Forestry Corps

[John Kilmartin]

I was wondering if any of the Allies other than Canada formed a Forestry Corps for service during World War II ? If they did how was it organized?
Thanks in advance,
John K

[Loïc L.]

The French Army in the Engineer branch had one too in 1939-1940, with many reservists coming from the Eaux & Forêts State public administration
The Special Corps of Foresters Sappers - Corps Spécial des Sapeurs-Forestiers - had 10 Companies and 17 Groups of Foresters-Sappers, 11 Auxiliary Forestry Companies.

it is curious that the US Army didn't have one...

Regards
Loïc

[John Kilmartin]

Thanks Loic.
Does anyone have any information on no. 1 Spanish Pioneer Company, as it was used primarily in this role? I am assuming it was one of the Alien Pioneer Companies of Britain.
Cheers,
John K

[Andy H]

Well the British did have the Womens Land Girls and I believe they had a Timber Corps of sorts

http://www.womenstimbercorps.com/

Regards

[Leo Niehorster]

The Australian Army also had Forestry units as part of the 2nd Australian Imperial Force.

[John Kilmartin]

Thanks Andy and Leo.

[cisco]

My Father, Corporal Rodrigo Haro, from Turre in Almeria was in No.1. Spanish Coy. Pioneer Corps. I have a copy of the War Diaries of No.1. Spanish Coy. and some photos. They operterated mobile sawmills producing timber for the war effort, mostly stationed in the South Cotswolds and South of England. He fought for the Republic in the Spanish Civil War, fled over to France, and like a lot of Spanish refugees, "disappeared" into the French Foreign Legion, and was evacuated to England from Narvic with them. I believe he played a part in the "mutiny", refusing to board a ship at Avonmouth to be sent back to Spain. Have a look at "Spanish Republicans and the French Military " letter at http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/re ... etters.htm There is also an interesting book on the Women's Timber Corps 1942 - 1946 titled "Timber" written by Affleck Gray which contains some member's personal experiences and photographs of which I have a copy. Fco. Haro.

[John Kilmartin]

Hi Cisco,
Thanks for your help.
Cheers ,
John K

[Quelimane]

According to the Imperial War Museum, the British Honduras contribution to the British war effort was a forestry corps that was sent to Scotland. They were not made a formal part of the armed services because they would have to be paid more as soldiers.

The British Honduras Forestry Unit.

In June 1941 the Battle of the Atlantic Committee of the Cabinet demanded a radical increase in home timber production in order to lessen the demands on shipping. Civilian workers were brought from Newfoundland, Eire and the Caribbean colony of British Honduras, and military units were imported from Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

In May 1941 the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Moyne, cabled to the Governor of British Honduras, Sir John Hunter, asking whether a self-contained unit of 500 skilled woodsmen could be recruited for work in Scottish forests. The Governor’s agreement was cabled a few days later and terms and conditions arranged. Arriving in August and September 1941, this first unit was stationed at East Linton (East Lothian), Duns (Berwickshire) and Kirkpatrick Fleming (Dumfriesshire). It was reinforced in the following year by a second smaller contingent located in the Western Highlands. The men worked on the production of pit props, pit wood and wood pulp and also assisted one of the Australian forestry companies.

The administration and welfare of the men was the responsibility of the Home Grown Timber Division (HGTD) of the Ministry of Supply with officials form the Welfare Department of the Colonial Office having and advisory role. Senior officials form both government departments paid numerous visits of inspection. One Colonial Office official reported that a voluble village grocer living near to one of the timber camps had commented that ‘if there were as many loggers here as there were officers coming to see the camps then there would soon be no wood left in the north of Scotland!’.i

The British Hondurans endured poor standards of accommodation and hygiene, and had few recreational facilities. A West Indian journalist reported:

‘In general, the men are living in a deplorable condition almost completely cut off from the rest of the world. They are deprived of all form of entertainment and the harsh treatment of most of them by the authorities does nothing to alleviate their sufferings… A great portion of [them] are miserable and desperate.’ii

The head of the HGTD – General Carrington – was blamed for the situation: he did not seem to be ‘very knowledgeable or indeed very interested in welfare matters or to take an interest in the men as individuals.’iii It was also felt that the men lacked proper supervision and that insufficient time was allowed for them to adjust to the bitterly cold weather.

Within the first few months of 1943, the Ministry of Supply made it clear that they wanted the West Indians repatriated, citing as reasons poor health, general inefficiency and ‘associations’ with white women in the camps. The latter was one of the many examples of double standards applied to black people in Britain in this period. As J L Keith, Welfare Officer at the Colonial Office said ‘there is no real evidence that the Unit behaves in a worse way than the Newfoundlanders and the other “foreigners” in Scotland, but they are coloured men, and therefore their immoralities get more publicity and are more shocking.’iv

As usual, however, the Colonial Office’s chief preoccupation was with the political repercussions which would be caused by the men’s return. One official observed:

‘The principal reason against repatriating these men is the most unfortunate political consequences which would result. The men have been frequently assured that they are doing an essential job in this country and have no doubt in many cases come over with a genuine desire to be of service to the war effort.’

This supports the view of the historian Marika Sherwood, as expressed in Many Struggles: West Indian Workers and Service Personnel in Britian (1939-45), that the Colonial Office’s main concern was not so much the welfare of the West Indians in Britain, but the larger issue of political stability in the Caribbean.vi

The decision to repatriate the men was taken at a meeting of senior officials from the Ministry of Supply and the Colonial Office on 8 September 1943. Arrangements were made to transport the British Hondurans back to the West Indies, except for those who chose to remain in Britain for other war work. As one member of the Ministry of Supply asserted, the West Indian forestry workers ‘volunteered at a time when foreign realists still thought that our days were numbered… their practical expression of imperial loyalty and confidence meant much in 1941.’vii

Yet from an examination of the Government records it would seem that this ‘imperial loyalty’ was met with little gratitude.

i Minute by J L Keith, Welfare Officer at the Colonial Office, 17 December 1943, in CO/876/43, British Honduras Forestry Unit – Health and Welfare.
ii Rudolph Dunbar, Social Welfare among the Coloured People on Tyneside, p9, in CO/876/41, op cit.
iii Minute by J L Keith, Welfare Officer at the Colonial Office, in CO/876/41, op cit.
iv Memorandum from J L Keith to Sir Charles Jeffries, 14 April 1943, in CO/876/42, British Honduras Forestry Unit Health and Welfare, 1942-43.
v Unsigned note for use at a meeting on Sept 89th (1943) with members of the Ministry of Supply regarding the proposal to repatriate the British Honduran Forestry Unit, in CO/876/42, op cit.
vi M Sherwood, Many Struggles: West Indian Workers and Service Personnel in Britain (1939-45), Karia Press, 1985, p126.
vii R Mieggs, Home Timber Production 1939-45, Crosby Lockwood and Son, London, p 126.

Q