Slasher Magazine Summary: Publication No. 28 - April 1950
The scanned images of the Slasher were produced by and courtesy of the Forest Research Data and Information Team staff based at Roslin, where some of the original copies are located. The Forestry England Information Knowledge Management Team and New Forest Heritage made available copies of The Slasher from their collections. Brian Mahony of the FC Retirement Association devised and coordinates the Slasher Project and has been instrumental in locating many missing editions and coordinating the searches to locate all the earlier publication numbers.
The content summary below was again very kindly compiled by Diane Birkett, Bedfordshire. See PDF attachment link below the text summary to view the full document. A total of over 420 issues or publications were produced between January 1948 and the final publication in 2010.
Agricultural Show Dates
The Commission will be exhibiting at the major Agricultural Shows.
May 16-18, Devon County Show, Barnstaple; May 24-25, Shropshire and West Midland, Shrewsbury; May 31-3 June, Bath and West, Brighton; June 7-8, Great Cheshire, Chester; June 13-15, Three Counties, Leominster; June 21-24, Royal Counties and Sussex County (combined show), Bognor Regis; June 28-29, Royal Norfolk, Sandringham; July 4-6, Royal, Oxford; July 11-13, Yorkshire, Malton; July 18-19, South Eastern Counties, Tunbridge Wells; July 26-28, Royal Welsh, Abergele; August 2-5, Royal Lancs., Bolton; August 31, Monmouthshire, Monmouth; Sept 14, Montgomeryshire, Welshpool.
Highland Show June 20-23 at Paisley.
S.J Betterton, Foreman, the Dean, will be in charge of the Commission's exhibit for the second year, assisted by R.K. Hart, Foreman, Bramshill, South East England, and R.C. Scammell, Forest Worker in New.
Plane Crash in Forestry Nursery
Forestry workers at Tair Onen Nursery, the largest nursery in Wales, had remarkable escapes the other day when a Bristol freight plane crashed in their midst.
The plane was on a test flight and the four occupants lost their lives. The crash occurred only eight miles or so from the scene of the recent disaster of the Tudor airliner, in which 80 people who were returning from the International Rugby Match in Ireland were killed.
Forester F. Slatter was first on the scene, being only 50 yards away from the plane when it hit the ground. He was followed by Forest Worker Little, but unhappily, it was apparent that little could be done. Tair Onen gives employment to an average 150 workers, and at the time of the crash quite a number of the younger employees were in the vicinity. Fortunately none was hurt, and as far as can be ascertained, the damage caused in the nursery was not great, though wreckage spread over a considerable area.
From York to London and Vice Versa
Mr G.J.L. Batters, Conservator, North East England since 1947, is being transferred to the Office Of Director, England, whom he will assist as Conservator, State Forests. He will succeed Mr C.A. Connell, who is leaving London for York, to take up Mr. Batters' former post.
German Foresters’ Visit - Former PoW as Escort
An out-of-the-ordinary assignment recently came the way of District Officer J.R. Hampson, of North Wales, for with representatives of the British Council and the Royal Forestry Society of England and Wales, he escorted a party of German foresters bent on seeing something of the Commission's operations and of private estate forestry in this country. The visit was organised at the instance of the British Council, and District Officer Hampson played a leading role because he speaks some German, having had an opportunity to improve his knowledge of this language when as an RAF pilot, he was shot down over enemy territory and became a prisoner.
Leader of the German delegation, which comprised seven experts of the German Forest Administration, was Oberlandforstmeister Wilhelm Hausman. The programme included a visit to Thetford Chase, the Commission's great forest area in East Anglia; to the Duke of Buccleuch's estate near Kettering; Capt. Welryche-Whitmore's estate near Bridgnorth, Shropshire; Clocaenog and Gwydyr forests and the Forester Training School, Capel Curig, all in North Wales; Leighton woodlands, near Welshpool, by permission of Mr C.P. Ackers; the Imperial Forestry Institute, Oxford; and nearby Bagley Wood.
Illness of Mr E.J.S. Hinds
Best wishes for a speedy recovery are extended to Mr E.J.S. Hinds, Chief Clerk in the office of
Director, England, who recently entered hospital for an operation. It is understood, that this has been satisfactorily performed and that the patient is making progress.
“Marriage” of Forest and Coalmine - Booklet on Rheola, South Wales
The third booklet in the series describing the bigger State forests has been published. It deals with Rheola Forest, in South Wales, and tells an absorbing story of how tree-planting has not only brightened the drab, industrial Neath Valley, but is ensuring a supply of home-grown pitwood for the nearby coalmines and obviating some of the need for imports.
