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The newsletter for former Forestry Commission employees Issue 65 - Winter 2018

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From the Editor ....................................................2

Dean FTS Reunion Dinner......................................3

FCA AGM 2019......................................................3

Jamie’s Tool Collection ..........................................4

An Old Forester Remembers ................................11

Stacking Wood Art ..............................................15

“All Aboard!” ......................................................16

Retirement & TFSR .............................................18

More on Model Railway Therapy ..........................22

Early Days in Alice Holt .......................................24

100 Years of Forestry Commission in Scotland ......25

Letter to the Editor..............................................28

Life in Brief ........................................................29

Contact Details ...................................................30

FCA Today Issue 65 - Winter 2018


Just two items fromme this time. Guesswhat the first is. Ihear you say thatthere he goes again.I am cleaned out ofcopy. The dark daysof Winter are a goodtime to bang on the

keyboard. What about a write up of allthose events of the passed Summer. Somany of the groups were active then, solet us all hear about it. Surely some of therecent articles will encourage more of youto contribute. The “Old Regulars” keep thenewsletter going. We need others to helpout.

The next is 100 years of the ForestryCommission in 2019 which will be both acelebration and a wake. There is an articlein this issue by Graham Hamilton aboutevents in Scotland. He also refers toactivities in England and Wales. 2019 is acelebration of 100 years of forestry

expansion in both the FC and privatesector. All retirees can feel proud that theircontribution to forestry has resulted in thevibrant industry we have today.

I suggest that all groups think of ways tocelebrate this unique occasion. Why notplant a centenary tree in a special place sothat it lives on for the next 100 years. Havecentenary barbecues and bonfires. Involvelocal people and organisations and beproud of our results. But also tell of yourplans and events to other retirees throughour newsletter. Our celebration should bethe great event of 2019. Get plenty ofphotos and write up events for publicationin later issues of our newsletter.

But it is a wake in the sense that, at leastin Scotland and Wales, the FC has, or willbe disappearing. It will remain in England.But don’t let its demise spoil the fun. Awake is a great celebration of life. The FCshould go out with glory and a bang, not awhimper. Forestry For Ever!

From the Editor



The ex Dean FTS students' reunion dinneris on Saturday 21st September 2019.

BOOK NOW

Jerry Gissop and Martin Fletcher havebooked the Verderers' Court at the SpeechHouse for the reunion dinner on Saturday21st September 2019. They look forward toreceiving e-mail addresses from more old

Dean FTS students,particularly those at the FTS from the late50s and early 60s. Martin's e-mail addressis [email protected]

Now is the time to catch up with friendsbefore the Big Slasher gets you.

Dean FTS Reunion Dinner

Speech House, Coleford, Gloucestershire

The 2019 AGM and forest visit will be hostedby the Breckland Group and it will take placeon the 21st and 22nd May. Final details aboutthe venue are not yet confirmed but the localForest District staff have confirmed theiravailability for the forest visit and will alsobe providing an after dinner speaker.

The theme this year will be “Silviculturalresponses to climate change in EastEngland.” Delegates will learn that theconcept of Thetford as a pine forest ischanging and a wide variety of species arenow being planted.

Details of accommodation, meals andcosts will be available in the near future.

FCA AGM 2019



Jamie’s life-long passion has been a love ofheritage rural implements both large andsmall and during this time he has amasseda collection ranging from Fordson tractorsto timber scribes. Each item has beenpainstakingly and sympathetically restoredafter having been acquired by purchasingfrom auctions, stalls at agricultural showsor individuals, as well as much appreciatedgifts from former work colleagues. Skips,outside redundant forest offices followingforest amalgamations, have proved to be arich source of discarded tools andequipment.

All the tools featured here are of FC originand all the associated anecdotes are alsoFC related. The tools would most likelyhave been purchased using the official FCTool List. The cover of the one shown wasissued in 1959 and the last recordedamendment to it was made in 1968. Oncenew tools were received they were enteredon the forest stock list.

An annual stocktakeof tools was madeand every three yearsa tool audit wascarried out by somebigwig from SavileRow or Basingstokedepending on thedecade.

A completed and signed off loss reportform was required for any and every toolthat was not available for presentation forinspection.

The above image shows what is believedto be a pit saw although this is not certain.It has two interchangeable handles. Theblue and yellow yard stick marked in inchesand feet gives an indication of the lengthof the saw.

The Sandvic raker-toothcross cut saw generallyreplaced conventionaltoothed cross cuts, prob-ably for two mainreasons. Swedish steel

was considered at the time to be of superi-or quality to that forged in Sheffield, andtherefore remained sharper for longer, andthe raker tooth design gave a superior cutrequiring less effort from the sawyers,provided of course, the saw was main-tained properly. To this end Sandvicemployed a peripatetic tool instructor, a MrVidar Carlson and he visited most FCforests, as well as the Forestry Training

Jamie’s Tool Collection



Schools giving excel-lent instruction insaw sharpening. Alsoavailable was a main-tenance instructionbooklet.The stance of the twosawyers is interestingand must have put aconsiderable strainon the lower back aswell as making itdifficult to maintain alevel saw.

The kneeling position, in our experience,was more usual if not standard practice.

The Jo-Bu was an early example of alightweight (25lbs) ‘one-man’ chain saw.Previously chainsaws such as the Danarm,of which Jamie has two examples, weresomewhat unwieldy and often requiredtwo men to operate them.

Cyril Hart in his book Practical Forestrystates that in 1956 power saws were notwidely used because they were too heavy.However, Jamie’s 1959 Tool List wasamended and on page 18 all references tocrosscut saws were removed in 1968suggesting that by then the onceubiquitous crosscut was obsolete.

