1919-1929:
the forestry commission is born

In the aftermath of war,
the Forestry Act was passed,
and an industry was born.

Lockhart's Mill, Bin Forest, 1919

An early picture of Lockhart’s Mill, near the Bin Forest, in 1919. (Image: Forestry Memories)

Glentress Forest workers, 1923

A gang of forest workers in Glentress Forest, pictured circa 1923. (Image: Forestry Memories / Ruth Robertson)

First planting, Culbin, 1924

Some of the first planting in Culbin Forest which followed on after the WWI wartime fellings. (Image: Forestry Memories)

Marram grass plantings, Culbin, 1925

Large sand dune area which planted with marram grass, ready for tree planting at a later date. (Image: Forestry Memories)

Drummond Hill Forest, Perthshire, 1924

The view across Drummond Hill in Perthshire, 1924. (Image: Forestry Memories)

Mr M Mitchell, Forester, 1924

Mr F M Mitchell (First Name not known) was in charge of Culbin for from 1922 to 1934. (Image: Forestry Memories)

Mr Murray, Forester, 1925

Mr J M Murray was Divisional Officer for south east Scotland based in Edinburgh from 1920–1934. HGe was Assistant Commissioner for Scotland until his death in 1939. (Image: Forestry Memories)

Benmore House, 1928

Taken prior to Benmore House and Estate being sold by Mr Younger to the Forestry Commission and the house subsequently used as a Forester Training School from 1929. (Image: Forestry Memories)

Felling team, Glentress, 1925

Men felling beech trees on Jenny’s Brae (now called Janet’s Brae, near Peebles). The three men are Kit Glendinning (sitting), Eck Melrose (middle) and George Roberson. (Image: Forestry Memories / Ruth Robertson)

Henry G Younger, Benmore, 1925

A large Sequoia wellingtonia located up behind Benmore House, nr Dunoon, with Henry Younger and his dog below. Mr Henry G Younger of the William Younger brewing family gifted Benmore Estate and the House to the nation in 1928. The house served as a Forestry Commission Forester Training School from August 1929-July 1965. (Image: Forestry Memories)

Traction engine hauls logs, 1925

Traction engine hauling wood with local forest workers, c1920. Timber working in Strathspey and Badenoch was a mainstay of the locality right up to the Second World War. (Image: Forestry Memories)

Inchnacardoch employees, 1926

Seventy employees on Estate on 1st May 1926. The number includes the five original employees. This amazing photograph shows the line up of all the Forestry Commission employees on the forest on the 1st May, and may include the younger boys who could have been employed seasonally in the forest nursery. Note the large bothy or accommodation hut behind. (Image: Forestry Memories)

Inchnacardoch plantings, 1926

The person standing on the left is Mr F Scott, Divisional Officer for North Scotland from 1920-1930. (Image: Forestry Memories)

The Logg Sawmill, Fochabers, 1925

Logg Sawmill near Fochabers, 1926. Frank Christie standing at back with arm against mill gable wall. (Image: Forestry Memories)

Workers at Inchnacardoch Estate, 1926

These men were already working on the Inchnacardoch Estate in 1919 when it was acquired by the Forestry Commission. (Image: Forestry Memories)

Surveying new lands, 1927

Two commissioners (not identified) survey some newly-acquired land in 1927. (Image: FCS)

Trial ploughing, 1927

Trial ploughing at Lon Mor Forest Research Area, Fort Augustus, 1927 (Photo: Forestry Memories)

Lon Mor, 1927

Ploughed fields at Lon Mor, ready for planting. (Image: FCS)

Lon Mor, 1927

More ploughed fields awaiting new plantings, Lon Mor, 1927. (Image: FCS)

Beaufort Forestry School Football Team, 1928

A group who attended the Forestry School or Forestry Apprentice School at Beaufort near Kiltarlity. The location of the school at Beaufort Estate or where the students were housed is not known any more. The School operated from 1920 through to 1929 when it closed, the students and teaching staff transferring to Benmore House and Forest near Dunoon. (Image: Forestry Memories)

Opening of Puck's Glen, 1928

1928 opening of Puck’s Glen. Pictured: Mr Younger, Dame Gwynne Vaughan, Sir Herbert Maxwell, Sir David Prain, Mr W Wright Smith. The opening of Puck’s Glen walk may have taken some time to plan and execute. The gifting of Benmore Estate and House in 1927 to the nation occurred before it was fully complete. Perhaps Mr Henry G Younger (on far left with folded coat on arm) was taking the last opportunity to promote his Estate. (Image: Forestry Memories)

Society of Foresters, 1928

The transport looks like the vehicle used to visit Glenfinnart Nursery in 1929. (Image: Forestry Memories)

At the outbreak of the First World War, only 5% of the United Kingdom’s land area was forested. In 1918, under the government of David Lloyd-George, it was recommended that a state organisation should be set up to oversee a reafforestation plan, and to meet Britain’s timber needs.

The Forestry Act of 1919 was a wartime measure. It brought the Forestry Commission into being, and gave it responsibility for woods in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

Click each image to find out more.
remember this era? share stories with us at
Forestry Memories.

Trial ploughing at Lon Mor Forest Research Area, Fort Augustus, 1927 (Photo: Forestry Memories) — *Trial ploughing at Lon Mor Forest Research Area, Fort Augustus, 1927 (Photo:* *Forestry Memories*)

BUILDING ON TRADITION

From the start, Scotland had a special place in the Forestry Commission’s plans. Three of the first commissioners were Scots lairds - Lieutenant Colonel Walter Stuart-Fotheringham, Sir John Stirling Maxwell, and Lord Lovat.

They helped oversee the transition from a largely unregulated private forestry industry to the thriving sector we know today. Traditional horse-and-plough methods for clearing, planting and harvesting were still in use right up until the end of the 1930s.

WHO MANAGES SCOTLAND'S FORESTS TODAY?

*Commissioners survey some newly-acquired land, 1927*

EXPANDING THE ESTATE

Over the course of the 1920s, the Commission would acquire a vast portfolio of land, and by September 1929 around 600,000 acres were managed over 152 forests, with more than 138,000 acres of new trees planted. In the private sector 54,000 acres had been planted with Commission grants.

HERITAGE SITES IN SCOTLAND'S FORESTS

Scots tenor Kenneth McKellar (Image: BBC) — *Scots tenor Kenneth McKellar (Image:* *BBC*)

song of the woods: KENNETH MCKELLAR

Born in 1927, the great Scottish tenor Kenneth McKellar originally trained to be a forester, and spent some time working with the Commission after he graduated from Aberdeen University. He went on to become one of Scotland’s best-loved traditional singers - and he never lost his love of the Scottish woodlands.

LISTEN TO SOME MUSIC BY KENNETH KCKELLAR

BENMORE HOUSE

Mr Henry G Younger of the William Younger brewing family gifted Benmore Estate and the House to the nation in 1928. Benmore House would serve as the Forestry Training School from 1929 until 1965, seeing generations of foresters take their first steps in the industry. Benmore House is now an outdoor activities centre, but the legacy of those early foresters lives on at the Benmore Botanic Gardens and the Kilmun Arboretum.

VISIT BENMORE BOTANIC GARDENS

1919-1929: the forestry commission is born

In the aftermath of war, the Forestry Act was passed, and an industry was born.

Click each image to find out more. remember this era? share stories with us at Forestry Memories.