Retirement of Gladys Cheyne from Bin Forest
Image courtesy of Helen Grant, Huntly.
Presentation to Gladys Cheyne on retiring from her clerical duties after 34 years with the Forestry Commission at the Bin Forest and latterly the amalgamated Clashindarroch and Bin forests with their office base at Gartly village.
In the line up for the presentation form the left are John Strachan (Ganger) holding the clock, Tom Baird (Forester), Jackie Duguid (Clerical Officer who trained under and took over from Gladys), Gladys Cheyne receiving her Long Service Certificate from David Foot (Assistant Conservator East Conservancy, Aberdeen) and Roy Harvey (Head Forester).
Starting in Aug 1947, Gladys who lived at Corsemaul, the high point on the Dufftown road, cycled the 7 or so miles to work every day. The morning run to work would have been relatively easy but the after work return to the 1000 foot high hilltop house especially in a wet, westerly wind must have been challenging a great many times or as they say in this part of the world ‘a gey tyaave’.
In 1956, when living in the Markethill, Glass, Gladys travelled to Huntly on Jack Keir's bus, and used her bike, which was left at the west End Garage, to get out to the office. Later she purchased a moped which gave her more flexibility with working hours. At this time Christmas Day was not a holiday in Scotland.
The office for the Bin Forest was a wooden building heated with a wood burning stove in the grounds of the Head forester’s house, Tigh Creag, next to the Aberdeen Inverness road in the Bin Forest. She initially started work for Head Forester Willie Mackay, who was followed in June 1949 by Head Forester Danny Urquhart and then latterly Chief Forester Davie Anderson who managed the amalgamated forests of Bin and Clashindarroch. Gladys also worked for a short period of time in the old style District Office at Fochabers, now the site of the town Health Centre.
Groups: Forestry Areas, Groups of people, Northeast Scotland