The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Veteran branches out to discover life after redundancy
Aformer Royal Marine from Angus who set up his own business after being made redundant twice now wants to inspire other veterans.
Graeme Ogg is a former Royal Marines sergeant who saw conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, but now runs his own tree surgery business.
During the first Covid lockdown in 2020 he was made redundant for the second time in five years.
At his lowest point, he decided to turn to tree surgery work – something he had done with his late uncle.
Funding of £6,500 from Poppyscotland allowed Graeme to take his place on a residential training camp in Cornwall.
And 18 months on, he is
different man – happy and with a business going from strength to strength.
He credits Poppyscotland for its part in his turnaround in fortunes and now wants to inspire other former serviceman.
Last weekend he gave a talk to encourage others to follow the same path.
Graeme said: “I did a half-hour talk at Poppyscotland.
“It went down very well. I started at the redundancy and went through to where we are now.
“It was great for me to give back to all the people who have helped me.”
Graeme left the Royal Marines in 2013 and took on jobs in the oil and gas industry.
But after being made redundant the second time in five years during the first lockdown, he set up Timber Tree Surgery in late 2020.
And he is pleased with the way business has gone so far.
Graeme said: “We’ve had a lot of success.
“We now have a full-time member of staff Scott Cameron and he’s absolutely fantastic.
“He’s just done chainsaw tickets and he’s booked in to do his climbing tickets, so he’ll be able to do exactly what I can do.
“That’s turned the business from a one-man band and we’ve got real traction now.”
Work has come flooding in for the duo, with Storm Arwen making for a busy time.
Graeme added: “There were a lot of domestic jobs, such as removing trees from people’s driveways.
“We did some work for Scottish Water as well and we’re booked in to do more for them.
“Initially I just wanted to make enough money to go from month to month and pay the bills.
“Now we’ve invested back into the business with new equipment – a chipper, a new truck and our ninth chainsaw.
“In 18 months, we’ve grown fairly quickly but steadily too.
Graeme described feeling “very low” after being made redundant in the midst of the Covid lockdown two years ago.
However, he said he is in a much better place now.
Special praise was reserved for the support he has been given from wife Lynne and sons Ryan and Spencer.
“Mentally I am in a very good place – I feel happy, and I couldn’t have done that without the support of my wife, my sons and the wider family.”