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Contents

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From the Editor 1

A Half Century of Work at Alice Holt 2

Yorkshire Group Activities 3

Breckland Group News 4

An Early Risk Assessment 6

Bark Stripping in Student Days 7

Halcyoné: From Forth to Hebrides 9

Book Review 15

Letters to the Editor 18

Rob Guest Writes 18

Life in Brief 19

Contact Details 20

Thanks for keeping the copy going even if it is fromthe "Old Stalwarts!"It's now Summer time, so while you are relaxing,why not put finger to keyboard and e-mail me acontribution for the Winter issue. I have a little, butnot enough. Do it - Now!

Richard Toleman

From the Editor

The newsletter about former Forestry Commission employees Issue 52 - Summer 2014

FCA Today Issue 52 - Summer 2014


A Half Century of Work at Alice Holtby Derek Patch

View or download earlier issues of FCA Todayfrom the FCA website at: -

www.fca-today.com

On Monday 10th August 1959 Brian Greigstarted his professional career in forestry whenhe joined the Pathology Branch of Researchbased at Alice Holt Lodge. 50 years later to theday, on 10th August 2009, Brian was joined byhis wife, daughter and granddaughter to planta tree to celebrate his continuing work at AliceHolt Lodge. After a career working particularlyon Fomes root rot and Dutch elm disease, Brianretired from Forest Research in 1995.He was able to continue, and expand hisinterest in tree pathology and wider damage totrees when he joined The Tree Advice Trust’sArboricultural Advisory and Information Servicebased at Alice Holt as tenants of ForestResearch.Forest Research and Trust colleagues helpedBrian plant, very appropriately, a “Princeton”elm, an elm disease resistant cultivar, in thegrounds of Alice Holt Lodge. We all hope thatit will survive at Alice Holt for at least 50 years.Postscript. The Arboricultural Advisory andInformation Service was wound up by theTrustees of The Tree Advice Trust at the endof March 2013 and so Brian’s connection withAlice Holt ended after a remarkable 54 years.



Yorkshire Group Activitiesby Dorothy Munn

The Yorkshire Group AGM was held in theBlack Swan Pickering and attended by 22members with 15 apologies.Minutes of the last meeting and Balance Sheetwere read and agreed.The Chairman, Chris Griffin, read out hisreport for 2013 followed by Richard andCharles' discussion paper on The Future ofthe FCA.

Members proposed and seconded that thecurrent Yorkshire Group Committee shouldremain in office for 2014.

During 2013, an excellent turnout ofmembers, family and friends visited LincolnCathedral and the Hemswell AntiqueCentres, Foulbridge Farm near Snainton,Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, KilnwickPercy Hall and Burnby Hall Gardens atPocklington, Wentworth Castle Gardens,Barnsley and The Sage and Baltic atGateshead. We had perfect weather on allsix occasions.The Christmas lunch was held at The Forest& Vale Hotel Pickering early December andattended by 53 members and friends.

Wentworth Castle Garden visit



Our group here in Breckland is still goingstrong with a membership of 47.However, including spouses takes thepotential turnout to around 80, so we arestill able to expect reasonable numbersto support our events. The eventsprogramme for most years is based on aspring and autumn day excursion toplaces of interest within a couple of hourstravel. In addition, at Christmas and forthe group AGM in April we hold a dinner.

The dinners are normally very wellattended with 40 to 50 members andspouses coming along. In recent yearsa Barbecue in June has attracted 20 orso folk as well.

Our small committee of six membersmeets twice a year to plan and agree theoutings we intend to arrange. Thecurrent chairman is Eric Rogers,supported by Val Marsh, (secretary),Linda Horne, (Treasurer), Jill Wood, JohnBroatch and yours truly acting as eventsorganiser. Sadly, as with many of theother groups, the average age of themembership is increasing. With verylittle prospect of significant newrecruitment in the future I suppose thegroup will slowly wither. However, whilewe can, we soldier on. Of late it hasbecome necessary to invite friends orfamily members to join the coach partiesas the cost per person is prohibitiveunless we can turn out at least 40 tocome along.

Our most recent excursion was in earlyMay this year when we visited the villageof Stoke Bruerne on the Grand UnionCanal near Towcester, Northants.

