When the forest is alive with the sound of music

During the 1930s, unemployed men were set to work in Dalby Forest, breaking ground and building tracks. The men lived in a work camp at Low Dalby, which was one of a number of so-called Instructional Centres run by the Ministry of Labour in order to ‘harden’ young men who had been out of work for some time. By 1938, the Ministry was operating 35 centres across Britain with a total capacity of over 6,000 places.

By 1939, unemployment was declining in the face of impending war and the Ministry closed down its work camps. However, much of Dalby village seems to be based partly on the layout of the old centre.

In 1942, as part of plans to keep industry moving during the Second World War, the Women Timber Corps was born. In total about 5,000 women, volunteered and the Lumberjills, as they were affectionately known, were put to work in places like Dalby Forest, felling and hauling timber which was used for everything from telegraph poles to crosses which marked the graves of fallen soldiers.

While the forest still produces timber, today the main emphasis is on recreation with the area boasting miles of mountain bike tracks.