Early navigators needed a protractor to transfer a compass bearing to a map or chart until a Swede, Gunnar Tillander, came along in 1928 and combined the two, creating what we now call a baseplate compass. It seems that Tillander was an orienteer, spending much of his time running through the Scandinavean forests. No surprise then that he decided to call his invention, Silva, which translates as woodland or forest. Tillander teamed up with the Kjellstrom brothers in 1932 and they began production of what is now the world’s best known compass for the outdoors. Dating from the 1960’s, this fine little compass has been produced for the American market, though we are not sure if the patent is -see opposite- American or Swedish. Either way it found its way back to Scotland where it was used by our friend, Roger O’Donovan, man of many parts and one time principal of Glenmore Lodge, Scotland’s National Outdoor Centre.