The weather forecast for the day was notgood and, sadly, turned out to beaccurate. Leaden skies for much of theday were a disappointment though,thankfully, the rain was mainly a finedrizzle for much of the day and did notstop us getting about at the destination.

On arrival at Stoke Bruerne we had aboutan hour and a half of free time to explorethis picturesque village, its museum andthe canal side towpath walks.

Lunch was taken at the Boat Inn, ahistoric canal side watering hole. Fromthere we literally stepped straight outonto the narrow boat, Indian Chief. Wefilled it to its capacity with 40 membersand embarked on a one and a half hourtrip to the village of Blisworth, the nextvillage north along the canal. Here weturned around and returned to ourstarting point.

The highlight of this voyage was the runthrough the Blisworth Tunnel. The tunnelwas opened in 1805 and is 2813 metresin length. At its deepest it is 143 feet

Breckland Group Newsby Simon Malone

Continued on next page

Stoke Bruerne



below ground. It took seven years toconstruct, partly because the initial diggingwas swamped by flooding and the tunnelhad to be realigned and a new start made.

Though not the longest canal tunnel in thecountry, it is the longest built to allowdouble running of traffic, boats passing inthe tunnel with 24” clearance in total, i.e.eight inches between the boats and eightinches to each side wall of the tunnel. Ahairy experience in the darkness as wewere able to experience on our trip!

The tunnel is dead straight allowing thefurther end to be in sight as a pin prick oflight initially. It was built because the onlyalternative would have been to build aflight of locks over a hill. This would havebeen an expensive option as there is nonatural water supply on the top of the hillto replenish the locks and it would havebeen necessary to install pumping gear toget water to the top. Each lock operationuses around 50,000 gallons of water.

In the 1980’s the central 900 metresof the tunnel was refurbished and isnow built of modern precast concretelinings. The 900 metre lengths ateither end are still lined with theliterally millions of bricks requiredduring the original construction of thisamazing tunnel.

Cargo carried include cocoa beansbound for Cadburys, motor parts forthe Morris motor factory at Oxford aswell as the more traditional cargos ofagricultural products and locallymanufactured goods etc.

At the end of the trip the membersreturned to the coach bound for SantonDownham village in the heart ofThetford Forest – an uneventful tripexcept for being held up for aroundthirty minutes in near stationery trafficat one point. Sadly, a familiar story ontoday’s busy roads!

Now for the planning of the autumntrip.............................!

Continued from previous page

Breckland Group News continued

Blisworth Tunnel

Website Message BoardIf you have any news, announcements or forthcoming events, post or e-mailthe details to the editor. Contact details are on the back page of this magazine.

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An Early Risk Assessmentby Brian Greig

This is an instruction, handwritten on a J3(large) from Research head forester John Lowin Surrey to his assistant Bob Gladman inWester Ross in June 1959. It providesinstructions on the use of an arsenic compoundto be applied by the assistant to ring-girdledlarch for control of a root disease. It is relevantto note that many hundreds of trees were to betreated, on a slope exceeding 40%. It is alsorelevant that both involved are healthy and intheir seventies.‘…it is a second-class poison, that is why it hashad to go (by goods train) in a sealedcompartment…..In case I am not with you, Iwant to re-iterate the point about arsenic. It isa dangerous poison though it is perfectly safeto handle with care. Remember it is cumulativein the body, so avoid repeated small doses.Dilute one part of arsenic to one and one halfparts of water. You will find it easiest to get anold 5 gallon tin and clean it out, and also anempty 1 gallon paint tin and fill this with 2 ofarsenic and 3 of water. Remember to stir welland keep stirred. The diluting is especially thetime to take care or you might get theconcentrated solution splashing onto your faceor into your eyes. Alternatively the fumes mighthave an effect on the skin when you arepouring. I therefore enclose a further polythenebag which is best to put over the head whenpouring the concentrate to protect head, faceand eyes.At all times, wear protective gloves…..youshould really wear rubber boots etc. in case thesplashes accumulate although I did not alwaysdo so….Sorry if I seem fussy …’

In the 1950s chromated copper arsenate(CCA) was widely used as a wood treatmentto prevent fungal decay (Tanalith). For decadesit was the standard treatment. Recentappreciation of its toxicity lead to a ban in 2004for domestic use in the EU and US. It is stillwidely used throughout the rest of the world.Ed.