Like its predecessors - Forest of Ae and Culbin - this booklet is well illustrated. A photograph which appears on the inside cover is of outstanding interest and significance, for it shows Corsican pine not only growing but flourishing on an abandoned pit dump. We are told that the formation of Rheola Forest is typical of the work now going on throughout South Wales. Planting by the Commission commenced in 1922 and now, 30 years later, "the oldest plantations are yielding substantial quantities of pitprops and give promise of producing fine sawmill timber later on...........Moreover, the green mantle of foliage spreading across both sides of this industrial valley provides a welcome contrast to the bare hillsides, with dumps of coalpit refuse, that disfigure so much of South Wales". While tree planting has proceeded steadily year by year on the central blocks of the forest, extensions have been made over the neighbouring hills, and ultimately plantations will extend from the valley of the Tawe in the west to that of the Pelena in the south, with outriders near Rhigos in the north.
The labour force employed at Rheola in 1949, we are informed, totalled 128 men, and this number is expected to increase as the area of plantations requiring thinning expands. A high proportion of the men employed are ex-miners who have left the pits because of occupational disease. Thus forestry gives employment to a section of the working population that might otherwise be forced to remain idle; and the employment it provides is continuous - an important factor in an area such as the Neath Valley, which has known more than its share of unemployment in times of industrial depression.
Rheola covers nearly 14,000 acres, and by 1949 nearly 7,000 acres had been placed under plantations. Of the balance, some 2,500 acres consist mainly of mountaintops which are under sheep grazing. The current planting programme is nearly 1,000 acres a year, so that in four or five years the whole of the plantable land at present available will be carrying tree crops. The thinning programme, now only approaching 250 acres a year, will expand until out of the total of 11,000 or so acres of plantations ultimately established, around 2,000 acres will need attention every year. The desire is to maintain forever hillsides, once barren and unproductive, as green and fruitful sources of the timber that will always be needed in these busy Welsh valleys.
The booklet is priced at 6d.
News From West Scotland - Conservancy Lectures Continued
The series of lectures which is being given to the Conservancy Office staff continues to prove interesting. Recent lectures have included the following: "Conservancy Office Estate Section", by Mr W. McMillan; "Silvicultural Operations", by State Forest Officer H.V. Dier; "Private Woodlands", by District Officer M. Long; "Functions of the Engineering Branch (Roads), by Conservancy Engineer A. Green; "Functions of the Mechanical Engineering Branch," by Mr N. Deverla; "Forestry Commission Organisation," by Mr T. Farmer, Chief Clerk; and "Forestry Commission Finance", by Conservancy Accountant J. Steele.
Badminton In a previous issue we reported a win for the Glasgow office over the "Davie Ross Select" at Aberfoyle. Forester Ross subsequently issued challenge to a return match, which took place in Glasgow and resulted in Forester Ross and his team having their revenge by winning 5 games to 4.
On March 18th the day of the Scotland versus England Rugby International, a bus load of Glasgow office staff descended upon Edinburgh and attended the game. The weather was bad and all were thoroughly soaked with rain, but compensation came when Scotland converted a try to win in the closing minutes of the match. The roar might well have been heard in Savile Row. Following the game a badminton match was played between teams representing the Glasgow and Edinburgh offices, the former narrowly winning by 13 games to 12.
The Forest Rangers Make Their Bow - Football in South Wales
The Rheola Football Club is in its first season and looks forward to greater activity and enhanced reputation in 1950-51. The South Wales club came into being with an appeal for funds which resulted in £10 being raised towards the purchase of kit. A sports fund was also started, and to this each employee voluntarily contributes one shilling a month; now, despite heavy initial expenditure, the club is in quite a healthy financial position, with a balance in hand of nearly £30.
The problem of securing a suitable ground has to date remained unsolved, but it is hoped that by next season the club will be able to arrange home fixtures. Provided this is so, all concerned are confident that Rheola Forest Rangers will provide some strong opposition for local teams. The club is affiliated to the West Wales Football Association, the colours being green and white. So far this season play has been confined to friendly games, the record being: played 10; won 2; drawn 3; lost 5; goals for 20; against 31. One of the best games was against Cwmgiedd Rovers, a rival team from Cwmgiedd Forest. There is a fixture for Easter, when Rheola's opponents will be George Kent’s Welfare, a Neath & District team.
Next season, all being well, Rheola will be competing in the Neath League. We wish the club well and compliment those who have worked hard to bring it into being with a special word of approbation for Forester M.R. Maddocks, the founder, and Head Forester N. Smith, the President.
Memories of Hardknott and the W.D. Driving School
A reader writes from East Conservancy, England, "I have just read the recently published Guide to Hardknott National Forest Park. During the last three years of the war I was stationed at Keswick as an instructor at the W.D. Driving School, and therefore traversed much of the Forest Park in transport ranging from the ubiquitous jeep to 15 ton half-tracked armoured vehicles - most of the time with learner-drivers at the wheel. Many of the drivers under tuition were members of the Polish armed forces, and it is quite probable that a number of our present Polish employees have ’reconnoitered' the area in question. Forestry Commission staff in the locality, who know the wildness of the terrain, may be interested to hear of the route which was followed as a final test after a month's instruction. It was:
Keswick-Ambleside-Coniston-Walna Scar Pass-Ulpha-Boot-Wastwater- Burnmoor Track-Boot-Hardknott Pass-Cockley Beck-Wrynose Pass- Blea Tarn-Red Bank-Grasmere-Keswick.
