This photo shows Jack Pope driving a bulldozer somewhere in the Forest during World War II. The men look to be Royal Engineers who were based at a camp near Mile End. Timber production was very important at this time. With German naval threats to allied shipping, the government did not want to waste valuable cargo space with timber. The miners, both in the forest and elsewhere in the country, were working in a 'reserved occupation' during the war and needed a ready supply of pit props.

Suzanne Muzzall added (September 2011): "... Jack Pope was a wartime mate of my father John Isted and they worked in the Forest during the war. They served in the Royal Engineers and remained friends till they died. My father met my mother Marjorie Powell from Gorsty Knoll at a dance at Berry Hill hall and married in 1943".

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