“This was not the method of applying arsenicbut it illustrates another method used at thetime to apply similar chemicals”.

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.



The students at the Parkend ForestrySchool in the Forest of Dean receivedinstruction in various woodland skillsduring their practical training. Much ofthis was fairly routine; planting, fencing,‘prep’ ground and nursery work at VineyHill Nursery. However, recently when Iwas looking through acollection of old colour slidesI came across a set ofphotographs that remindedme of the short spell strippingoak bark for tannin. By thistime in 1959 the demand foroak bark in the tanningindustry had fallen to virtually nothingand the work was largely an academicexercise for the students.

The task of bark stripping was onlycarried out in early spring, from mid-Aprilto the end of May. The bark is most easilyremoved at this period when the sap isrising and it is richest in tannin at thistime.

The bark was first removed from thelower section of the trunk. Using a smallaxe, a series of zig zag cuts weremade around the circumferenceas far up as a man could reach.The bark was also cut around thebase of the tree. Vertical cuts werethen made at intervals around thetrunk. The bark was then prisedaway using a tool known as abarking iron. These were oftenhome-made and were simply apiece of iron flattened to form arounded spoon shaped end, 3 to5 cm in diameter and fitted into awooden handle. The tree was thenfelled and the bark stripped fromthe upper trunk and branches.

The bark was stacked in rows with theouter bark uppermost (see photo). Thetannin is mostly in the inner bark and asthe tannin is soluble, stacking in thistradition manner preserves the valuabletannin during the drying process.As students we carried out the exercises

in felling and de-barkingmature oaks in theappropriately namedOakenhill Inclosure.

According to the forestrecords, the wood had beenplanted in 1840 and so

when felled, the trees wereapproximately almost 120 years old. Thefelling was carried out in the traditionalmanner, using two-man cross-cut sawsand axes. Although motorised chainsawswere just being introduced into theForestry Commission in the late 1950s,as students we were not to be trusted touse these new-fangled machines. Also itwas thought to be valuable training andgood for the soul for the students to learnthe hard way in felling large oak trees!

Bark Stripping in Student DaysOak bark used to play a major role in the tanning industry. Brian Greig

looks back to his student days to recall how it was harvested.

Bark stripping is also known asrinding, sipping, flawing (fromflaying) or peeling. Thesurname Barker is probablyderived from this ancientwoodland craft (Ward, 1952).

Stacked bark with the felled and stripped tree behind




Bark Stripping in Student Days continued

However not everything always wentaccording to plan as can be seen above,which illustrates how not to fell high-value timber. The photograph capturesthe moment a tree split in two and thestudents have to take evasive action.Standing in the centre of the split treewith arms akimbo is the instructor of thecourse, Chief Forester John Webster. Thestudents in the picture are JohnnyMitchell (with hat), Paul Cooper, MalcolmRidges and Paul Hellard.

The photograph and memories alsoevoke a bygone era, before Health andSafety became paramount. No safetyequipment was being used as I recollect,as is apparent from the bare-chestedstudents in the photograph. It is probablethat the class of 195 7-5 9 were amongthe last students in the Forest of Dean tobe instructed in the art of bark strippingfor tannin. Certainly I have not heard ofthe practice for many years.

Also there is no mention of it in therecently published book, Dean’s Big Oakby Chris Morris or featured in thecompound book of photographs A Portraitof Dean by the same author.

If any students from the Parkend Schoolclass of 1957-1959 happen to read thisarticle, the author would be delighted tomeet up to renew acquaintances toreminisce about those halcyon days longago in the Dean.

References and further readingEdlin, H.L. (1949) Woodland Crafts inBritain, Batsford Books.Hardy, T. (1887) The Woodlanders.Morris, C. (2007) Dean’s Big Oaks andOther Species, Tayners Yard Press.Morris, C. (2008) A Portrait of Dean,Tayners Yard Press.Ward, J.D.U (1952) Woodman’s Diary,Routledge and Kegan Paul Limited.

