John (Jock) Baillie about 1948
This photograph is courtesy of John (Jock)Baillie, Garmouth, of himself at about the time of his demob from the army. Jock had many experiences in the timber harvesting industry in his early days and remembers working with many Timber Jills. Over the years he managed to re-contact a few and has provided a number of photographs for the web site. He tells his story below:
‘‘In 1927 my father took the lease of 36 acre croft called North Crannoch in Grange about 9 miles north of Keith. Prior to this he was a saw miller and worked in different locations mostly in Aberdeenshire around the Huntly area with Symes Timber Merchants and Armstrong Timber Merchants.
I was born in 1928 and brought up at North Crannoch and went to Crossroads School. My first go at working in the timber trade was on the school holidays when I was 12 and got a job in a saw mill at Grange Station from a Mr Alex Lemon. The mill belonged to Riddoch of Rothiemay. Later, at age 13, I got an exemption from school to go to work on a farm for Mr James Clark of Fortry, Grange but only stayed about six months before going to the farm of Drakemyres, Fordyce for about 6 weeks during the harvest.
When the harvest finished the farmer, a Mr Cowie, sent me to see Mr W Rust who had horses working in the woods and I ended up dragging timber with a horse. I had been there only about 2 months when I got kicked in the face by the horse and so that was the end of that job! I then started with the Home Grown Timber Production Department at Green-hill and stayed in their camp at Oathillock, Deskford. The Gaffer was a man by the name of Bain (cant remember his first name) but he lived in a croft about 1 mile from Huntly on the Huntly Rothimay road and when he was moved somewhere else, his place was taken By Jimmy Stewart.
I was second man on a Fordson tractor, the driver being George Grant from Cornhill, but then at age 15 or16 was given my own tractor to drive. It was an International TD6 tracked machine carting timber to any of three sawmills at Green hill. I had two Timber Jills, Sheila Dewar and Betty Wilson, helping and it was about this time I was christened by them as ‘Shunshine’. The Gaffer James Stewart told me that should anyone asked my age I must say I was 17.
About 1944 we moved to Lochloy near Nairn but stayed in a Camp at Dallas. I was then driving the Puggy, a Ruston light railway engine, hauling 3 or 4 Bogies filled with hand loaded timber up to the main road which was reloaded by hand on to trucks and transported to Darnaway sawmill. The pit props were taken to Brodie Station and loaded on to railway wagons heading for the mines.
On May 1946 I was called up for the army, posted to Retford Barracks Worksop for training and then on to the Royal Army Service Corps at Cirencester where I was trained as a mechanic before being posted to Germany. One of the Timber Jill girls, Gerty Short, who I had worked with was also in Germany at the same time although a long way from where I was but we corresponded by letter at the time. She was with the Control Commission in Germany where apparently quite a few of the Timber Jill's got work when Timber Corps was demobbed in 1946.
I was demobbed about August 1948 and on arriving at home was employed in a variety of different jobs, mostly in public works and the building trade. Eventually I got a driving job with a builder, Robert Paterson, Building Contractor, Newmill, Keith, who also had a concrete block factory at Kingston and I stayed with him for about 3 years.
Following this I then bought a lorry for £30 and started selling firewood when I picked up my very first load of slabs from Sandy Watt who had a sawmill at Cromdale. He didn't charge me for that first load as my wife who also belonged to Cromdale knew him well and I also knew him from my days at Rothiemay. He came from there and I think worked with Riddoch then.
My chance to start up in haulage came when I had been in Elgin with a load of firewood. After the logs were all sold I went into the chip shop for a fish supper. Back then the chips were always rolled in a newspaper and as I was eating I started reading the newspaper and noticed that a firm called The Capital Lime Company was advertising for people to transport and spread Lime. I applied and got the job and when I invited my two Brothers to join in the business that was the birth of Baillie Brothers haulage business.
A little later I came into contact with Robert Paterson again who now had added Quarries to his business and was looking to hire lorry transport. I bought a lorry and hired it to him to supplement the 5 trucks of his own. Over time I acquired his trucks along with a contract for all his haulage and as his business grew we also expanded. In time he was bought over by builders’ merchants, McGruther and Marshall, and it has been owned by a few different firms since but we still have that same contract with them.
Although me and my two brothers have long since retired, currently the multi £million business is still wholly owned by the Baillie Family, my oldest son now being in charge.’’
Jock Baillie
Groups: Forestry Areas, Forestry in Action, Northeast Scotland , Women's Timber Corps - Timber Jills