Felling team working on Norway spruce circa 1922
Photograph courtesy of Jean Cranna, Drumblade, Huntly
Photograph shows Jean’s father Charlie Smith and her uncle Sandy Smith (born 1901) working on what appears to be large Norway spruce trees thought to be somewhere on Loch Ness side and taken on the same day as the photograph with the larch tree ( Picture 709). Charlie Smith was born in 1899 and joined his father’s wood felling team after service in WW1. It is estimated that the photograph dates from about 1920-25.
The line up of the fellers are:
Top left – Dod (Sticky) Morrison (Huntly) with hat.
Top right – Sandy Smith
Bottom left – Charlie Smith
Bottom right – Unknown
The wide leather belts worn by the men on the right must have given some support to the back and stomach as they bent double to work the raker tooth cross cut saw. The braces that are hanging over Sandy Smith’s shoulder as the same style as other photograph and clothes apart from head gear is the same as other photograph.
Note the heavy wedge axes (possibly 7 lb) used by the axe men to lay-in the tree and prepare it for the saw and also to cut off the tree branches and limbs when the tree was on the ground.
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Groups: Forestry in Action, Groups of people, Tools, equipment and clothing