Forestry Memories

Draining work team at Clatteringhshaws Forest about 1950

The photographs are courtesy of Jim Millar, Banbury who began his forestry career in Bennan Forest in Easter 1949 and worked for periods in Clatteringshaw Forest. The second person from the left is Harry Picthal who was the forestry squad foreman. The other four people have not been named but were European displaced persons based at Clatteringshaw Forest. Jim believes they were part of a large group of over 20 who were housed at Newton Stewart or Kirroughtree Forest Nursery at this time.

The team look as though they are hand cross draining on ploughed ground and could be letting water trapped in the ploughed hollows by forming cross drains. The tools featured are drain drags and a cross cutting rutter spade. The actual rutter spade had an extended wing on the side (left or right) to facilitate deep cutting of the two side edges of a drain. The cross cutting rutter spade bridged the gap between the two side lines and sliced the turf and peat into 6-9 inch thick slices, up to 15inches deep - ready to be removed by the three pronged drain drag. Note the ‘piece bags’ and weather proof clothing for exposed hill conditions. Indeed a great image.

The main work that the team were doing was spreading turves for planting by cutting up out turned plough furrows. Hence the cross cut rutter spade only. There was a period when ploughing outfits were in short supply and some were used to plough at quite wide spacing – say every 20-25 feet. The cut plough furrow pieces were then spread out in a regular pattern by dragging and placing then at a then normal planting spacing of 5 to 5.5 feet. The work depended on having a sizable work squad. The plough furrow feature next to the men has the dimensions very similar to that created by a Begg plough. Jim recalls 'The ploughed furrows are not too deep and were perfect for cross rutting to enable mounding which we did a tremendous amount of. As we moved along the rows when we came to a depression full of water we crossed the furrows till it would flow away'.

Any information on the group of European displace people would be welcome - names, where they stayed and how long they worked for the Forestry Commission.

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Groups: Forestry Areas, Groups of people, Tools, equipment and clothing

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