The Portuguese Fireplace is a

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, fea ...

National Park, near the village of Lyndhurst,

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is located on the road between Bolderwood and

Emery Down Emery Down is a small village in the New Forest National Park in Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Lyndhurst, which lies approximately south-east from the village. Overview Emery Down is a small village clustered around a hilltop overloo ...

, approximately from the latter. It is near to Millyford Bridge and is used as a

Waymark Trail blazing or way marking is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with signs or markings that follow each other at certain, though not necessarily exactly defined, distances and mark the direction of the trail. A blaz ...

.http://www.rffs.org.uk/archived%20programmes/Programme_March_June_2008.html Because it was also operated by the

Canadian Forestry Corps The Canadian Forestry Corps (''Corps forestier canadien'' in French) was an administrative corps of the Canadian Army with its own cap badge, and other insignia and traditions. The Canadian Forestry Corps was created 14 Nov 1916. The badge of t ...

, it is also referred to locally as the Canadian Fireplace.

Plaque

Next to the memorial was a plaque explaining the significance of the fireplace which read: In

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, local labour was in short supply due to the war effort. In order to help with the

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...

production for the war, a Portuguese Army unit with the Canadian Timber Corps helped the local population whilst local foresters were away fighting. The fireplace is what remains of the

cookhouse A cookhouse is a small building where cooking takes place. Often found at remote work camps, they complemented the bunkhouse and were usually found on ranches that employed cowboys, or loggers in a logging camp. Prior to the 20th century, cookh ...

of the camp of those people who lived, worked and helped out in the area.

History of the camp

On 15 February 1916, 18 months after the beginning of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Colonial Secretary cabled to the then Governor- General of Canada, H.R.H. the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also ...

, that Canadian timber could no longer be imported on a large enough scale to meet requirements for the war as there was not enough freight for munitions, food, forage and other essential items due to the scarce number of people available. This required the felling of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

forests and woodlands in order to meet the requirements. Of chief concern was finding enough skilled labour, in particular, fellers, hauliers and sawyers. Therefore, they requested that a First Battalion of Lumbermen be formed of 1500 Canadian workers to come over to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

to help out. The Canadian government was quick to respond and sent them over in batches. To save time, the Canadians brought over their own equipment and modifications were made to adapt to being in Britain. The differences in conditions were so great between Canada and Britain that it required highly expert knowledge to carry out the changes. This was done very quickly and few changes then had to be made again. The Canadian lumbermen were of unknown quantity as were the conditions in Britain to the Canadians. An initial advance party of 15 Canadians set up in a camp near Lyndhurst. The actual first 400 Canadians set up in the

South of England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes ...

to facilitate organisation with later contingents setting up elsewhere in the UK. In 1917–1918, the Canadian Forestry Corps received help from Portuguese labourers. A typical encampment was 4 to in size. The camp was surrounded by four fences of various sizes and also included a mess room,

canteen {{Primary sources, date=February 2007 Canteen is an Australian national support organisation for young people (aged 12–25) living with cancer; including cancer patients, their brothers and sisters, and young people with parents or primary carers ...

, sleeping quarters, wash and bath houses, tailors' and boot shops, laundry, drying room, cookhouse, hospital and non-commissioned officer's quarters and electricity was included. Guards were positioned at wooden and barbed wire gates as well as strategic points around the camp. There were 25 huts on site for workshops and various other uses. At the height of the camp's usage there were around 100 Portuguese and 200

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and associated workers on site.

Light railways ''Light Railways'' is a magazine produced by the Light Railway Research Society of Australia (LRRSA). The subtitle is "Australia's Magazine of Industrial and Narrow Gauge Railways". History The LRRSA started in the 1961 to foster interest in ...

were built by the Canadians with a single locomotive, and this helped to speed up the timber production. The Canadians moved from a camp in

Norley Wood Norley Wood (or Norleywood) is a hamlet in the New Forest National Park of Hampshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Boldre. Its nearest town is Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Sol ...

in the south of the New Forest and were better equipped for the environment than were the Portuguese, who at one point went on strike because they were not even given oilskins. The Canadians were better equipped than the Portuguese. Special arrangements had to be made so that Canadians and Portuguese got abundant food and the food they required as there was a difference in diversity. The Portuguese required a diet of largely fish, bread, potatoes, beans, rice and olive oil as well as green vegetables and onions. Eventually it was decided that Portuguese were better used for other work than timber as the workers found best suited were

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

and prisoners of war.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2020 New Forest Military history of the United Kingdom during World War I World War I memorials in the United Kingdom Monuments and memorials in Hampshire Military monuments in Hampshire Canadian military memorials and cemeteries Portuguese military memorials and cemeteries Portugal in World War I