Slasher Magazine Summary: Publication No. 209 - May 1965
The digitisation of the Slasher was undertaken by, and images courtesy of, the Forest Research Knowledge and Information Management staff based at both the Northern Research Station in Roslin, Scotland and Alice Holt in Surrey, where the original copies are currently located.
The content summary below was very kindly compiled by Diane Birkett, Bedfordshire. See PDF attachment link below the text to view the full document. A total of over 400 issues were produced between 1948 and the final issue in 2010.
Retirement
Mr E.C. Harper, Chief Clerk, Education Branch has retired after joining the Commission in 1946 as a Higher Clerical Officer in the Headquarters Secretariat.
Presentations & Tributes
Mr E.C. Harper (Ted Harper), Chief Clerk, Education Branch, retirement presentation.
Mr A.D. Palmer tribute on his retirement.
Obituary
Mr Ronald Worthington, Clerical Officer at Headquarters has died aged 52.
Causes and Control of Fires
Among the unusual causes of fires are a flaming squirrel falling into a plantation after coming in contact with a power line and seagulls dropping lighted material among the trees after feeding on a burning council refuse dump.
Mr J.S. Oakley, District Officer on secondment in Uganda recalls a fire in the woods caused by tracer bullets from two aeroplanes attacking buildings during trouble on the Uganda-Congo border. He mentioned the fire was in Pinus patula, five years old and 20-25 feet high. A substantial increase by comparison with the growth rate of Sitka spruce in the Borders.
The driver of a fire engine in the Dean who took his vehicle to a woodland blaze was wearing a top hat, white shirt, black tie and frock coat. He had been about to assist at a funeral when he heard the local siren.
Recently, on a warm still day, Head Forester R.J. Jennings was in Russells Enclosure, the Dean, when he noticed grey flakes floating in the air around him. He caught a few in his hand and could see they were the burned ash of dried leaves and grass. Looking directly west on the side of Barnhill in Nagshead, he could see columns of smoke rising vertically from the cutters' browst fires. The ash was ascending on a quiet day in the hot air and being deposited at a point 2 miles distant.
More Off-Beat Utilisation
In response to the article in the March edition, Mr M.E.S. Dickenson, District Officer, West Sussex writes of his local itinerant purchasers of minor produce. Two itinerant persons come to Slindon forest most winters and cut ash coppice in young beech plantations and bundle the sticks.
The charge per bundle is ½d per stick for walking sticks and one penny for Scout staves which are sold to a manufacturer. For this help with our cleaning, we received £94 last winter for some 40,000 sticks. A great many walking sticks are exported to countries all over the world, one of the largest orders being for Texas.
Duke of Edinburgh Award
Congratulations to Keith Follett, Forester School trainee working on the Dunwich Beat of Aldewood Forest, East England. He recently went to Buckingham Palace to receive a gold medal under the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme.
To qualify for the award, Keith obtained Red Cross and First Aid certificates at advanced level; qualified as a Cub instructor and led a pack for 18 months; made a trip to the Black Mountains, spending three nights in the open; took a Master Cook's badge in the Boy Scouts; served as Quartermaster at the annual camp; and also passed the standard list requirements in athletics, swimming and gymnastics.
The Piper
Our note in March in which readers were invited to speculate as to the identity of the piper who scared the young lad in the Dean, has brought in a number of letters. All correspondents name the piping Forest Officer as Mr A.D. Hopkinson who, before he retired a considerable time ago, was Conservator, East England.
Mr. T.E. Anderson, retired Head Forester, writing from Pickering, Yorkshire, says Mr Hopkinson used to parade each night at Parkend in full Highland regalia and entertain us. His house was separated from the one in which I lived by about 100 yards so that we had a grandstand view, and being from the north, we enjoyed the pipes.
Mr G.W. Hollis, also a retired Head Forester living at Tiverton, Devon, remembers Mr Hopkinson was transferred to Chopwell Wood, County Durham, in the early summer of 1922 when he was training at the Forestry School there. He says "Our quarters were near his residence and it was almost a nightly event during the light evenings, to see the piper marching up and down the lawn producing sounds strange to the Southerner".
Head Forester W.G. Grey of the Research Nursery at Kennington, Oxford, also has memories of the piper in 1922 when, like Mr Hollis, he was at the Forestry School. He says "Mr Hopkins was then Divisional Officer in charge of the old No. 1 Division and resided at Chopwell House. The performances used to last about an hour".
