FCA Magazine (FCAtoday) - Issue 58: Summer 2016
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 58: Summer 2016
Articles
Paperwork
One of the forestry booklets Tony Butcher, who now resides in New Zealand, found on his bookshelf was from FPRL in 1965 “A Glossary of Log Timber Measures”.
More on Paperwork
Tony Butcher said three years after a timber measurement document was issued, the UK went metric. FC Booklet No. 30 was given to them and they had to insert marker tabs in the right place. New Zealand has high pruning techniques. He recalled being told in Lynford Hall FTS that it was to remove ? and keep ?. In NZ it is to remove ? to leave ? and in some cases, pines have just 25% left on the top of the tree. High pruning is necessary for fairly knot free timber. Radiata pine grows at a remarkable rate and at the turn of the century, the rotation was 35 years. Within 15 years that has been reduced to 29 years. Thinning is rarely necessary. High pruning is carried out using step ladders and loppers or chainsaws. Much of the plantation is on steep slopes.
A Trip to the Snowy Mountains National Park
Eric Rogers recalls a recent trip to the Great Snowy Mountains in Tennessee, USA and shares some interesting facts about the area.
People’s History of Thetford Forest
Simon Malone gives details of the “People’s History of Thetford Forest”, part of a £2.2M scheme of projects for the Brecks, thanks to a £1.5M grant from the Heritage Lottery. The project aims to seek out the people who have lived and worked in the forest and who were employed in a variety of roles and allied trades. The project will record their stories, memories, knowledge and experience contrasting those in equivalent roles today, to compare changes in working practices and conditions.
Kielder - And Elsewhere. The Wild Days?
On reading Simon Malone’s article on his early career in the FC, John Martin also recalls his early FC career as a workshop manager in Kielder in 1975, when the head ranger was Wilf Howell. John has many stories of other characters and practices from that time.
Personal Collections of Forestry Photographs & Papers and the Forest Memories Website
For historical value, Norman Davidson offers to scan and record forestry photographs and notes on the website www.forestry-memories.org.uk A Durris Time Sheet book circa 1948 and photographs are included in the article. One of the photographs is from 1988 on the occasion of the first load of pulp wood to leave Carron Valley for the Caledonian Mill. In the picture are David Foot, David Henderson Howat, Steve Quigley and Jaako Palensen.
Book Review
Voices of the Forest
Chris Badenoch reviews “Voices of the Forest” by Mairi Stewart which deals with the realities of the development of forestry in Scotland through the lives of the people actually involved in developing our forests through the late 19th and 20th centuries.
From the Editor
A comment from Richard Toleman.
Obituaries
Mike Whitlock said Jack Aaron died hours after his 90th birthday in April. He retired in 1983.