Bonny Macadam – Women’s Timber Corps 29 Aug 1942 – 11 Jan 1945
The image is part of a group photograph once held by Bob Allison, Chief Trainer at Shandford Lodge, Brechin, where many hundreds of newly recruited Timber Corps women were trained in the skills of felling, cross cutting and snedding trees in the forest. They were also taught the timber measuring and enumeration skills and many later learned to maintain, load and drive lorries to carry the timber to mill or railway station. The photograph is courtesy of Freida Murray daughter of Bob Allison.
Details of Bonnie Macadam are very limited but her Index Card may be that named as Moyra Roseleen Wight Macadam who enrolled into the Timber Corps in August 1942 and then trained at Shandford Lodge, Brechin, but no end period date is shown. The next entry is:
M/S HGTPD Shandford Lodge, Angus 22 Dec 1942 and transferred to Kinordy camp , Kirriemuir, Angus, from 16 Mar 1944 and resigned from service in 11 Jan 1945 on medical grounds.
It appears that Bonnie transitioned from Trainee to Trainer at Shandford Lodge in the last months of 1942 and stayed there until Mar 1944. As a member of the training staff it is likely that Bonnie escaped the privations and rigours of the hutted encampment at Shandford and lived in Shandford Lodge itself with running water, toilets and meals served in a dining room. It seems that she had a camera and took a number of photographs of the Timber Corps women on their training work. Her photograph archive would be a very valuable resource. Forestry Commission, Edinburgh, when setting up the Timber Corps memorial statue project appear to have contacted her and were given copies of some of her photographs that are shown in the attached PDF below.
Any more information and detail on Bonnie would be very welcome indeed.