Newton Nursery - a history of some of the Foresters
The image is courtesy of the Newton Nursery staff 2025.
In August 2025 John Swinney, MSP, First Minister of Scotland opened the new glasshouse, cold store, machinery sheds and staff facility buildings at Forestry and Land Scotland’s Newton Nursery.
NO this is not John Swinney pictured but Sandy MacIntosh safeguarding the information card following the day’s event.
The people in this photograph represent a very large part of the history of the Newton Nursery – particularly the memories and actions of the two gentlemen on the right. The gentleman on the left is John Morgan who in the days of the England, Wales and Scotland wide Forestry Commission was in overall charge of Plant and Seed Supply Branch (PSSB). This included the three tree nurseries; Newton Nursery (Elgin, Morayshire), Wykeham Nursery (Scarborough, North Yorkshire) and Delamere Nursery (Northwich, Cheshire). John headed-up the UK wide shared service over a 13-year period between 1998 and 2011.
The gentleman in the middle is Sandy MacIntosh, Forres, who was transferred to Laigh of Moray Forest including Newton Nursery in 1972. At this time Chief Forester Jackie Frater was the forester in charge and Sandy began to hone his skills in the forest nursery trade. In 1976 Jackie Frater retired and his place was taken by Struan Stewart but Sandy by then had responsibility for the day to day running of the nursery. Sandy welcomed a new start in early January 1977, none other than Alan Duncan, the gentleman on the right. Alan was initially employed as a Forest Worker and as part of his duties he had periods of work in the forest nursery.
Sandy MacIntosh continued to manage the nursery until his retirement in 1996 following a total of 42 years with the Forestry Commission plus 2 years of National Service. Alan Duncan then took charge of what was by this time a separate unit known just as Newton Nursery and continued working as manager to mid 2025 when the reins were handed to Bryony Hewetson Ward. Alan has continued since in an over view position on the integration of the ongoing role of the expanding traditional land based nursery area and the new more highly automated plant transplanting system operating within the new state-of-the-art glasshouse.
Sandy and Alan between them cover over 54 years of the life of this nursery – a nursery that was under preparation in 1931 follow the purchase of the land by the Forestry Commission.
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Groups: Forest Nurseries, Forestry Areas, Groups of people