The design of the Jo-Bu power saw wasparticularly interesting in that the ‘chipper’chain ran along the outside of a 19inchguide bar (lower left inset) unlike modernsaws where the chain runs in a groovewithin the guide bar. The saw waspowered by a 78cc two stroke engine.




A line, from left to right, of 3lb, 4lb, 5lb, 6lband 7lb Elwell axes.

The Elwell axe featured exclusively in theTool List.

At Neroche forest in the mid to late 1950s,the 7lb Elwell reigned supreme.

A small contingent of Polish workerswielded them to great effect. Theyshortened the axe handle by cutting off theheel and that, they claimed, made the axemuch more manageable. This action wasmuch to the annoyance of the HeadForester Jimmy Fowler. He considered it tobe unsafe practice as he insisted the heel,or fawns-foot handle, as it is sometimesknown, was there to reduce the risk of theaxe slipping out of the hand.

However, as the Polish workers had allbeen through much of WW2, they took nonotice of such protestations!

The Canthook (top) was primarily intendedfor turning logs and the log jack (below)for lifting them.

FC Booklet No. 8 of 1962 states that a logjack can be described as a canthook with ablock fixed on its underside, onto which alog or pole can be lifted about 7 inchesabove the ground.

This was to assist converting poles intolengths with a ‘Bushman’ bowsaw, withoutdamaging the saw blade.




The above is taken from FC Booklet No. 8Aids to working conifer thinnings 1962.

The slasher shown here on the front of theundated Elwell catalogue is more than justa tool. It was a symbol that was used asthe title of the FC newspaper.

We suggest that it was probably depictedin this way because the slasher was onceconsidered, in some forests at least, to bean unofficial badge of office. The inexperi-enced forester would mark thinnings selec-tively with a brush and paint pot. However,once he had shown that he had masteredthe art, he was given the slasher, whichwas then often carried everywhere and notjust when marking.

The Fagg hook, Reap hook and longhandled staff hook to name but a few,were used for weeding young trees beforethe advent of chemical herbicides (H.L.Edlin wrote in 1964 that modern herbicideswere then beginning to find applications inthe control of weeds in forests).

It goes without saying that it was consid-ered most important to keep the hooksharp as the sharper the hook the less the




effort required to cut the vegetation. Tothis end, the FC supplied an edge toolgauge which was an aid to ensure thecorrect sharpening angle on the blade.Gauges like this are probably now a veryrare item and particularly so if, as Jamie’sis, it is stamped Forestry Commission.

A very sharp edge did of course come witha down side. It was all too easy to cut thetree off, generally referred to as Sheffieldblight, when weeding up a row of trees.The Assistant forester or foreman wouldfrom time to time walk up the weededrows of trees looking for severed trees andit was not good news if any or many werefound. To counter the inevitable reprimandthe tops of the severed trees were carefullyburied amongst the cut vegetation or evenpushed back into the ground! The freshlycut white end of any visible upright treestem remaining in the ground wassmeared with mud.

Two bark peeling tools left and right areshown with a brashing or pruning chisel inthe middle.

The chisel was used to brash standingconifers. However, it was not a populartool because it was all too easy to damagethe bark and the brashing saw (not shown)was generally preferred.

The peeling tool below would be forged bya local blacksmith to a known pattern. Theone shown was made by the blacksmith inDulverton, Somerset. These peelers wereused to strip Oak bark for tanning leather.

The bark was removed as soon as the sapstarted to rise and before bud burst.

Initially the bark was removed from thestanding tree from ground level to about 6feet. The remainder was stripped from thestem and larger branches as soon as thetree was felled.




The leather tape with a brass dumbbell onthe end is a volume measuring tape andwas available from and marked “Stanley ofLondon”. It is a high quality item with thenumbers in hoppus feet embossed into theleather. This one is capable of measuringfelled logs up to 40 cubic feet.

The timber scribe was used to carve thelog number on the butt end of the felledlog. Again this is an extremely well madehigh quality tool. The numbers werecarved using straight lines and arcs.

These numbers were copied from a notebook c1961.

The scribe was also used to mark felledpoles for conversion into the lengthsdemanded by various markets, such as pitwood, fencing and pulp.

This silver bugle withits original cord stillattached was givento Jamie by PeterBeale and is probablythe most interestingitem in his collection.

We know it is ex Forestry Commissionbecause it has Forestry Commissionstamped on it.

As far as we can determine, the most likelyuse for it was as a fire alarm. However, itcould have only had a limited range whenused to raise the alarm.

Before the mobile phone, reporting a firewas often not that easy unless there was afire tower, in which case there would be atelephone land line link to the forest office.

The largest forest areas had a radiocommunications network each with theirown designated call sign. However, in thesmaller forest areas, the fire duty reportingprocedure could be rather different.

The fire duty observers would have theirown transport - a bicycle - and wouldcruise the lanes in and around the forest.

If smoke was spotted or smelt, they wouldconsult the map provided that had thelocation of all the local red telephone boxesmarked on it. Then cycle as fast as theycould to the nearest box, which was




inevitably always uphill, and phone theforest office.

The forest office was often attached to theHead Forester’s house and it was notunknown for the Head Forester to invitewhoever was on duty to cut a few logs tofuel the kitchen Rayburn, whilst waiting forthe telephone to ring.

The fire sign shown here was often locatedbeside the forest gate, together with astand of fire brooms or beaters.

The brooms were usually made with aBirch or Ash handle and a head of Birchtwigs. However, these were superseded bythe ‘flappy’ belt beaters made from collieryconveyor belt that are still used today.

Brooms and beaters were usually made upduring wet time, generally in a coveredwork area in the forest yard.

