Forestry Memories Image Library = Bin Forest

	164
	Norman Davidson
	1947

PDF - 1.4MB

Bin Forest - Burma road construction

First page of a work log book sent in by Mr D MacTavish of Pontygates, Llanelli, which belonged to his father Mr D McTavish. The log book covers the period from 16 April to 7 May 1947 and records the daily lorry loads of men brought in to the Bin Forest to work on the Burma Road. Mr D McTavish senior during the war worked for Rosengart and Zebenstein at their sawmill on the Pirrie's Mill road in Huntly and as part of the war effort they produced 9 foot poles for use in preventing enemy planes from landing and also 2.5 foot pit props. After the war Mr McTavish was employed by the Forestry Commission and helped supervise the construction of the Burma road which starts in the forest opposite Croft of Dykeside, runs past the two ponds and down to the Bin Moss Road. His log book indicates that up to 10 loads of men, I am told mainly demobilised service personnel, were collected daily from many places including Huntly, Aberchirder, Lumsden, Dufftown, Keith, Turriff, Cullen and Banff to do all the manual work (Note all the local lorry firms used). This would most likely have involved loading the lorries with stone, digging out culverts with spades and shovels, laying large stones edge on in a ten foot wide pavement and spreading finer blinding material on top all by hand. If you look carefully coming from Dykeside about 250 yards past the first pond before it climbs the little slope you can still see the layer and rows of big stones where the top gravel suface has been worn away.

The whole note book has been scanned and is now in the attached PDF which shows locations from where men, stones and material were transported over a period of one month or so.

Page 2 is shown in Picture No 165
Picture Added on 19 April 2007.

Comments

I have walked along this road. Can you tell as to why it got that name?
Added by Gordon on 20 April 2007.

Not exactly sure how the 'Burma Road' name arose as there are quite a number of Burma Roads around the country. I am not sure but suspect the name may have arisen from the vast amounts of hard manual labour involved in the projects and the very modest rewards received by the ex servicemen and others. This may have prompted them to wryly refer to the Burma road as a passing reference to very great hardships endured on the Burma railway. Please see Picture No 165 with my comments and request for information. Just type 165 in the search box.
Added by Norman Davidson on 23 April 2007.

Whilst looking for something else on the web I came across an extract from the parliamentary Hansard record which described the extent of road work in the Bin Forest during 1947. The extract is copied below:

Road Work, Bin Forest
HC Deb 08 July 1947 vol 439 cc209-10W
44. Major Henry Spence
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the number of men employed and the weekly cost of building the new road on the Forestry Commission lands in the Bin forest, near Huntly; whether he is satisfied that up-to-date equipment is being used; and what are the length and width of the road and the total estimated cost on completion.

Mr. Joseph Westwood
The number of men at present employed in the Bin Forest on road scheme work is 195, at a weekly wage bill of approximately £780. Road making machinery is in very short supply and little is at present available for use at this forest. The total length of extraction roads visualised is approximately 30 miles, specifications will vary but the principal routes will be 10 feet wide with passing bays. The total estimated expenditure on completion is £64, 000.

Added by Norman Davidson on 08 September 2010.

If you found this interesting, have a look at the following groups of pictures.
Forestry records and booklets
Northeast Scotland