And all in 10-11 hours.'
The journeys over Wrynose, Hardknott and Walna Scar passes were regularly undertaken in both directions, and on the first occasion on which a jeep was introduced to Walna Scar pass, the overall width of the vehicle was found to be three inches too great. This matter was soon remedied. It is to be hoped that the Engineer Staff whose lot it is to repair the roads and tracks will forgive us our trespasses, on the grounds that an emergency existed in those days.
Letter to a Conservator and Other Items
An applicant for employment wrote to a Conservator, "I very much regret having to make this request, and shall be grateful to you if you will accept this petition. As I have possible to change jobs, I should like to know how I could reach that aim which I am intended.... I shall make the greatest exertion to give you full satisfaction, dear sir."
The first of what is hoped will be a series of friendly football matches was played recently in The Dean between the Forester Training School and North Beat. Both sides showed they were capable of a high standard of football, and North Beat were three goals up at half time. In the second half the School pressed hard and scored twice, but North Beat added another goal to make the final score 4-2 in their favour. Tea was generously provided by the School.
Conservancy staff at Cambridge enjoyed a dinner and pantomime, arranged by Mr W.G. Watson.
"Forest" operations are under way on the balcony at Headquarters, outside the windows of the Stores Section. Lawson Cyprus from South East England have been planted in tubs, and tended principally by Mrs S.L. Summers and Miss A.L. Hunter. Earth was collected from home gardens and from excavation works across the way in order to fill window boxes, and the balcony has been notable for a fine show of crocus, snowdrops and primroses. There is promise of anemones, tulips, carnations and dahlias to come.
Recognition at Last - The Status of a Clerk of Works
Writing in State Service, Journal of the Institution of Professional Civil Servants, H. Cadwallader says "History informs us that the position of Clerk of Works was once that of a Royal Master Craftsman, and among the great men who occupied this position were John Thorpe, Inigo Jones, Sir Christopher Wren, Nicolas Hawksmoor, William of Wykeham, James Wyatt, Samual Pepys and Cockerell."
Transfers
G.D. Rouse, Divisional Officer, New, transferred to Headquarters as Chief Education Officer;
J.Q. Williamson, Chief Education Officer, Headquarters, transferred to Dean as Deputy Surveyor;
D.G. Campbell, District Officer, Inverness, transferred to Dingwall, N(S);
A.A. Rowan, District Officer, York, transferred to Hexham, NE(E);
C.J. Lewis, Forester, Parkhurst, New, transferred to Burley, New;
A. Morrison, Forester, Loch Ard, W(S), transferred to Carradale, W(S);
T.W. Bolam, Forester, Redesdale, NE(E), transferred to Bickley, NE(E);
J.F. Bulleid, Forester, Savernake, SW(E), transferred to Stoke Leigh, SW(E);
D.J. Cox, Forester, Haldon, SW(E), transferred to Charmouth, SW(E);
F.C. Barling, Forester, Goodwood, SE(E), transferred to Vinehall, SE(E);
P.J. Offard, Forester, Arundel, SE(E), transferred to Alton, SE(E);
W.E. Stanley, Forester, Thrunton, NE(E), transferred to Wykeham, NE(E);
E.C.W. Everitt, Forester, Charmouth, SW(E), transferred to Savernake, SW(E);
J.R. Henderson, Foreman, Lodgehill, New, transferred to Holidays Hill, New;
M.P. Salmond, Foreman, Chopwell, NE(E) transferred to Redesdale, NE(E);
E. Leyshan, Foreman, Eggesford, SW(E), transferred to Haldon, SW(E);
J.H. Styles, Foreman, Kennington, Research, transferred to Alice Holt, Research;
O. Williams, Foreman, Usk, S(W), transferred to Michaelston, S(W);
D.C. Banfill, Clerical Officer, Shrewsbury, transferred to Cardiff.
Marriages
Miss Catherine Savage, Clerical Officer, South Conservancy (Scotland) was married on Easter Monday to Ex-School Ganger James O’Mara, Redesdale Forest, North East (England),
Mr Robert Shearer, Surveyor, South Conservancy (Scotland) was married in March to Miss Avril Kyle, of Dumfries.
The marriage took place at Glasgow recently of Mr J.C. O'Hara, of the Finance Branch travelling audit team in Scotland and Miss Margaret A. Paterson.
Births
A daughter was born to Mrs Green and Mr Green, Conservancy Engineer.
A daughter was born to Mrs Blyth and Mr J. Blyth, of Establishment Section.
A daughter was born to Mrs Masterton and Mr D. Masterton, of Accounts Section.
A son was born to Mrs Brown and Mr H. Brown of the Estate Section.
A son was born to Mrs Innes and Mr P. Innes, District Officer.