In June 2025 we received a query from Derek Matthews seeking further information on his great uncle Earnest who was recorded in the 1921 census as living at Downham Hall.
The census shows him as a Horseman (Timber) and employed by the Downham Syndicate with an address of Downham Hall.
The Downham Syndicate was operated by former members of the Canadian Forestry Corps who were stationed at Downham Hall during WW1.
It’s likely he worked with a team of horses extracting timber from deep in the forest to load it onto the timber railway operating at the time.