Ex army Nissen huts were often used toprovide the covered area and if you werelucky, there would be a Tortoise stovesomewhere near the middle.

On a cold wet day, the air in the hut wouldbe somewhat thick with a combination ofwood smoke leaking from the stove, tailormade cigarettes, most likely Woodbines inthe South and Park Drive in the North, rollups of Golden Virginia and Rizla papers andpipes burning herbal tobacco. The latterwas a much cheaper alternative to the likesof St Bruno Flake.

The once ubiquitous forest name plate isnow a rarity and much sought after. Thesesigns represent an era and ethos thatregrettably appears to have largelydisappeared.

Michael Dickenson, one of the instructorsat the Forest of Dean training school in the1950s and 60s tried, with mixed successwe suspect, to foster a spirit of

in his students. This is probably notsurprising as he was ex RAF and hadreportedly been in a prison camp in Japan.

Not all of Jamie’s tools are featured here.

There are a number of others including themighty Rutter, but they have yet to be fullyrestored. Perhaps when they are and ifthere is sufficient interest out there, theycould be included in a future ‘Jamie’s toolcollection Part 2’.




My life in forestry began in September 1949when I was appointed a District Officer inthe Forestry Commission. That is a longtime ago; the working environment wasvery different from now, and so were livingconditions. I thought it might be of interestto record how a past generation workedand lived their lives in the middle of the lastcentury.

I think I must have been a very sensibleyoung man in 1949 as one of the first thingsI did was to join the Society. The Districtto which I was appointed (at a salary of£660, £60 of which was a supplement forwar service) consisted of four forests inDumfries-shire. Twiglees and Castle O’erwere at Eskdalemuir and Newcastleton andTinnisburn were in Liddlesdale.

Newcastleton was one of the Commission’soldest forests and was just coming into

production with thinning. The other threewere in the course of being planted.

Each of the forests was in the charge of aHead Forester. Newcastleton, as the largestforest, had an Assistant Forester. All thefour Head Foresters lived in their forests,usually in the farmhouse of the hill farmsthey originally had been. At Castle O’er anew house had been built on the site.

The forest offices consisted of woodensheds, usually in the garden. My centre wasto be Langholm and I found a house inBentpath, a few miles north of Langholm.Coincidentally, it was the same one as thatlived in by Jock Maxwell Macdonald and hiswife when he worked in this area in the1930s. It was large and very cold in winter!There were two oases of warmth - thekitchen with its Aga and the sitting roomwith its coal fire.

An Old Forester Remembers

Construction of the first forest road in Newcastleton Forest to the Kershope Burn (and thusto the Kershope Forest and England), August 1950. The author is in the foreground.



For transport the Head Forester had a van,with the exception of the Tinnisburn for-ester who had to make do with a motorcy-cle and sidecar. His house was very isolatedand he did not have a telephone. He hadto take his motorcycle to the main road anduse a public call box if he had some urgentbusiness.

My transport was a Morris 8 painted inwartime dark green.

Ground preparation at the three forests inthe course of establishment was carried outto a simple pattern; a single furrow Cuth-bertson plough was used and turfs werecut from the plough ridge and spread togive a planting distance of about five feet.Maintenance consisted mainly of keepingdrains in good order and, of course, fireprotection. Controlled burning of forestedges was standard and fire towers weremanned at all dangerous times.

At Newcastleton thinning and road buildingwere beginning. Felling was by bowsawwith log extraction by horse. There weretwo Forest Workers Holdings and thehorses were kept there. I can rememberthe great interest caused by a demonstra-tion of a chainsaw. One forester trying itout for the first time moved the saw backand forward just like the bowsaw to whichhe was accustomed.

Newcastleton had a small area which hadbeen windblown - the first example of asight which became only too familiar. Plantproduction had not been centralised andNewcastleton and Castle O’er both hadsmall nurseries. We all, of course, workedon Saturday mornings, and I usually spentthem in my ‘office’ - a room in my house.

Living in a fairly isolated place without a carpresented us with many practical difficul-ties. We shopped in Langholm for all‘necessities’ (food rationing was still inforce). Necessities included paraffin for ouroil heaters. A bus ran from Langholm toEskdalemuir. My recollection is that grocer-ies ordered in Langholm could be collectedfrom the bus at the end of our track.


Aluminium chute crossing the Tweedenburn ontubular scaffolding. Newcastleton, May 1951.



My official car could not, of course, be usedfor private purposes. However, two of myforests could only be reached throughLangholm and it was thus possible tocombine shopping with an official journey.

One evening my wife and I were invited todinner near Langholm. The problem againwas transport. However, it was solved byboth of us going to Newcastleton - passingour host’s house on the way - where Iofficially spent the day. We changed at theForester’s house and then presentedourselves to our hosts on the way homewithout any deviation from my official route!

The following year we were able to buy acar. It was still not easy to find one in theearly 1950s and they were very expensive.This one cost me 90 per cent of my annual

salary, but it transformed our lives. Despitethe car, our life was fairly lonely. We reliedgreatly on the radio, which I am sure westill referred to as the wireless. I rememberwith particular pleasure a Christmas partywhen we, that is all the Foresters and theirwives, were gathered round the pianosinging the old Scots songs we had alllearned in childhood. Simple pleasures butthey have left happy memories.

The Conservator for the south of Scotlandvisited us from time to time, but our maincontact with him was at a monthly meetingheld in Dumfries; not only could we bebrought up to date with forestry matters inthe wider world, but also socially. It wasthe only time we could meet and talk to ourfellow District Officers.

After two years or so I was moved to anentirely different job. I was appointed thePrivate Woodlands Officer for Roxburgh,Peebles and Selkirk and I was to be basedat Selkirk.

