Slasher Magazine Summary: Publication No. 240 - December 1967
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.
Retirements
Mr Robert F. Wood, Research Division, has retired after 20 years at Alice Holt.
Mr W.F. Stoddart, Instructor at Faskally Forester Training School, has retired after 43 years with the Commission.
Mr Ernie E. Fancy B.E.M., Head Forester, Wareham, has retired after joining the Wareham squad in 1927. His long and exceptional career included his work at the Sugar Hill Experimental nursery and on the Rothamsted Forestry Commission programme.
Mr W.A. Lingwood (Bill Lingwood), Foreman Mechanic, South East England has retired after 42 years with the Commission.
Presentations
Mr W.F. Stoddart, Instructor at Faskally Forester Training School, retirement presentation.
Mr W.A. Lingwood, Foreman Mechanic, South East England, retirement presentation.
Obituary
Mr W.F.C. Middleton, Head Forester of Arundel Forest, South East England has died.
Director General Entertained
Sir Henry Beresford Peirse, who is due to retire at the end of January 1968 was entertained by the Forestry Commissioners at the Caledonian Club.
Also attending were Mr Fred Sellers; Mr Leslie Jenkins, Chairman; Mr Gwynfryn Davies, Commissioner; Mr G. Forrest, Senior Officer, Scotland; Mr J. Zehetmayr, Senior Officer, Wales; Mr J.R. Thom, Director, Research; and Mr John Summers.
Flashes From North Wales
Mr P.A. Merker, H.E.O. at Aberystwyth has obtained an external B.Sc. degree in Economics at London University.
Rugby fans may be interested to know that Mr E.E. John, Leading Civil Engineering Assistant at Gwydyr Forest was a touch judge at the Wales-New Zealand International at Cardiff Arms Park last month.
Air Crash
Mr Dick Francis, Head Forester and Mr Frank Chalfont, Mr Arthur Nobes, Mr Ernie Remnant and Mr Dan Paine from Chiddingfold Forest assisted at the scene of the Iberian airliner crash on the Surrey-Sussex border. There were no survivors of the Caravelle which crashed into the hillside on National Trust land.
Dissected and Reassembled
The Commission supplied an oak to TRADA (Timber Research and Development Association) for use as a "back-cloth" for their stand at the Componex Building Exhibition at Olympia. The tree was felled in Abinger Forest, South East England by Mr Peter Buss and Mr Ron Spurgeon. The branches were cut off for transportation and re-joined on arrival at Olympia using fibreglass sleeves.
Land Yacht Speed
Dunnet Forest beside the shores of Dunnet Bay in Caithness is becoming known for the sport of sand yachting, and was recently the venue for the Scottish Land Yacht championships.
Dean Oil Leaks
Bernard Elley, Cartographic Draughtsman in the Dean recently had two experiences of running out of oil. The first was when driving his car, due to a faulty oil filter. The second was a few days later when he was air-borne in a helicopter of the 16th Parachute Brigade during a search exercise when the helicopter developed a serious oil leak and had to return to base.
Name History
The selection of forest names that appeared in the October issue has drawn the following comments from a student of forest history.
In Britain your first task is to find the mother-tongue of the originators - far from easy in an island that has been invaded seven times by people who spoke seven different languages.
The oldest names in the list are probably ancient Celtic ones - Welsh or Cornish - for the Rivers Edw (Radnorshire), Plym (Devon) and Goyt (Derbyshire). Wyre is the pre-Roman name for Wyre Forest, after which the Romans named Worcester - wyre castra - hence our modern Worcestershire. Pen in Buckinghamshire is probably Celtic: pen, a headland; while Kerry in Montgomeryshire, is Welsh cerrig, the rocks. Mon is both the ancient and modern Welsh name for the Isle of Anglesey.
Angles, Saxons, and possibly Jutes gave us Dean, the forest of denes or wooded valleys in Gloucestershire; Bere, "the barley fields", in Hampshire, and Wigsley, which is simply "Wigga’s lea”, or grass-field, in Lincolnshire, Alice Holt is the holt or woodland of its first recorded owner, the Saxon Bishop Alfsige of Winchester. Hay in Breconshire is the meadow where hay was grown, and Bucklebury in Berkshire is "Buckla’s burgh", or stronghold. Beechwood in Bedfordshire, despite its modern look, is ancient Saxon, while Watermeetings in Lanarkshire may be an old Anglian name for a steading as well as a modern sheep farm.
The Norse names in the list show how widely Norwegians penetrated, as settlers and invaders. Rumster in Caithness comes from run-saeter, meaning house-summer-dwelling; Leapmoor in Renfrewshire may be "Leif's myr" or moorland; Clatteringshaws in Kirkcudbrightshire is from Klettr-eng-skogr, meaning rocky-meadow-woods. "Hope" in Derbyshire is from the Norse hopr "the valley" and Ae is a Scots form of Norse Aa, meaning "the river".
Fountains in Yorkshire is called after Fountains Abbey, founded in the Middle Ages by Cistercian monks from France. Wark is the Northumbrian form of "work", meaning a castle, and likewise dates from mediaeval times.
The Gaelic names are the easiest, for that language, though the oldest in Britain, has probably changed least. This makes it hard to guess their age - they may have originated centuries ago or else be quite recent. Rosarie in Banffshire is vos airidh, the "moorland of the sheiling" or summer-farm. Clashindarroch in Aberdeenshire is clachan darroch, "the village of the oakwoods". Moffat Water in Dumfries-shire combines the Norse vath, "river", with the much older Gaelic magh fada - the "long plain" that gives its name to the town in the long dale close by.
Achaglachgach in Argyll is "the field of the hummocks and hollows". Achnashellech in Wester Ross is ach na seilach, "the field of the willow trees". Inchnacardoch is from innis na ceardaich, the island of the blacksmiths. Montreathmont, in Angus, is moine traith mont, "the mosslands of the mountain-waste". Tighnabruaich in Argyll is tigh na bruaich, meaning "the house on the braes".
Poorstock, related to the Dorset town of Powerstock, may be "stockade on the River Poor" - old Celtic name for the Mangerton River.
The correct pronunciation of Achaglachgach is : A’ha’gla’ga’ with the stress on the third syllable.
Northumberland Castles
A new book "Castles of Northumberland" by Brian Long, describes the castles, fortalices, peles and barmkins in the area. Brian went to Kielder as a Forester with the Harvesting Unit two years ago. He is a member of the Society of Antiquaries, is Secretary of the Bellingham and North Tyne Local History Group and lectures on Northumberland's castles under the WEA scheme.
Congratulations: Birth
Congratulations to Mr Jack Wade, Forester with the Kielder Production Unit and Mrs Sheila Wade on the birth of their son, Kelvin.