Essential Assistance Provided from Overseas to the UK in her times of need
Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2019 9:42 pm
Newfoundlander Overseas Forestry Unit (NOFU)
Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit (NOFU) recruited skilled lumberjacks to come to Scotland to cut down trees for the war effort. Over 3,500 hundred men volunteered.
Clement Atlee, Winston Churchill's Deputy Prime Minister, visiting a Newfoundland Foresters Camp in 1940. © Donated by the Ballater Historical Forestry Project; best effort has been made to contact the copyright holders.
The island of Newfoundland is located off the east coast of Canada. In 1949 it became part of Canada, but at the start of World War 2 it was a separate country.
Unlike the Canadian Forestry Corps (CFC), which was sent to Britain at the same time, the NOFU was not a military unit. The men were hired on six month long contracts and were paid the same amount as they were paid at home; two dollars per day or twelve dollars a week.
Although not in the military, many of the men who volunteered to come over wanted to join the fighting. The work they were doing, however, was as essential to the success of the war as the fighting itself.
"They are needed here (Britain) on work of national importance, and cannot be replaced. Moreover, it is not easy to train a man, however strong and fit he may be, to become a good lumberjack," Mr Edgar Baird, NOFU Manager, Illustrated London News (1941).
Many of the men joined the Home Guard, while working at the camps and served locally. In 1942 the 3rd Inverness (Newfoundland) Battalion Home Guard was created consisting of over seven hundred men; the only Home Guard unit composed entirely of men from overseas who were serving in Britain on specialised war work.
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British Honduran Forestry Unit
In 1941, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Moyne, cabled the Governor of British Honduras for help to manage Scotland’s forests.
The call for help was made because there was a huge demand for timber. However, due to the ongoing war, there was a severe shortage of labour as many men were away fighting the enemy.
Key supply routes for imported timber were also drastically reduced therefore home timber supplies needed to be harvested.
Pit props were needed for the coal mining industry which in turn fuelled steel production and ammunitions. The rail industry also needed the timber to repair bomb damage to their railway lines and of course to rebuild many buildings.
Around 900 volunteers from British Honduras (now Belize) came forward to help manage Scotland’s forests, with the first 500 arriving later in the year. The following 400 men arrived in 1942.
The men were billeted in a number of camps, mainly in East Lothian, the Scottish Borders, Sutherland and in the western Highlands.
Being used to a tropical climate and arriving in a harsh Scottish winter must have been a terrible shock for the Hondurans. For many it was probably the first time they had ever encountered snow.
Added to this, some reports state that the men endured very basic living conditions and the huts and clothing provided by the then Ministry of Supply were not up to scratch. It was clear that it was a hard start for these volunteer foresters.
Despite the conditions and hard work, the men settled in as best they could. They felt welcomed by the local communities and many enjoyed a good social life. Some played in bands, attended dances and were regulars in local pubs or sports days.
The British Honduran Forestry Unit played a significant role in helping in the national war effort at the time.
The Unit was disbanded in 1943 with some returning to Honduras and others deciding to remain in Britain.
All photographs © Imperial War Museum
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These first two posts are taken from articles in the Forestry and Land Scotland website.
Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit (NOFU) recruited skilled lumberjacks to come to Scotland to cut down trees for the war effort. Over 3,500 hundred men volunteered.
Clement Atlee, Winston Churchill's Deputy Prime Minister, visiting a Newfoundland Foresters Camp in 1940. © Donated by the Ballater Historical Forestry Project; best effort has been made to contact the copyright holders.
The island of Newfoundland is located off the east coast of Canada. In 1949 it became part of Canada, but at the start of World War 2 it was a separate country.
Unlike the Canadian Forestry Corps (CFC), which was sent to Britain at the same time, the NOFU was not a military unit. The men were hired on six month long contracts and were paid the same amount as they were paid at home; two dollars per day or twelve dollars a week.
Although not in the military, many of the men who volunteered to come over wanted to join the fighting. The work they were doing, however, was as essential to the success of the war as the fighting itself.
"They are needed here (Britain) on work of national importance, and cannot be replaced. Moreover, it is not easy to train a man, however strong and fit he may be, to become a good lumberjack," Mr Edgar Baird, NOFU Manager, Illustrated London News (1941).
Many of the men joined the Home Guard, while working at the camps and served locally. In 1942 the 3rd Inverness (Newfoundland) Battalion Home Guard was created consisting of over seven hundred men; the only Home Guard unit composed entirely of men from overseas who were serving in Britain on specialised war work.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
British Honduran Forestry Unit
In 1941, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Moyne, cabled the Governor of British Honduras for help to manage Scotland’s forests.
The call for help was made because there was a huge demand for timber. However, due to the ongoing war, there was a severe shortage of labour as many men were away fighting the enemy.
Key supply routes for imported timber were also drastically reduced therefore home timber supplies needed to be harvested.
Pit props were needed for the coal mining industry which in turn fuelled steel production and ammunitions. The rail industry also needed the timber to repair bomb damage to their railway lines and of course to rebuild many buildings.
Around 900 volunteers from British Honduras (now Belize) came forward to help manage Scotland’s forests, with the first 500 arriving later in the year. The following 400 men arrived in 1942.
The men were billeted in a number of camps, mainly in East Lothian, the Scottish Borders, Sutherland and in the western Highlands.
Being used to a tropical climate and arriving in a harsh Scottish winter must have been a terrible shock for the Hondurans. For many it was probably the first time they had ever encountered snow.
Added to this, some reports state that the men endured very basic living conditions and the huts and clothing provided by the then Ministry of Supply were not up to scratch. It was clear that it was a hard start for these volunteer foresters.
Despite the conditions and hard work, the men settled in as best they could. They felt welcomed by the local communities and many enjoyed a good social life. Some played in bands, attended dances and were regulars in local pubs or sports days.
The British Honduran Forestry Unit played a significant role in helping in the national war effort at the time.
The Unit was disbanded in 1943 with some returning to Honduras and others deciding to remain in Britain.
All photographs © Imperial War Museum
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These first two posts are taken from articles in the Forestry and Land Scotland website.