Forestry Memories Image Library

Graham of Perth – Portable Sawmill Bench in action and history

Tue, 8 Sep 2026 19:46:32 GMT

Graham of Perth – Portable Sawmill Bench in action and history

The details and information were sourced by Tam Anderson, Perth, and passed to Forestry Memories. Tam accessed the image above from a screen shot of the video featured in the second internet link below.

The two links provided have to be copied and pasted into the reader’s preferred browser page. The first reveals a page on William Graham by Peter from Hole Ousia. By scrolling down to the bottom of the screen Peter provides past newspaper articles on the sawmiller and a series of haunting images of his former base at Upper Lanrick Farm. The newspaper articles reveal that he was previously in business in Forres and also had a bobbin factory at Novar, Ross-shire.

The second link is that of Youtube featured Casterton Vintage Videos showing Yesterdays Farming event in Somerset. Some really nice old machines but the W. Graham, Perth, saw bench of interest is near the end of the video and shows the rack bench loaded with a log being hand cranked the old hard way through the saw blade.

https://share.google/4wgn6RRB9ieCIvS5A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc2wnT5MIpQ

Perth Garage Ltd building, at the corner of Caledonian Road and York Place Perth, May 1960

Wed, 2 Sep 2026 11:56:24 GMT

Perth Garage Ltd building, at the corner of Caledonian Road and York Place Perth, May 1960

After the “Perth Garage Ltd” was closed, having been acquired and run under at least two other company names, the upper floor of the building, at the junction of Caledonian Road and York Place, Perth, was leased to the Forestry Commission in 1973 and became their Perth District Office. It also accommodated the Forest Research outstation, Forest Survey foresters, Civil Engineers and the FC Estate Agent, when I joined the Forest Research outstation in 1985. Later the Mid Scotland Wildlife Forester occupied the office vacated by the Estate Agent, after he transferred to the FC Headquarters at Corstorphine, Edinburgh. For a short period, at the end of the tenure, the Plant Health Forester had an office in the building too.

The National Trust for Scotland, under George Stewart, retired forester, former Senior World Tennis Champion and one time Scottish Ski Club, President, who skied in France, with his family, aged 100 years in 2020 before Covid lockdown, also had offices at the western end of the building, to the right of the image.

At the rear there was another entrance to the upper floor and a flat that was separate from the offices and rented by an import/export agent. Later, when the Forestry Commission split into the Forest Authority and the Forest Districts, the Forest Authority took over the wee flat and the rear half of the Caledonian Road wing, whilst the Forest Research outstation, Surveys Branch and Mid Scotland Wildlife Forester moved towards the front corner nearest the traffic lights and the National Trust for Scotland, vacated offices were used by the FC Welfare Officer.

When the FC lease finally ended in 1998, I and the other two survey foresters, as the then sole occupiers of the whole of the upper floor, had the task of clearing the 25 years of accumulated furniture, paperwork and junk, before returning the building to the owner's agents. That was some task and the Perth & Kinross Council refuse compactor lorry (dust cart) was reversed up to the large window (behind the ESSO sign) above the entrance to the right of the front of the building and all that we couldn't recycle, gift to local schools/charitable organisations, was deposited into the back of the lorry and compacted, including the carpets that had been installed, when it was a new building for the garage. We filled the lorry!

Recently (2026) the building has been re-roofed and the upper floor has been converted into flats.

My thanks to the Perth & Kinross Local & Family History, Perth Library, for posting the image on social media, which is held in the Perth Art Gallery collection of images taken by D. Wilson Laing (photographers) and their agreement to my publishing the image on the Forestry Memories archive.

A lot of memories and lives passed through those upper floor offices, whilst they were rented by the Forestry Commission and comment from those who worked out of the building whilst it was occupied by the Forestry Commission would be welcome.

Planting programme change for Culbin Forest 1946 onwards

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 08:24:25 GMT

Planting programme change for Culbin Forest 1946 onwards

This was part of an archived file recovered from old shed store at Newton by Malcolm Hobson and Ruaridh Maxwell of Forestry and Land Scotland.

The memo possibly written by Frank Oliver as East Scotland Conservator based in Aberdeen to the Director for Scotland in Edinburgh, Henry Beresford-Peirce, with copies to possibly A E Stewart forester in Culbin but these names are not certain as being in post this early in 1946.

There is a description of pre-war annual programme of 25 acres of thatching the sand and planting but that in 1946 there was still 1500 acres of sand dunes to deal with. They had 34 workers with potential to get more. The suggested new programme is put forward as 120 acres per year but that they would require three lorries or tractors combination and a number of trailers. The request for these is put to the Directorate in Edinburgh.

Extract from Old Statistical Account describing Culbin Area and drifting sand dunes

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 08:19:21 GMT

Extract from Old Statistical Account describing Culbin Area and drifting sand dunes

The Old Statistical Account compiled and published by Sir John Sinclair contained references to the Culbin area in the parish of Dyke and Moy. This typed copy of a small part of the account was part of an archived file recovered from old shed store at Newton by Malcolm Hobson and Ruaridh Maxwell of Forestry and Land Scotland.

This copy describes some of the historical problems caused by the drifting sand covering the farmed land, blocking the River Findhorn and ‘removing’ the harbour and town of old Findhorn.

Slasher No 108

Sat, 15 Aug 2026 08:48:44 GMT