Forestry Memories

Benachie Sawmill Squad, 1914

Benachie Sawmill Squad, 1914

Date Added: 30 June 2010 Contributor: Gordon Urquhart Year of Photo: 1914 Picture No: 599

Bennachie Sawmill, 1914.

This photo courtesy of Norman Christie. Norman’s father, Frank Christie (age 20)is front right. He was a piper with the Black Watch during the Great War.

Frank moved from Fochabers to Birkhall in Deeside in 1927 as sawmiller for the estate. He was there from 1927 until 1937. He then moved to Balmoral as sawmiller, working on a water driven mill.

Bennachie covers quite a large area and the exact location of this mill at Oyne is unknown. Mills were very portable in the early days and dismantled and set up where ever larger areas of timber were being felled. It was usually easier to take the mill to the timber than the other way round. Abbie Gordon, Banchory, mentions the fact that his great grandparents were married in 1876 at Bennachie Sawmill, Keig and that his great grandfather was a labourer who may have worked in the mill.

Does anyone have any other stories or ideas about the possible locations of the Benachie or Bennachie Saw Mill (see picture no 602).

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Groups: Groups of people, Northeast Scotland , Sawmills, pulp mills, chipboard mills

2 Comments

Norman Christie's photograph has been rescanned and a large size image and some additional details added to Picture Number 599 Comment left on 30 May 2014 at 08:21 by Norman Davidson
I was a child in mid 1960's, went to Oyne primary school. Have a memory of my mother taking me to visit an old lady who lived in a shack at the back of what my memory tells me was a saw mill (possibly Cordiners) at Petmathen. We walked across the level crossing towards Old Rayne and after what seemed miles to my childs legs, we turned left into a large yard with buildings (corrugated iron is what I recall), we walked across the yard and followed a path to the right along the wall of the "shed" for a short distance when we came to a "tin shack" which was occupied by an old lady called Jennie/Jeannie?. My mother gave her home made butter, cheese, eggs & bread. She made tea, kettle was boiled over an open fire on a metal hook, tea was disgustingly strong. No idea who the old lady actually was or why we visited but I still have the memory of going there 55 years later.
Don't know if this is helpful but would love to know if anyone else from Oyne remembers the old lady who loved in the shack at the back of the "sawmill".
Comment left on 07 July 2022 at 20:43 by Morag Clark
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