This article first appeared in the Royal ForestrySociety's Quarterly Journal of Forestry (April2010, Vol: 104 (2), p143-144).

Parkend forestry students demonstrating how not to fell an oak tree and the unfortunate consequences

Brian Greig* worked in the Pathology Branch ofthe Forestry Commission Alice Holt ResearchStation for 36 years. Since retirement from theFC in 1995 he has been a part-time consultanton pest and disease problems for the Tree AdviceTrust.*‘Homewood’, 19 Jubilee Lane, Boundstone,Farnham, Surrey GU10 4SZ.

Email: [email protected]




Halcyoné: From Forth to Hebridesby Roddie Burgess

This is an account of our sailing our yachtHalcyoné from her home berth at PortEdgar on the Firth of Forth to her newmooring in Camas an T' Salainn Bay, Lochnan Ceall. Her new port being Arisaig, apart of the country my wife Carole and Iboth love and which has been our secondhome for many years now.

This is, truth to be told, more Carole'saccount than mine as she kept a diary ofour trip while my written record is of thetype mariners must keep of their voyagesshowing such mundane things asbarometric pressure and charted position,hour by hour – hardly an entertainingread!

I have always loved boats and canremember going out as a boy with myparents fishing from Fairlie and Largs onthe Clyde, then later water skiing.However, when I joined the ForestryCommission in 1972 at the old Savile Rowoffice in the heart of London, boats andboating had to be put on the back burner.After the move to Edinburgh in 1975 Iwas lucky enough to be invited out sailingfrom time to time, but it was not until1996 that we managed to buyour first yacht, Seren, anO'Day 22 which gave us a lotof fun both cruising and racingas members of the Port EdgarYacht Club.

I had always planned that we would lookfor something a bit bigger just before Ihad expected to retire in August 2012,with a view to keeping her at Arisaigfrom the following spring. The idea beingthat we could spend our summers sailingaround what is arguably the most scenicarea of Britain, with hundreds of islandsto be explored, until we were no longer'fit for purpose'. When Halcyoné cameon the market, in Port Edgar, in thespring of 2010 I initially cursed that itwas a year too early, but she was in suchimmaculate condition that we knew wesimply would never get such a chanceagain. Launched new in 2002 she haddone a mere 1300 nautical miles, hadnever left the Forth, hadn't been sleptaboard and the oven shelf was stillsecured by sticky tape! She ticked all theboxes and we fell in love with her, aHanse 301 6-berth, 30 footer,immediately. The only home comfortshe lacks is a shower, but we manage!

When HMG decided that Departmentshad to cut staff, the opportunity of anearly retirement came up and I took it,retiring at the end of March 2011, some15 months earlier than originallyexpected. The Gods had smiled. Herewe were, both now retired, with the rightboat, and a season's experience gettingto know her under our belt, and theaddition of a few little extras, includinga very useful chart plotter, extrabatteries and some additional safetygear. We could now start planning ourvoyage north for real, with the first stepbeing to join the Camas an T' SalainnMooring Association, secure one of thevacant moorings, and pay the princelysum of £50 to the Crown EstateCommissioners for the right to lay some


Camas an T' Salainn Bay, Loch nan Ceall

An O’Day 22



Halcyoné: From Forth to Hebrides continued

fairly hefty ground anchors and chain totie on to, when we eventually got there.

We then started to plan the voyage,determining our ports of call each nightwith alternatives, just in case. We loadedthe provisions and clothing needed tosustain us over the 10 days or so Ianticipated it might take us to get there.I also picked up what looked like adelightful book entitled “Sea Change”, inwhich the author Mairi Hedderwickdescribes her 6-week long voyage fromthe east to the west of Scotland in anantique 26 foot cruising yacht – followingvery much the route we would be taking.This put the fear of God into me. Thenumber of incidents of grounding, losingthe way, and other mishaps that befellher and her host 'The Captain' seemedimpossible to believe! But we were madeof sterner stuff.