I had become attached to Langholm - theMuckle Toon - and had even played cricketfor the town, thinking little of walking(before I had a car) the three miles toLangholm, playing a match, and thenwalking home again.

I knew I would also miss the days out inthe forest in all weathers, followed by teain the Foresters’ warm kitchens - they allseemed to have Rayburns. These had beentwo formative years and I owe a great debtto the fine men I had the privilege ofworking with and who taught me so much.




My new job involved the general promotionof good forest management and inparticular the furtherance of the WoodlandsDedication Scheme.

I managed to find a farmhouse to live innear Selkirk, on the road to Clovenfords. Itwas again fairly lonely and for the first year,the electricity depended on the ability ofthe cattleman to start the charging enginein the evening, but it was to becomeperhaps the happiest home of my life.

The contrast with my previous job couldscarcely have been greater: from mainlyafforestation on relatively poor land in theuplands, to the management of longestablished woodlands on much morefertile land.

To visit the very varied woodlands in thislovely countryside, was both a wonderfulexperience and an education for a youngforester.

I learned what it meant to cherish the landyou manage. I remember in particular, aday spent at Bowhill with the Duke and hisHead Forester. Their discussions - andarguments - were a revelation to me. TheSociety’s excursions at this time also greatlyadded to my education. I look back on mytime at Selkirk with special pleasure.

All good things have an ending and in duecourse, it was decided I should move tofollow another aspect of the Commission’swork - all large organisations tend to worklike that.

I felt my moving from Selkirk marked theend of my ‘beginnings’ in my forestry career.

I have written this memoir about my earlydays in forestry as a record of a life whichis very different from today. I believe thesebeginnings in the lovely country of theBorders, formed a sound foundation for therest of my life.




Here’s some-thing for all youlog splitters andstackers. I’vejust looked atmy log stackand realisedthat it doesn’teven begin tolook like woodart. In fact Ihave to be

careful it doesn’t collapse when I removesome to take into the house! Although Iam a little suspicious that the illustrated logstacks are designed more to impress thanto be a conventional log store.

Unsurprisingly, stacking wood has beendeveloped in Norway where I understandthat it displays a male prowess.

However stacking wood art is altogetheranother subject. So I must be careful onthis one as I am sure there are outstandingfemale stacking wood artists, and on this,male prowess may be a myth. I am certainthe ladies would challenge the men andwould never be outdone. Remember theTimber Jills of WW2. They did all that theTimber Jacks did and, I am sure, stackedtimber just as well.

Stacking Wood Art

The YouTube link will give you more fun viewing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BnZZzvIDrE

As a bonus, look at the YouTube links to wood art in the home:

https://youtu.be/TAt21e4dKOc

https://youtu.be/4Ymp7hmae14



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UXs8WH_VHQ



A dream opportunity in retirement must bejoining a cruise ship for a free ride as aguest lecturer. Like most readers of FCAToday, just a dream it was. But I use thepast tense, for in the last 18 months mywife and I have enjoyed three cruises, oneto the Canaries and two in the watersaround the British Isles. And because someof the talks have a tree theme, I thoughtreaders would be interested in how it cameabout.

Two years ago, my wife and I gave eachother the same 70th birthday present, wewent on our first ever cruise, acircumnavigation of the British Isles. Wesailed from Tilbury on Saturday eveningand the next morning went to the on-boardchurch service. Half way down the aisle toour seats in the auditorium, the cruisedirector, who runs all the passengerentertainment, intercepted me and said,'You look like a minister, would you do oursecond Bible reading?' I had a Bible undermy arm but, honestly, no dog-collar!

The mystery deepened. The reading wasPhil. 8-18. The cruise director had simplychecked a website for that Sunday's read-

ings and this was it. The reference Phil.was surprising; it was not Paul's letter tothe Philippians, familiar enough to many,but the short one to his friend, Philemon,whose slave, Onesimus, had run away,become a Christian through Paul's preach-ing, and was now returning to his 'owner'.Paul told Philemon that Onesimus wouldnow be far more useful to him. I give thisoutline since it is the gist of what I said tothe congregation before reading this unfa-miliar passage, so as to give context. Atthe end of the service, the cruise directorthanked me enthusiastically and we gaveit no further thought.

By the following Friday, we had failed tovisit the Outer Hebrides, and scheduledstops in the Scillies and the Channel Is-lands were cancelled owing to the seastate. This meant a full day at sea and noports of call where we could disembark.The cruise director would have to put onmore entertainment for disgruntled pas-sengers. I dropped him a note to say thatI had on a memory-stick my God's Treespresentation, and would he like an im-promptu talk? I was paged over the ship'sintercom at midday and then at 3pm thatafternoon (in the same auditorium wherethe church service had been), I had anaudience of 150 passengers. The cruisedirector listened for the first 20 minutesand left. And that was how I came to berecommended to the company as a guestlecturer.

So what is the deal? My wife and I have afree cabin in exchange for my giving 4 – 6talks and conducting the Sunday churchservice.

“All Aboard!”



So far, the latter has included one Christ-mas and one Easter day service. The lec-tures have topics like 'Britain's remarkablewoods and what's happening to them','Mary Jones and her Bible', and 'How towrite a book and get it published' as wellas 'God's Trees'. Lecture is a rather grandname as, really, interest and entertainmentcome before information in presentationstyle.

