Catalogue description Records of the Head Office, Committees and Councils

When the Forestry Commission was established the functions reserved to its headquarters included policy, matters of finance and establishment, provision of seed, stores, and equipment, research, and publications. On the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 the staff was divided into two sections, one responsible for timber supply and the other for forest management.

Following the passing of the Forestry Act 1945 there was a complete reorganisation of the commission, and at headquarters the posts of director general and deputy director general were created to assist the commissioners in the execution of policy and administrative and technical co-operation. Further appointments included a director in charge of research, education, and publications, a controller of finance, and an information officer.

The headquarters of the commission were separate from the office of the Assistant Commissioner for England and Wales, and later the Director of Forestry for England, until 1965, when the latter office was abolished and its functions taken over by head office. Some organisational changes followed the transfer of headquarters from London to Edinburgh in 1974.

Under the 1919 act, four consultative committees were established by order in Council of 25 March 1920 for the purpose of advising and assisting the commissioners in the exercise of their statutory functions. Separate committees were appointed for England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. The committee for Ireland was dissolved in 1922 and the others became moribund in the 1930s.

Under the Forestry Act 1945 they were abolished and replaced by three national committees for England, Wales, and Scotland. These advise the commission, especially on the social, recreational, and amenity aspects of its activities, and its relationship with land users. There are also regional advisory committees in each conservancy, first appointed in 1946 and given statutory recognition in 1951.