I set our start date as 24th May to coincidewith the turn of the tide to carry us eastdown the Forth, turning left at the end,and aiming for Arbroath, our firstintended port of call. However, theweather forecast for that day and thefollowing 2 were not good, with winds offorce 7 and 8 expected. We had to bepatient a while longer, but if we didn't getaway by the 27th, we would, I feared,have lost the tide and would have torethink the journey.

The 27th dawned fairer, with a force 6expected later, so we decided we wouldgo. The brisk breeze from the westhelping us make up some of the time lostby leaving a little later in the day. Thecar was parked at Port Edgar, we untiedand stowed our mooring warps from thepontoon we hoped we would be leavingfor the last time, and headed out to seaat 09.30 hours on the turn of the tide.

Carole now picks up the story from herdiary.

“27 May : HIP-HOORAY – we get awayafter 3 days of waiting. Farewell to theForth and west coast here we come!Eventually. Think we were both a bitedgy this morning. Although it has beenlong in the planning, the reality and thedelay hit home and we were a bit snippywith each other, but we got away withoutincident and relaxed into a run down theriver on an outgoing tide. We took 1 hourshifts on the helm which seemed to goby quickly at first, but as the Firthwidened, and the sea got choppier, weboth started to feel the cold and addedextra layers.

What struck me as we passed Inchkeith,the furthest I had ever sailed previously,was that we had hardly scratched thesurface of the Forth. So many prettytowns along the north shore – St Monans,Elie, Anstruther. After Inchkeith we sawlots of guillemots and puffins as well asa few black throated divers. The puffinswere the most shy and took flight as soonas we approached, with their red feet andlegs splayed out at the rear like oars.The most amazing were the gannets;perfectly evolved for sea and sky. We sawsome just relaxing on the surface of the



Farewell to the Forth Bridges




Halcyoné with Jagged Edge (red boom cover) inArbroath

sea, folding their necks over and restingtheir heads on their backs just like aswan. In flight they are magnificent,skimming the surface, gliding, thenrising and diving with amazing precisionafter their fishy feast.”

We sailed for 9 hours, covering 51nautical miles and berthed in Arbroath,having slowed down for the last hour orso to allow the tide to rise enough for usto enter the outer harbour. We tied upalongside just inside and against asheltered pier, just touching the bottomas we did so, which meant we would needto check our lines overnight and while wewaited for the lock gates to open in themorning. After dinner we were bothrather tired but spent a restless firstnight on board listening to the windgetting up as forecast, and checking ourlines every so often.

On Saturday morning, it was clear wewere not sailing anywhere and wereprobably stuck there for the weekend.We entered the inner harbour as soon asthe lock gates opened at 07.39 to begreeted by Ron, the very helpful andfriendly harbour-master. He pointed usin the direction of the loos, showers andthe best places to get the famousArbroath Smokies, all were good! Wespent a pleasant day ashore, visiting thelocal sights and generally relaxing. Inhindsight, it was probably a 'good thing'that we were forced to rest up after thetensions of the preceding few days andthe long first day's sail.

The diary continues.Sunday 29th : It's true.The smokies were in aclass of their own. Lovely,subtle, smokey flavourand succulent flesh –

accompanied by a perfectly cookedpoached egg. A lovely start to the day.

We walked up to Victoria Park, justbeyond Danger Point, where there is alarge open grassy area between town andshore which rises up to give great viewsacross the North Sea and over the town.

Roddie got a phone call at the top of thehill and had to crouch down under a bushto get out of the gale force wind so hecould hear. The call was from a previouscolleague in Italy asking him if he wouldhelp put together a book on anInternational Standard on woodpackaging material which he had a handin crafting. No escape!



Victoria Park, Arbroath




Back in the harbour we got to talking toMike, the skipper of Jagged Edge,another yacht heading up the coast andlikewise stormbound in port. That led topost-dinner drinks and a convivialevening around the table down below.Mike's wife was joining him to sailthrough the Caledonian Canal, so wehoped we would meet up again there.Tomorrow's forecast was for winds offorce 3-4 so we hoped to set off towardsPeterhead as soon as the lock gatesopened at 09.38.

Monday 30th : We woke to a fine day withlight winds, setting off as the lock gatesopened with Jagged Edge just behind us.Once out of the harbour approach, weset course for Stonehaven and weredelighted when we were joined by a podof 5 or 6 dolphins after just a fewminutes. However they did not stay andwere gone before I had time to reach forthe camera.

