Thomas Preece, who later worked at Princess Royal Colliery during the Second World War, describes how his father, a sheep commoner helped him start his own flock. The tradition of sheep commoning and practices such as ‘hefting’ (or 'haunting') were passed from generation to generation.

Here Thomas remembers that sheep commoning was not exclusively a male occupation. His sister Gladys was regarded as a ‘good sheep badger’. Women and entire families helped with shepherding.

Commoning was a family tradition for Kelvyn Jones. Here he describes in detail his history of managing pigs and the practice of commoning them for acorns. He reveals too how his family gathered kelp from the River Severn to feed the pigs. 

Kelvyn Jhelped his father common four Herefordshire cattle along the Blackpool Brook. Here he describes how commoners watched each other’s stock and alerted each other to strays, and how his father used his horse to drive the cattle. 

Mick Holder has worked for many years to maintain and defend the tradition of sheep commoning in the Forest. Here Mick talks about one of his attempts to get sheep badgers (shepherds) to work together - with mixed results. 

As a police officer Nigel Isaac worked with the commoners to ensure public safety. One commoner said that his sheep belonged to the Queen. This did not, however, change Nigel's  approach.