African colony of Nyasaland (now Malawi) where the Forest Department had a wide role, ranging from the protection of natural resources – native woodland, savannah grasslands to production of timber and the establishment of new forests. Wind on the Hills is the story of this formative period in his life.
Foresters’ Uniforms
Eric Rogers recently found a copy of the form sent out by the FC when foresters were to be issued with the new itchy green suits with the red collar. They replaced the "RAC man" uniforms! A photograph of Charlie Greenlees modelling the uniform is reproduced from the www.forestry-memories.org.uk website.
Foresters’ Self Measurement Form
A 1958 Forestry Commission Uniform Self-Measurement form has some interesting body shapes.
Forest Facebook
Peter Ford has a suggestion of an interesting forestry Facebook page ForestMachineOperatorJobs.
Kielder in the 1950s
R.E. Crowther was a newly appointed FC forest officer at Kielder in 1950. He writes about the landscape then and the subsequent changes.
Life After Work
Don Amer responded to an appeal by the editor for post retirement activities. Don retired from the Radio and Electronic Branch at Inver, near Dunkeld in 1989 after working in all aspects of forestry. His interest in picture framing and craft work has kept him busy in retirement and he also wrote a book about his 42 year working for the Forestry Commission from aged 16 to retiring in 1989. A picture shows Don Amer in the Radio Branch office in 1988.
Letter to the Editor
Rob Cunliffe of New Zealand was searching for information on his grandfather George Bodley Ryle, who died in 1978, when he saw a photograph of him standing at the front of the foresters’ meeting at Hamsterley in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Rob is now wearing his grandfather’s Rolex watch, given to him when he retired in 1965 with the inscription ‘GBR from FC 1924-1965’. Rob includes photographs of the watch and the Hamsterley foresters’ meeting.
From the Editor
A comment from Richard Toleman.
Obituaries
A friend has told of the death in Croydon of Anne Frost aged 94 years.
Roger Busby remembers Simon Hewitt who died in October 2012. He joined the FC in 1976 as Area Land Agent, based in Lyndhurst in the New Forest. He had several other postings before he retired in May 2005.
Bart Venner tells of the death of Fred Savage aged 86 who was a great supporter of the Dean group.
Val Marsh has told of the death of Michael Aymes aged 71 years. He worked at the MES Workshops at Santon Downham. He had almost completed 50 years service when he retired in 2006.