Things are, of course, a little more compli-cated. First, I don't know more than a fewmonths in advance whether I will be of-fered a cruise. Secondly, the companyneeds to know the subjects and outlines ofeach talk. Thirdly, I must have enoughavailable for each full day at sea whichusually means at least 10 topics to offer.Fourthly, an hour after embarking, I amgiven the programme which can mean twotalks on some days and then none forseveral days. Indeed, during the Eastercruise this year, on the morning afterembarkation, I had the Easter Day serviceto conduct, all pre-prepared by me onPowerpoint from hymns to readings to

sermon headings, followed immediately bymy first talk, 'Trees in the Easter story'.Finally, as the cruise progresses, I have tobe ready to give an unscheduled talk atshort notice if the itinerary changes.

It's really great fun and a great privilegeand I enjoy the opportunities, and what away to spend some of one's retirement.

But I have a confession. The God's Treestalk that so impressed the cruise directorwas not the first time I'd given it, it wasprobably the fifty-first! Since publication in2013 of my coffee-table book,

,numerous requests have been made togive presentations. As I write, the total isnow up to 100 or so and the book itself hasproved so popular that a second edition isdue out this autumn (2018).

I had never planned to become an on-board guest lecturer, but then in life doesone ever know what the future holds? Forus as Christians, my wife and I can onlysmile at what God had up his sleeve meta-phorically speaking.

ReferenceEvans, J (2018)

. Second Edi-tion. Day One, Leominster. 198 pp.

If you want to get in touch with Julianabout a talk, do e-mail him on: -

<[email protected]>

“All Aboard!”



Tools for Self Reliance (TFSR) is the charityI chose to work for on leaving the FC in2003. It has been going for nearly 40 yearsand the idea came from Glyn Roberts wholived in Gosport. Returning home after twoyears VSO spent in Africa in Tanzania,“Mum” he said, “if only they had bettertools, they could do so much more to earna living for themselves and their families”.Mum said, “Well there are your Dad’s toolsin the garage and your friend Brian downthe road, his father has died and he hadmany tools”.

Brian and Glyn measured from a map thelength of roads with domestic housing inGosport, Fareham, Lee-on-Solent,Portsmouth and Southsea and working ontwo garages of tools per road, sooncalculated they could fill a container to shipout to Tanzania. So began a nationalcharity in the crypt of a Baptist chapel inGosport with requesting and collectingtools, which were then sorted, cleaned,sharpened and refurbished by volunteersfor artisans in Africa. Their strap line todayis “Practical Help for Practical People”.

It is now a charity covering the UK withtools and also sewing machines, coming infrom over 30 TFSR groups from Aberdeento Bristol. Almost 700 people volunteertheir time to ensure the continuing successof Glyn’s original idea. These groups collecttools locally, do some sorting andrefurbishing and, in few cases, make upcomplete tool kits. Glyn’s idea and concepthas spread to other countries, particularlyin the Netherlands.

There has been a huge metamorphosissince the Baptist chapel basement manyyears ago. In 1984 TFSR was able topurchase in the village of Netley Marshnear Southampton, a 1.5ha freehold of anold farm yard, barns and buildings, as wellas a semi-detached three bedroom houseclose to Southampton docks.

Retirement and TFSR



Once some old buildings had been clearedand the herbage, bramble and otherdetritus burnt and some of the other farmsheds renovated, TFSR moved in. Itacquired a mass of warehouse shelvingfrom an old Sellotape factory in Londonwith some extra ones from the FC at TheQueen’s House in Lyndhurst.

Subsequently, a substantial legacy and agrant enabled the original building to beextended to double its size. This housesthe space for daily arrivals of incomingtools and equipment to be unloaded andsorted. It also includes the machine shopwith pillar drill, lathe, bench grinders, gritblaster, wire brushes and a very accuratepiece of kit for sharpening twist drills downto 1/8-inch diameter. Next to this is thecarpenter’s shop, where boxes and cratesare made for shipping the tool kits andtreadle sewing machines. These areassembled from reclaimed timber fromlocal factories. Finally there is a sewingmachine workshop. Each machine beingsent to Africa (450 per annum) is strippeddown, maintained and if necessary,repaired. Hand operated Series Y Singersewing machines made after 1921 arerequired, for which world-wide spares areavailable. Some 240-volt machines arenow sent as electrification is increasing inAfrica.

The original dog kennel building housesthe warehouse for the storage ofunrefurbished and refurbished tools.Above that on the mezzanine floor, sewingmachines are racked ready for shipment instout cardboard banana boxes collected

from local supermarkets. Haberdashery isalso collected and sorted and starter kitsare made up to accompany each sewingmachine. This consists of a 6-bottle sizewine box, into which fits a biscuit or sweettin. In the tin goes a selection of pins,buttons, safety pins, hooks & eyes,needles, scissors, zips, poppers andknitting needles. 10% or 40 of the tinsrequired per annum come from the FCoffices at Bucks Horn Oak and Queen’sHouse.

Two ladies sort incoming haberdashery,mainly from ‘mum’s old sewing box’. Theyneed lots of little boxes or tins to run thisproduction assembly line for the 450 kitsneeded each year. Any vintage old tins aresold on ebay and £5000 has been raised inthe past seven years. Likewise, anyspanners that arrive stamped Rolls Royceor Jaguar or other valuable items are soldsimilarly.

Surplus haberdashery and tool sales areconducted twice a year. The cashgenerated is important as a container costs£3-5000 to send. The lower price is forconsignments of tools to Sierra Leone andGhana.

Retirement and TFSR



Shipping costs are higher to Malawi andZambia, which is round the Cape toDurban and then overland from the port.

Tool kit packing is done by ‘long termvolunteers’ who come under the Erasmus+Scheme for a year and are accommodatedin the house on site. From the kit lists,tools are selected from the refurbished toolracks, marked A – Z, with the standardwarehouse system of shelf 1 at the bottomand up to shelf 5. The cross-referencesheet identifies where to find, say nutrunners, brick layers line and pin or maybepanel beating dollies.

