Arthur C. Forbes
Arthur C. Forbes | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1866 Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England |
| Died | 7 November 1950(1950-00-00) (aged 83–84) Killiney, Dublin, Ireland |
| Occupation | forester |
Arthur Charles ForbesOBE (1866 – 7 November 1950) was an Englishforestry expert and the first Director of Forestry in the Irish Free State.[1]
Life
Forbes was born in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, the son of John Malcolm Forbes, a forester and farm bailiff. He died in Killiney on 7 November 1950.[2]
Forbes was awarded a prize by the Worshipful Company of Carpenters for his essay The Adaptation of Land for Afforestation in 1904. He was a lecturer at Armstrong College of Science in Newcastle upon Tyne, and worked as forester on the Marquis of Bath’s Longleat Estate.[3] Forbes migrated to Ireland in 1905 to enter the Irish Forestry Division[4] in the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction. He undertook the training of foresters at the newly acquired Avondale in County Wicklow, developing the first Irish forestry and training centre. Along with John Crozier, Forbes oversaw the plantation of Ireland's first state forests.[5]
He was appointed Assistant Forestry Commissioner for Ireland in 1919, and then the first Director of Forestry in 1922 under the new Department of Agriculture of the Irish Free State. He held that position until his retirement in 1931.[3] During World War I he held the position of Timber Controller, for which he was appointed an OBE in 1920.[4]
After his retirement, he was involved in the delivery of a degree in forestry in University College Dublin from 1931 to 1935.[6]
He was described by Edward MacLysaght as "an Englishman, who is, by the way, devilish [sic] uninteresting outside the subject of forestry".[3]
Works
- 1904 English estate forestry London, E. Arnold
- 1910 The development of British forestry London, E. Arnold
- 'Some legendary and historical references to Irish woods and their significance', Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 41 B (1932) 15–36.
References
- ^Forrest, Mary (2017). "'To further planting of trees': Arbor Day in 20th century Ireland". Irish Geography. 51 (1): 57.
- ^"Calendar of the Grants". Find a will. gov.uk. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ abcOCarroll, Niall (2004). Forestry in Ireland: A Concise History(PDF). Dublin: COFORD, National Council for Forest Research and Development. ISBN 1 902696 37 9.
- ^ ab"Mr. Arthur C. Forbes". Irish Independent. 8 November 1950. p. 7. Retrieved 27 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^Fitzpatrick, H.M. (1966). The Forests of Ireland: An Account of The Forests of Ireland from Early Times Until the Present Day(PDF). Dublin: Society of Irish Foresters.
- ^Pluymers, Keith (6 October 2023). "Memories of Early Modern Deforestation and Modern Irish Forest Policy". NACBS. Retrieved 21 January 2026.
External links
- . . Dublin: Alexander Thom and Son Ltd. 1923. p. – via Wikisource.
