Forestry Memories

Jimmy Picthal, foreman at Bennan or Clatheringshaws Forest about 1950

The photograph is courtesy of Jim Millar, Banbury who began his forestry career in Bennan Forest in Easter 1949 and worked for periods in Clatteringshaw Forest.

Any details about Jimmy would be very welcome. Jimmy apparently retired to New Galloway and he and Jim Millar met up around 1981. Jim also caught up with Gordon Laurie in New Galloway at this time - another retired forestry worker.

Can anyone confirm if this is Clatteringshaws Loch in the back ground?

The forest names in this area appear to have evolved over the years. Bennan Forest was one of the early Forestry Commission forest units (pre 1937) but was absorbed into the management unit Cairn Edward Forest in 1938. Cairn Edward included Clatterinshaws area in 1945 and in 1949 it was almost run as two units with Charlie W Parley as lead forester in Bennan and Ken W Towns as under forester in Clatteringshaws. In 1966 the name Cairn Edward disappeared and the southern portion of Cairn Edward appears to have been renamed as Bennan Forest with a separate management unit Clatteringshaws Forest to the north.

Any details of these changes would be very welcome.

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