We volunteers, over 100 in the course of aweek at Netley Marsh, select what tools wewant to work on for the next toolconsignment. About 6 – 8 half shippingcontainer loads are dispatched per annum,with perhaps 100 – 120 tool kits, about7,000 – 8,000 tools and 50 plus sewingmachines. When selecting pairs ofscissors, for example, there will beeverything from tailors’ shears toembroidery scissors. They are sharpenedto a very high standard as they have to beable to cut fabric the entire length of theblade, so usually there is about a 40%scrappage rate. My tool refurbishingpreference is for sharpening saws, rip,cross cut, hand, tenon or gentleman, andI have found that the engineering skills Ilearnt in my FC career and when workingwith the UK Atomic Energy Authority areparticularly useful. However, I often dogrounds maintenance work, such as drainsmaintenance (that dustbin account weused to find so useful in our budgeting

days), gutter cleaning and of course treefelling and pruning.

The list in the main workshop states whichcountry the next consignment is for andthe tools required. This might be 40 ballhammers, each fitted with a new handle,60 pairs of gas pliers, 100 medium flatfiles, 10 shovels, 5 sledge hammers and 30long spirit levels.

Sale of scrap metal adds to the sale fromunsuitable tools. At least 20% of toolsdelivered are scrap, broken or worn out.Income of £1000 per month derives fromsorting out the high value non-ferrousscrap brass, copper, aluminium, lead,electric cable, motor armatures and fieldwindings, 13A plugs, stainless steel andeven lowly ferrous metal.

I have covered the UK end so how does itall work the other end in Africa? Tool kitsare specially designed for a carpenter andjoiner, blacksmith, motor mechanic, bikerepairer, shoe maker, tailor, bricklayer.They are made up against requests andthen allocated. This allocation is achievedby TFSR working with NGOs in the fiveAfrican countries where the charity

Retirement and TFSR



operates. These are Uganda, Zambia,Malawi, Sierra Leone and Ghana. TheNGOs identify young people who have hadto leave school early and who have notbeen able to find formal employment.They pursue a 12-month trainingprogramme which includes business andlife skills training. Kits of tools, equipmentand sewing machines are sent to assist inthe training and are also given tograduates to enable them to start theirown business.

One thing that is important to thecreditability of TFSR is follow up auditing.This is carried out annually in all fivecountries to ensure that money, time andequipment are well spent and providesimportant feedback to the major cashdonors to TFSR.

When TFSR is viewed from outside, twostrategies stand out. Firstly, it is a ‘bottomup’ charity where the help is delivered at

the bottom of the economic chain.Secondly, it is a win win situation.

Best use is made of surplus good qualityserviceable tools and equipment in the UK.Also, volunteers appreciate their lifetimeskills being utilized. They share with oneanother quality control techniques andhave the knowledge that the tools areappreciated in Africa.

All volunteers use their knowledge to helpidentify unusual or mystery tools thatarrive at Netley Marsh. I have been askedto identify Swedish Axes and a Schlichspade. Some tools like bill hooks are soldthrough TFSR Cymru and find a readymarket amongst small Welsh Hill farmers.

For me in retirement, I feel I am puttingsomething back into the world and utilizingskills I have acquired. Also, I much enjoythe social side over coffee and lunch wherevolunteers from a wide range ofbackgrounds mix.

More information can be found atwww.tfsr.org where you can sign up forthe newsletter.

Retirement and TFSR



The building of my model OO Gauge railwaylayout continued for some weeks andinvolved laying out track in several differentpermutations to see which layout made themost of the space and track available, andwhich suited the locos, coaches and wagonsthat I had purchased.

Wiring the track and track points was a biglearning exercise, because the trackpointsor "turn-outs" as they are technicallyknown, had to be operated remotely bysolenoids, each of which had to have threewires attached to operate it, and all wireswere hidden underneath the base board.

In addition, wires to the track were alsounder the baseboard and brought upthrough 2mm holes at different intervals toprovide power to the track. Finally, I endedup with a layout of three continuous loopswhich were interconnected by six "turn-outs" and a siding where locos could beparked.

Christmas brought in various OO Scalebuildings and accessories to make it a morerealistic layout.

My interest in model railways became atalking point with some of my neighbours,elderly and retired, and who wanted to seewhat it was all about.

It also aroused the interest from twoestablished model railway "nerds", oneliving nearby and the other living in thesouth of England, who had been visiting mynext door neighbour.

Having constructed a working modelrailway, raised the question "What do I donow?" Did I now just want to watch threetrains running round the tracks.

I could buy more rolling stock and add tothe scenery etc but space was limited andmy interest would have waned.

So I dismantled the layout and built a newframework supporting a larger 1.5 x 1.8mbaseboard. This will give more space toconstruct an impressive and more realisticlayout.

More on Model Railway Therapy



Back to my original question:

"How do you fill the void left when yourcompanion, friend and wife of sixty threeyears of marriage dies?"

The answer is still the same, "you can't".

But I have found a way of filling some ofthose lonely hours with a hobby I find veryconstructive for me, my family and mygreat granddaughter as well as making newfriends with very supporting neighbours.

I can be contacted via e-mail at:

[email protected]

More on Model Railway Therapy



On completing my two years forester trainingat Lynford Hall in the early 1950s, I received aletter from Alice Holt offering me a post as aforest ganger in the Mensuration Section at£3-0s-6p a week. I accepted and wasinstructed to report to Mr. Hummel and wasinformed that, as this was my firstappointment, I was not eligible for travellingexpenses. How this offer came about, I can’tbe sure as during my time at Lynford I hadnever shown an interest in or aptitude formensuration. If I had to state a preference forwork in the FC, it would have been for research.

