Sime's Sawmill, Eskadale
Photograph courtesy of Shona Selkirk. Please seek her permission to use or copy this image.
The team at Frank Sime's sawmill Eskadale. Note that this has the look of a permanent yard, as opposed to Pic 558, which would seem to be at a higher altitude, above the treeline. Tommy Inch is probably in this photo, he would be 26 at the time.
Born in 1907, in Culburnie, near Kiltarlity, Tommy Inch started his forestry career working with Frank Sime’s sawmill, Balgate, Kiltarlity probably around 1925. He worked as a sawmiller, both around the Beauly area and further afield, usually for Sime. Later he managed “Tommy’s Mill”, Fanellan, for Sime for a number of years, until injury precipitated his retirement, in 1960. He then worked, freelance, for Crichton, in Beauly. He set up as a subcontractor in 1963, employing three men - Dave Innes, Bob Reid and Alec Campbell - until his retirement in 1969.
That area around Kiltarlity was a hotbed of forestry activity during the war. According to Tommy’s daughter, Shona Selkirk, to whom Forestry Memories is indebted, Tommy spoke about both the Canadian lumber camp and also the “Poles Camp” below Teanacoil House.
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Groups: Groups of people, Horses at work in Forests, Sawmills, pulp mills, chipboard mills
It is interesting to note in the various photographs taken with Tommy over a period of 10 years the horses seem to have been yoked to sledges for extracting the logs from the nearby woods. In this case the sledges are pulled by chains only, possibly indicating fairly flat ground, rather than shafts. Note the other 'tools of the trade' held by the men one being an oil can to signify the engineer or steam engine fireman. One other man at the back is holding a curved metal shaft which may have a hook or angled spike fitted. Could be for adjusting and positioning logs accurately on the saw bench before running the saw through? Comment left on 26 May 2014 at 20:34 by Norman Davidson