AXESFOR THEALLIES

The Wartime Foresters
of Newfoundland and Labrador

A black and white photograph of a man in winter work clothes standing on one of 5 long rows of stacked logs.

A black and white photograph of a young man in plaid jacket and peaked cap. He sits on the ground, sharpening a blade braced against his knee.

The first paragraph of a newspaper article about foresters leaving Newfoundland to serve overseas as wood cutters. The first full sentence reads: St. Fintan’s — About ten minutes previous to the departure of local forestry men from the Highlands, Jeffreys, St. Fintan’s and St. David’s, the heavy doubleheader carrying hundreds of woodsmen arrived. Lusty cheering from those in the crowded cars was answered by the many people present and the waiting Foresters.

A sepia photograph of 3 men in uniform standing casually on grass, with stacked wood behind them.

THOUSANDS OF NEWFOUNDLANDERS AND LABRADORIANS TOOK PART IN THE 20TH CENTURY’S TWO WORLD WARS. WHILE MANY OF THEM FOUGHT ON LAND, SEA AND IN THE AIR, OTHERS CONTRIBUTED IN NON-COMBAT ROLES. FORESTERS TOOK THEIR AXES AND BUCKSAWS AND SET SAIL FOR THE UNITED KINGDOM TO CUT TIMBER FOR THE ALLIES.

This website recalls the experiences of these woods workers and shares the songs and stories they wrote, heard and performed while overseas.

Travel back in time and discover who these men were, what they did for the war effort and how their contributions, music and memories still resonate on both sides of the Atlantic.

Images (top to bottom):

The River Tay near the town of Dunkeld, Perthshire, which is known as the Gateway to the Highlands. Foresters established camps in this area of Scotland during both wars.
Courtesy of the University of St Andrews Libraries and Museums, ms37102-7-67-1

A woods worker atop a log pile at Terra Nova, Newfoundland, ca. 1935.
Courtesy of The Rooms Provincial Archives Division, VA 53a–39.1

Three soldiers of the Newfoundland Forestry Companies in the lumberyard at the base of Craigvinean Hill, Scotland, 1917.
Courtesy of Dunkeld Community Archives

A member of the Newfoundland Overseas Forestry Unit sharpens a bucksaw, ca. 1940, Scotland.
Courtesy of The Rooms Provincial Archives Division, A 8-5

Why Woods Workers?
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