I, along with Rex Howell, presented myself toFred Hummel at the Mensuration office up thestairs in the old house at Alice Holt. Also there,were John Jeffers and John Christie who wereproducing general yield tables for the commonforest species from the sample plot files.

Our first job was the conversion of data toover bark, or was it the other way around?Anyway, it was before the availability ofelectronic calculators and we used unwieldycylindrical slide rules and the deadly “Plusadder”. I also remember the formidable“Brunswiga” calculator which, in some ways,resembled the temperamental cash registerfeatured in Arkwright’s shop in “Open allhours”.

After a month on this tedious task, we moveddownstairs to join Mike Locke and his team inthe Census Office. There we checked andclassified the woodland census forms which

had been prepared by field parties during theyear.

After another month, my time at Alice Holt wasup and I was transferred to the NorthernSample Plot Party with instructions to report toAlex MacKenzie at Douglas Crescent,Edinburgh. So I packed my bags and headednorth.

During my short spell at Alice Holt, I stayed atMoor Park which was an imposing countrymansion house near Farnham that had seenbetter days. In my time there, it was a kind ofChurch of England college or retreat being runby the aptly named Canon Parsons. Theaccommodation was basic, but after myexperience in various forestry camps, it wasadequate.

Long after I left Moor Park, I discovered thatit had quite a history. For a period in the late1600s to the early 1700s, it had been thehome of the writer and satirist, JonathanSwift, as secretary to the diplomat Sir WilliamTemple.

So there you go! Moor Park has another claimto fame. Ted Baldwin lived there, albeit briefly,in the early 1950s!

Early Days in Alice Holt

Moor Park, Farnham, Surrey.



Next year the Forestry Commission will be100 years old.

There is a strong feeling, particularlyamong retired staff, that this event is wellworth celebrating, as it certainly will be.

However, there are one or twoimpediments to a united front so far as anationwide celebration is concerned. In thecase of Wales, the Forestry Commissionceased to exist a few years ago and is notgoing to see the centenary of theorganisation as we knew it. Nevertheless,the centenary will be marked in Wales,though the details are not yet available.

There was not much enthusiasm among FCin Wales for the changes when they werefirst proposed, and the message that hassubsequently emerged from Wales is thattheir reorganisation has not been thehappiest of outcomes for forestry or for theFC. No doubt some will not share that view.

In England, the Forestry Commission willcontinue and there are well establishedplans to celebrate the 100 year milestone.

The following website describes theseplans:

In Scotland, the Forestry Commissionceases to exist on 1st April 2019 and willbecome ‘Forestry and Land Scotland’ in thecase of Forest Enterprise Scotland and‘Scottish Forestry’ in the case of ForestryCommission Scotland (the ForestryAuthority). It is disappointing that the FCas presently constituted will fall short ofthe 100 years milestone by a matter of afew months but that will not be allowed toget in the way of the party.

There have been mixed feelings about thenew organisation. Both parts of theorganisation will report to the Environmentand Forestry Directorate of the ScottishGovernment. Many commentators hold theview that there is merit in the arrangementwhere the FC at present is at arm’s lengthfrom government. It remains to be seenhow the new structure will fare.

There has been some murmuring thatperhaps not enough attention is beinggiven to the centenary by the FC inScotland. It is understandable that thestaff are perhaps more focused on thefuture of their respective organisations atpresent, than on the 100th birthday of theorganisation. Of course, the Forestry Actand the birth of the Forestry Commissionimpacted forestry and the wood-usingindustries beyond the confines of the FCand these sectors have as much reason tomark the 100 years as those of us whoworked for the FC.

100 Years of the Forestry Commission in Scotland

https//www.forestryengland.uk/100



At the annual excursion of the RoyalScottish Forestry Society in Inverness inApril this year, in answer to a question, theForestry Minister, Fergus Ewing, firmlyendorsed the idea that this event should becelebrated.

Emerging from that meeting, a committeeof the Royal Scottish Forestry Society hasbeen formed to help create a suitableprogramme of events across Scotland.

The committee are Syd House (RSFS/ICF),Malcolm Wield (RSFS), Peter Quelch(RSFS), Bryce Reynard (RSFS) and GrahamHamilton (RSFS/ICF) (all retired FC), plusIain Laidlaw (FCS), Carol Evans (WoodlandTrust) and Eleanor Harris (Confor).

We are in touch with Forestry CommissionScotland, Forest Enterprise Scotland andForest Research regarding the evolution ofa comprehensive programme, which is notyet finalised.

There are, however, several events thatare confirmed or in the pipeline which areworth a mention at this stage. The first ofthese will be a Burns Supper, ‘Celebrating100 years of Forestry Achievement’, to beheld at the Salutation Hotel in Perth on 25th

January. This is an RSFS event organisedby Syd House. It is expected that allsectors of the industry will attend thesupper. Anyone wishing to attend shouldcontact George Moore, Executive Director,RSFS, e-mail [email protected]

Another event being planned by RSFS isthe Annual Excursion which takes place

next May, mostly in Argyll. The last part ofthe excursion will be to Cashel Wood,which is on the east shore of Loch Lomondand which is owned by RSFS. A CentennialPath will be opened by a prominentpersonage and the 100 years theme willfeature throughout the excursion.

There are several key dates in 2019 whichmark the various events around the birthof the Forestry Commission, and eachprovides an opportunity to flag up thewhole industry’s achievements and to lookforward to the impact that forestry canmake in the next 100 years. The ForestryAct (1919) which created the ForestryCommission got Royal Assent on 19th

August and came into force on 1st

September 1919. The first ForestryCommissioners were appointed on 29th

November 1919. The first meeting of theForestry Commission was on 7th December1919 and the first tree was planted on 8th

December 1919.

