Agisters

Agisters are the officials who look after the ponies, cows, pigs, sheep and donkeys on the forest. They spend much of their time on horseback. Today they use mobile phones, but fifty years ago they had to send post-cards to keep in touch! Each agister has a ‘beat’ in the forest. You should get to know the local agister, and call if you see a sick or injured animal on the Forest. The agisters’ phone numbers are at www.verderers.org.uk

The Queen Visits

Raymond Bennet (left) and Raymond Stickland worked as agisters together.

Raymond Stickland remembers being one of the guards of honour when the Queen visited the New Forest.