We had a gentle run up the coast, justkeeping ahead of a large lump ofcumulonimbus and attendant rain. Itfinally caught up with us just offMontrose and the heavens opened, butwe were well suited and booted so didnot mind.

But, at the height of the storm out of themist came a huge battleship-grey vesselsteaming straight at us. 'He must knowwe're here' said Roddie, 'we have abloody great radar reflector and visibilityisn't that bad'.”

About half a mile off, the ship stoppedand a RIB was lowered into the water andheaded towards us at speed. As itneared we read 'UK Border Control' onthe side and counted 5 persons in blackdry suits, helmets, and armed! As itslowed alongside, one shouted overasking for permission to come aboard.And what if we refused, I thought tomyself?. 'Of course', I replied and wasadvised to maintain course and speedwhile two of them boarded. We couldn'tout-run them, even if we wanted to!

We had successfully up until then keptthe down below shut off and dry. Not

any longer. One asked to go below withCarole while he checked our lockers fordrugs, contraband, firearms or illegalimmigrants. The other stayed in thecockpit with me and asked questionsabout our trip, where we had been andwhere we were heading. All chatty andhe volunteered that they knew as soonas they got close to us that they weren'tgoing to find anything. Presumably this



Arbroath Harbour



was because we hadn't moved, thrownthings overboard, or otherwise actedsuspiciously. Their boss had spotted uson the radar and decided that we wereto be rummaged, just as they had all satdown to lunch, so out they had come.

His colleague then asked if we couldidentify ourselves, so I pointed to whereour passports were, to then be askedwhy we were carrying our passports?Naughty, I know, but I just couldn't resistit - “in case we have to identifyourselves” I replied. Actually, it was sowe could get Club 55 train tickets backto Edinburgh to get the car, but it wastoo good an opportunity to miss.

As they left, the rain stopped and the sun

came back out. The rest of our day wasuneventful, but pleasant as we settledback into our hour on, hour off routine.I trawled for dinner, without success,while lots of sea birds around showed ushow it was done. It's an interestingcoastline – grass covered, wellweathered, red sandstone with jaggedfingers of land jutting out and cavesdusted with sea birds and their signatureguano.

Dunnottar Castle is pretty spectacular,just south of Stonehaven where anotheroutburst of rain awaited us, but not untilwe had tied up and were cooking dinnerdown below. We had curry and tortillas,great things to have on board, but foundwe had forgotten to pack the rice – ohno! We visited a local hostelry beforereturning to the boat for the inshoreforecast, only to find a bigger Dutch-registered Hanse, Chica Rica, tied upalongside us! They, too, it turned outwere making for the Caledonian Canal,but had arrived on a falling tide and couldnot get further inside the harbour, hencethey rafted alongside us. There was afair forecast and we planned a similardistance to today of around 35 miles toPeterhead.



The coastline around Dunnotter Castle


Dunnotter Castle

Stonehaven Harbour





31st May : Woke about 07.30 and had aleisurely breakfast of eggs and smokies.There is no shore power at Stonehaven,but we were given access to a new anddecent shower block and were able to topup the water tank before leaving at09.45, some time after Chico Rica andJagged Edge.

We saw 3 pods of dolphins today andenjoyed the company of one whichsurfaced right behind the rudder, to bejoined by others which swam and divedalongside us for a while before shootingoff.I guess it's special because they arebeautiful and curious about us, ratherthan running off as the seals and seabirds do. I can understand why it's sucha positive experience swimming withthem as we were both happy andexhilarated every time we saw them.

