Tells the fascinating story of the policies and projects that resulted in doubling the size of British forests over the past 80 years. By the end of the century the area of forests in the United Kingdom (including Northern Ireland) had risen to over two and three quarter million hectares and covered eleven percent of the land area. Three quarters of them consisted of plantations. Few other countries - Ireland and Denmark are two - have achieved a comparable change in the rural landscape in favour of forestry over as short a time.
E. G. Richards gained his B.Sc. in forestry at Aberdeen University in 1938. After the war, he joined the Forestry Commission as District Forest Officer in North Scotland and stayed with the Commission for the whole of his career until his retirement as Director at Headquarters in 1978. He held a number of positions, including responsibilities for the utilisation of timber. Since his retirement from the Forestry Commission, he has remained active as a consultant in the field of forestry and forest industries.