There is a well-versed story about theplanting of the first tree. At the firstmeeting of the Forestry Commission inLondon, Lord Lovat, the first chairman,agreed to have a race to plant the first treefor the FC with Lord Clinton, also a ForestryCommissioner. Lord Lovat travelled northby train to Elgin where he received atelegram from Lord Clinton confirming thathe had already planted the first tree at hisestate at Eggesford in Devon on 8th

December 1919.

Though he lost the race, Lord Lovatproceeded to Monaughty Forest, where he

100 Years of the FC in Scotland



planted the first tree for the FC in Scotland.We hope to re-enact this next year atMonaughty, possibly the last of the eventsto celebrate the centenary in 2019.

Among the other events now underdiscussion are an open day at one or moreof the companies of the timber usingindustry, an Institute of CharteredForesters conference on the 100 yearstheme, another conference involving theWoodland History Group, possibly a newwoodland created to commemorate thecentenary and several other events.

The forestry stand at the Highland Showand at other local shows will be focusingon the ‘100 years’ theme. Opportunitieswill be sought for TV, radio and othermedia to get the centenary publicised andto get a positive message about forestry tothe general public.It is also planned to flag up the centenaryat any ‘non-centenary’ events which takeplace regularly in Forestry Commission andother woodlands next year, e.g. car ralliesetc.I am certain that local groups of the FCAwill arrange outings, lunches and otherevents to celebrate the 100 years of theForestry Commission.There is a strong sense of pride in the FCamong retired staff and there are severalmembers of the FCA on the RSFScommittee.If anyone has suggestions to makeregarding events to mark the centenary,the committee would be pleased to havethem. Send them to any member of thecommittee or to me at:

[email protected]

I hope that we can publish more details ofthe programme of events in the Springissue of FCA Today.

100 Years of the FC in Scotland

Eggesford, Devon

Website Message BoardIf you have any news, announcementsor forthcoming events, post or e-mail thedetails to the editor. Contact details areon the back page of this magazine.

http://www.fca-today.com/messages.html



Santon Downham’s Narrow Gauge Railway

Dear Sir,

I am a Railway Modeller. I was given a copy of FCA Today, March 2006 in which there wasan article by Barry Griggs about the narrow gauge railway between the Thetford High Lodgesite and Santon Downham. This sparked my interest and I thought it would make anexcellent project for me and, hopefully, be something to display at the High Lodge ActivityCentre.

I hope to obtain more information from Barry but I should like to ask whether other readersof FCA Today remember anything about this railway. If they do, I would be pleased toreceive any further information to help with the project. I can be contacted [email protected]

Yours faithfully,

Terry Metcalfe

Letter to the Editor

Send your letters to the editor for publication in FCA Today



Dick Ayre told me thatCHRIS HODGSON hasdied at 84. Chris was born in1934 and raised in Helmsleyin the old North Riding ofYorkshire.

After National Service in theRAF, mostly in Malta, hewent to Lynford Hall. Hethen served for many yearsas ganger leading teamsassociated with the post warFC afforestation of themoors around Helmsley,mostly from Rievaulx forest,together with therehabilitation of acquiredneglected woods.

His pragmatic and quietauthority with men and hischampioning of their

conditions gained him muchjustified respect.

Latterly and until retirementas foreman he enjoyed awider brief in North YorkMoors Forest District.

His long experience ofleading men enabled him totreat contractors fairlywhilst making sure theyknew where they stood.

A keen sportsman, heplayed football for the RAFwhilst in Malta as well asenjoying badminton. Heperfected a tricky cross backunderarm shot.

He played both football, atright half, and tennis forHelmsley and friendly

badminton and squash inthe winter.

Chris was part of a familywith over 250 years of workin forestry. He was directlyrelated to an uncle, abrother and two nephews,an in-law uncle and brother-in-law together withoccasional pre-war estateforestry work by his thenfuture father-in-law andmore recently work inWykeham nursery by hissister-in-law.

He took a stroke sevenyears into retirement whichlimited what he could do.His wife Barbara heroicallynursed him at home for thelast four years.

Life in Brief

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FCA Today is an FCA productionEditor: Richard Toleman, Manuel Stables, Linlithgow, EH49 6JF. Tel: 01506 845575. e-mail: [email protected]

FCA Liaison Officer: Charles DickensFCA Today editor: Richard Toleman

e-mail Group membership enquiries to: [email protected]

Forestry Commission Association Organisers

FCA Today on Facebookby Ian Blake

I have set up a FCA Today Facebookpage. Those with an account can searchfor FCA Today to become a member. Ifyou don't have an account, I recommendyou access the site shown below to setone up.

Simply follow the steps shown - they arequite straightforward. Once you're signedup, search for the FCA Today group tobecome a member, then you candisseminate information as and when youlike.

Alternatively, there are a myriad of sitesto assist in setting up Facebook, if youdon't like this one, just type 'How to setup a Facebook account' into your browser.

http://www.wikihow.com/Set-up-a-Facebook-Account

The next issue of the FCA Today magazine will be available on thewww.fca-today.com website in April 2019.

Articles for inclusion in the next issue of the magazine should be sent to the editorbefore 1st March 2019.

The publication dates of the FCA Today magazine are: - Spring edition: 5th April,Summer edition: 5th August and Winter edition: December.

FCA Today Magazine

Do you have any articles for publication in this magazine?

Send your articles to the editorby e-mail to: [email protected]

by post to: Richard Toleman, Manuel Stables, Linlithgow, EH49 6JF.

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