Otherwise it was a fairly uneventfuljourney. There were quite a lot of oilsupport vessels and helicopters as wepassed Aberdeen, but we were too farinshore for us to spot any rigs.As we approached Peterhead we radioedin for clearance to enter, which wasgiven. Another vessel waiting to leavewas told in best radio-speak to “jist waita wee minute – there's a yattie comin'in”. It’s a very busy working port but hasan excellent marina tucked in the south-east corner. Every pontoon has waterand shore power. Both Chico Rica andJagged Edge had arrived before us andwere settled in. A trip to the local Sparwas followed by haggis, tatties, butternutsquash and carrots – a veritable feast.We settled down to watch TV, with theforecast strongly suggesting we would bein Peterhead for a second night. And sowe were.On to the Caledonian canal will follow inthe next issue. Ed

Chased by a dolphin

Peterhead Harbour

A Hanse 301



BOOK REVIEW



Forest VisionTransforming the

Forestry Commissionby Roderick Leslie

Forest Vision is a personal story of theForestry Commission, guardians of thenational forests and Britain’s largest landmanager. Roderick Leslie joined theForestry Commission in 1976 just as itwas changing from the massive treeplanting programmes of the first 50years to managing the forests it hadcreated. Because of his interest in birdsand conservation, he found himselfcentre stage in the violent conflicts thateventually stopped new conifer plantingin the uplands dead in its tracks. AsEnvironment manager in England, hedescribes the long climb back from thenear fatal unpopularity of the late 1980sto the overwhelming public support thathalted the Government’s plans to sell allthe Forestry Commission forests in 2011.

This book is about much more than treesand timber: it is about how best to usethe precious space of our countryside inan increasingly crowded country. It

explains how the Forestry Commission’sground breaking concept ofrestructuring, completely re-designingforests to answer the critics of even agedconifer monoculture underpinnedincreasingly exciting programmes forrecreation, nature conservation,landscape and community engagement.From repairing the scars of heavyindustry around our towns and cities tothe re-invention of wood as a modernfuel, Roderick Leslie goes on to explainhow the Forestry Commission experiencecan help Government create the new,resilient landscapes essential in the faceof climate change and to find space fordevelopment without destroying ourenvironment. Aimed at professionals andanyone who appreciates and enjoys ourForestry Commission forests, this bookpasses on the experience that turned theForestry Commission into the successful,forward looking organisation it is today.

The cost of this book is usually £10 plusP&P, but the price to ex-FC members is£10 including P&P.

The address to obtain a copy is: -Rod Leslie, 8 Somerset Street, Bristol,BS2 8NB or [email protected]

BOOK REVIEW

Visit the FCA Today website at: -www.fca-today.com



BOOK REVIEW

Finlay had a remarkable career in forestry, piping and conservation. All who knew him will enjoy histales. Obtain a copy from this website address: -

www.blurb.co.uk/b/5126253-a-tune-in-the-woods



Letters to the Editor

Send your letters to the editor for publication in FCA Today

by e-mail to: [email protected]

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

Re: The Sweet Chestnut Coppice Articleby Simon Malone

As a postscript, the Forestry Commission hasan interesting sub-compartment or cant ofSweet Chestnut coppice in Surrey. This cantis on a four year walking stick rotation, with ayield of approximately 40,000 stick lengths pernet ha.

In the mid nineties the income was 8p per stick– perhaps it is worth running a NDR exerciseto see how this compares with a mixed coniferyield class 14 Douglas Fir plantation crop!

Extra revenue could also be squeezed out ofthe normal rotation SC coppice by cutting outa few walking stick lengths from each stool inyears 3 and 4. This usually meant only 2 – 4per stool were suitable and of course left plentyto grow on, with slightly less competition.

The consumer of these SC walking sticks wasthe NHS, using about 300,000 per annum, ona total non-recovery basis. Inspection of thecurved bent handle of one of these NHSwalking sticks will show whether it is 3 or 4 yearold coppice.In an unguarded moment as OperationManager I let slip to the local paper that theNHS were increasing their demand for walkingsticks because slips and falls by the agingpopulation in Britain were leading to more hipreplacements. We then realised that thenational dailies wanted to run a story on therelationship between SC coppice managementand NHS capital expenditure. To protect themarket for the FC we just managed to put thelid on it in time, and I learnt a salutary lessonon PR management.

Martin Fletcher27th April, 2014.