Focus on Grizedale
Field Glass is the title of a newssheet devoted to Grizedale Forest, North West England. The editor Mr Bill Grant, Forester-in-Charge, makes the point that the Commission's primary role at Grizedale is the production of timber. Nevertheless, he says the forest contains a great complex of animal, bird and plant life within an area of exceptional beauty.
The recreational assets of the forest can be explored and expanded and in two years, a reputation has already been won among educationalists, conservationists and naturalists. In 1964 there were 2,000 visitors and there are indications that this figure will be exceeded this year.
On the timber side, production this year will be about 3,500 tons, mainly for pitwood, stakes, fencing and saw logs. There will be an important change when the new boardmill at Workington is completed. Many nesting boxes have been erected in connection with the national recording scheme run by the British Trust for Ornithology. Mallard have been resting on the lake, overlooked by the unique Treetops observation platform and special hides have been made for the benefit of photographers among the visitors.
Forest Trail Opened
A forest trail has been laid out in Oversley Wood, one of the remnants of the old Forest of Arden in the North West England Conservancy. The trail was officially opened this month by Mr C. Smith-Ryland, Chairman of Warwick County Council and Mr J.R. Thom, Director of Forestry for England, who planted trees in a new arboretum destined to contain a collection of all forest trees commonly grown in Warwickshire.
Much hard work on bringing the forest trail into being has been done by the Conservator Mr J.S.R. Chard and his staff, in association with the staff of the Warwickshire County Museum, which should help to educate children in forestry.
The Chief Photographer at Alice Holt is producing a short film on school forestry, based on the work of children in a Junior School at Hemel Hempstead, who have gone in for forestry studies in a big way and have their own school forest.
Transfers: Divisional Officers
A. Bennet from Aberdeen E (S) to Inverness N (S)
C.A.H. Gascoigne from Inverness N (S) to Shrewsbury N (W)
Transfers: District Officers
N. Dannatt from Santon Downham D (R) to Alice Holt D (R)
J.E. Everard from Fort Augustus N (S) to Fochabers E (S)
T.S.L. Findlay from Creebridge S (S) to Dumfries S (S)
J.G. Grevatt from Fochabers to Inverness
W.A.J. Johnson from Dumfries to Glasgow
G.K. Murray from Glasgow to Aberdeen
S.A. Simmonds from Lyndhurst, New to Woking
A. Whayman from Aberdeen to Work Study D (R)
G.O. Williams from Shrewsbury to Cardiff
Transfers: Foresters
W.J. Blair from Ae D (R) to Inchnardoch D (R)
J.G.A. St Bland-Flagg from Thetford D (R) to Yardley, Hastings D (R)
F. Cameron from Black Isle N (S) to South Laggan N (S)
K.E. Cox from Ebbw S (W) to Hay S (W)
G.W. Jones from Radnor N (WO to Aeron N (W)
P. Mowat from Newcastleton S (S) to Glentrool S (S)
T. Nelson from Kilgrammie S (S) to Dalbeattie S (S)
Transfers: Assistant Foresters
R.B. Angus from Kielder D (R) to Bush Nursery D (R)
D.A. Bell from Rothbury (P & E) to Thetford (P & E)
J.L. Bryson from Dalbeattie S (S) to Carrick S (S)
D.S. Coutts from Sunart N (S) to Grizedale D (R)
P.R. Dewey from Glentress S (S) to Dundeugh S (S)
P. Fligg from Carrick to Kilgrammie
G.C. Webb from Grizedale D (R) to Westonbirt D (R)
D.L. Willmott from Bush Nursery D (R) to Kielder D (R)
Transfer: Superintendent of Works
J.M. Stables from Fort William N (S) to Inverness N (S)
Transfers: Higher Executive Officers
A.F. Musto from Bristol to London D (E)
W.O. Wittering from Thetford D (R) to Olney D (R)
Transfers: Executive Officers
R.S. Elliott from Edinburgh to HQ
C.M. King from HQ to Bristol
J.J. Richardson from London D (E) to Alice Holt D (R)
Transfers: Clerical Officers
W.A. Bleasdale from London D (E) to Chester
W. Gleicher from London D (E) to HQ
A.L. Rae from Dumfries to Edinburgh
Transfer: T/Clerical Assistant
R.H. Cannon from London D (E) to HQ
Congratulations: Marriages
Congratulations to Mr Sam Caven, Clerical Officer, South Scotland Conservancy and Miss Susan Jamieson on their marriage.
Congratulations to Mr A.I.D. Horne, District Officer, Aylsham and Miss Linda Brown of Norwich on their marriage.
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