Rob Guest WritesThe Winter 2012 Edition of FCA Todayincluded information about a booklet written byRob Guest describing the history of LaughtonForest in Lincolnshire. This text is now freelyavailable on the web, see

http://laughtonforest.blogspot.co.uk/

Rob has also written an account of some of thespecial trees around May Hill - a prominentfeature just north of the Forest of Dean. Thisis also available on the web, see

http://notabletrees.blogspot.co.uk/

Yew house



LIFE IN BRIEFGraham Hamilton writes thatthe world of forestry lost oneof its most colourful characterswhen FINLAY MacRAE diedon 5th June.Finlay was born in 1923 andbrought up in Skye. Gaelicspeaking and steeped in thetraditions of the WestHighlands, he was also a verywell known figure in pipingcircles.In 1942 he joined the RAF andtrained as a pilot in Englandand Florida. He took part inOperation Varsity, part of theRhine Crossing campaign in1945, as a glider pilot. He wascaptured and spent the lastfew months of the war in aGerman prisoner-of-war camp.He was demobbed in 1947.In 1948 he went to AberdeenUniversity to start the forestrydegree course. He graduatedin 1951 and joined theForestry Commission. His firstposting was to the Invernessbased forest district asassistant to the District Officerwho at that time was A.M.Fraser. In 1953 he moved toLochaber to take over one ofthe two districts based atTorlundy. His charges thenincluded Mull, Fiunary, andSunart.In 1963 he moved to theMid-Ross district based inDingwall. The district includedGlen Affric with which thename of Finlay MacRae was tobecome synonymous. It washere that he was instrumentalin breathing new life into thenative pinewoods followingyears of stagnation. Someearly planting of native stock

eventually was overtaken bynatural regeneration whichhappily continues to flourishto this day. His success herewas down to his acuteobservations of the variousfactors involved, of whichdeer numbers were one of themost important, devising theright strategy, and seeing itthrough with perseveranceand patience.Finlay was an instinctiveforester of great commonsense and foresight. He wasfrequently ahead of the gamewhen it came to identifyingproblem areas for forestry. Forexample, he foresaw thedifficulties that forestry couldexpect as a result of poordesign long before designplans and the like were invogue. He was given a specialrole in the North ScotlandConservancy in matters ofwildlife and particularly deermanagement where hisexpertise proved particularlyvaluable.His work, particularly in GlenAffric, resulted in the Societyof American Travel Writer’sPhoenix Award forConservation in 1978. He wasalso awarded the Balfour-Browne Trophy for deermanagement. He wasawarded the MBE in 1985.Finlay retired from theForestry Commission in 1985but continued to be involvedin forestry with FountainForestry and some privateestates.A day in the forest with Finlaywas more that a tonic.Somehow the world could be

seen in a better perspective.And of course it would behugely amusing. Finlay had arare gift for spotting thehumour in seeminglyunremarkable situations.Some of his anecdotes arepriceless and well knownthroughout the ForestryCommission and beyond andhave been retold by othersmany times and no doubt willbe repeated years from now.A favourite target for a goodfew of Finlay’s tales wasbureaucracy, with which hehad little patience, thoughsome of his anecdotes couldbe at his own expense.A personal Memoir entitled ‘ATune in the Woods’ wasrecently published.Finlay started playing thepipes at a young age. Afrequent prize-winner, hetwice won the Piobaireachd atthe Strathpeffer HighlandGathering. For many years hejudged the pipingcompetitions at variousHighland games. He was alsoChairman of the InvernessPiping Society for severalyears. He was a composer ofpipe music and he recordedone of his best knowncompositions, ‘Leaving GlenAffric’, some years ago. Finlaycontinued to teach piping rightup until his death.There was a very largeattendance at his funeral inInverness which reflected theesteem and affection in whichhe was held. A very warm andsensitive person, he left hismark on everyone he met.Continued on next page



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

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Send your articles to the editor for publication in FCA Todayby e-mail to: [email protected]

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

The next issue of the FCA Today magazine will be available on thewww.fca-today.com website on 5th December 2014.

Articles for inclusion in the next issue of the magazine should be sent to the editorbefore 1st November 2014.

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

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Most important to Finlay was hisfamily and our sympathies areextended to his wife Joey,daughters Donna and Fiona, andto his grand-daughter Rowan.Sadly he died a matter of a fewweeks before the birth of hisgreat-grand-daughter Charlotte.


LIFE IN BRIEF

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