Wreckers!!

Two Tone · Feb 25, 2024

FMF74 said:
Was there a version of this idea knocking around in the 80s I can vaguely remember a blue gantry type thing with a detachable drill and power harrow

Cab-over Pete said:
Yes, a farmer in Warwickshire, along the Fosse Way developed it.

Can’t remember his name and I don’t recall ever working on his farm, but I know where it was.

IIRC, it had a Nodet DP12 fertiliser spreader and a sprayer on it.
The idea was to have a single wheel tramline instead of 2.
Wasn’t it somewhere near where Walton Lane crosses the Fosse way @Cab-over Pete ?

Two Tone · Feb 25, 2024

grainboy said:
Previous thread,
Originally Israeli concept I believe, View attachment 1166520

If it was, it must have been way back in the late 70’s, early 80’s.
So I doubt it is the same thing.
The one here was not designed for cultivation work. The 80HP engine wouldn’t have had enough power for 12 metre wide Cultivation equipment.

Cab-over Pete · Feb 25, 2024

Two Tone said:
IIRC, it had a Nodet DP12 fertiliser spreader and a sprayer on it.
The idea was to have a single wheel tramline instead of 2.
Wasn’t it somewhere near where Walton Lane crosses the Fosse way @Cab-over Pete ?

Well, there’s me saying “I know “ where it was, I’m not entirely certain.

But I think it was a farm on The Fosse Way, just north of the Banbury Rd A422 cross roads. About half a mile further north there is a big layby on the right and I have a recollection of parking in that layby and seeing the gantry working in the big field on the east side of The Fosse.

That would be a few hundred yards before the Walton turn.

Cab-over Pete · Feb 25, 2024

The field with the pin.

Two Tone · Feb 25, 2024

Cab-over Pete said:
Well, there’s me saying “I know “ where it was, I’m not entirely certain.

But I think it was a farm on The Fosse Way, just north of the Banbury Rd A422 cross roads. About half a mile further north there is a big layby on the right and I have a recollection of parking in that layby and seeing the gantry working in the big field on the east side of The Fosse.

That would be a few hundred yards before the Walton turn.

Yes, that’s right. Slightly further up the Fosse, where the B4086 crosses it, was a great mate of his called John Warhurst. John used to rave about his engineering abilities.
John also had a collection of stuff himself, including an Argo-cat and a whole collection of antique stuff, including a Gyrotiller.

CPF · Feb 25, 2024

https://irp.cdn-website.com/359ed240/files/uploaded/David%20Dowler%20-%20an%20abbreviated%20history.pdf

grainboy · Feb 25, 2024

Interesting read

JP1 · Feb 25, 2024

Two Tone said:
Yes, that’s right. Slightly further up the Fosse, where the B4086 crosses it, was a great mate of his called John Warhurst. John used to rave about his engineering abilities.
John also had a collection of stuff himself, including an Argo-cat and a whole collection of antique stuff, including a Gyrotiller.

I believe his Son Geoffrey who farmed at Sutton Under Brailes passed a few years ago ?

Two Tone · Feb 25, 2024

JP1 said:
I believe his Son Geoffrey who farmed at Sutton Under Brailes passed a few years ago ?

No, I don’t think so.
John, an arable farmer, died in the late 90’s. Survived by his wife Kate and their son Henry, who now runs the Farm.
John’s youngest brother is Geoffrey, still farms arable and beef at Sutton-Under-Brailes.
IIRC, Geoffrey once held the world record wheat yield and I’m told it is on some land I now farm, belonging to my next door neighbour. That field has done me very well too, but the weather has to be on your side or it can also be crap. As @CPF found out, struggling to harvest a certain crop of Linseed last year!
The Warhurst family, headed by Charlie and Hilda, including the middle brother Winston, moved down from Cheshire, to Chesterton, Warks. Bringing their dairy herd with them, by train! That Dairy herd became one of the most famous Friesian herds in the world, known as the Ewefields herd.
That is how I originally came to know the family and my family would come and stay with John and Kate for Royal Show week, at which we also exhibited our own Cambrian Herd of Pedigree Accredited British Friesian dairy cattle.
Geoffrey still farms cattle, but they are South Devons.

Boy have a lot of things changed since those halcyon days!
There’s a few folks who’ve turned over and over in their graves, several times since then.

serf · Feb 25, 2024

Two Tone said:
The Warhurst family, headed by Charlie and Hilda, including the middle brother Winston, moved down from Cheshire, to Chesterton, Warks. Bringing their dairy herd with them, by train! That Dairy herd became one of the most famous Friesian herds in the world, known as the Ewefields herd.

That name brings back memories , when I had to do a week's placement on dairy duties from college I went there .

Must have been 94 ISH and the old Mr warhurst used to bring the tea out at about 8 am in a old tin caddy

, it was the best tea ever always remember it he was such a pleasant old chap too , he must have been in his 80s then

Two Tone · Feb 25, 2024

serf said:
That name brings back memories , when I had to do a week's placement on dairy duties from college I went there .

Must have been 94 ISH and the old Mr warhurst used to bring the tea out at about 8 am in a old tin caddy , it was the best tea ever always remember it he was such a pleasant old chap too , he must have been in his 80s then

He’d got a really good sense of humour too.
I remember waking round the Royal Show with him and my father. Charlie wasn’t a tall man by any means. Hilda must have been six inches taller than he was.
Anyway, as we were walking and talking, he accidentally walked straight into a really tall chap, maybe in his 20’s.
He took his cap off, scratched his head and looked up at him, saying “Eh lad. You’ll be a big lad when you’re grown up!”

serf · Feb 25, 2024

Two Tone said:
He’d got a really good sense of humour too.
I remember waking round the Royal Show with him and my father. Charlie wasn’t a tall man by any means. Hilda must have been six inches taller than he was.
Anyway, as we were walking and talking, he accidentally walked straight into a really tall chap, maybe in his 20’s.
He took his cap off, scratched his head and looked up at him, saying “Eh lad. You’ll be a big lad when you’re grown up!”

Yes remember he always up for a yarn every day , top chap he was , what age did he live to?

Two Tone · Feb 25, 2024

serf said:
Yes remember he always up for a yarn every day , top chap he was , what age did he live to?

I’m not sure. I remember Geoffrey ringing my boss, while he and I were having our regular Monday morning meeting to say that he had died and would he let me know. I’d say that was mid 2000’s.
By Christ they had some cracking cattle. We bought one called Ewefield’s Honey that won a lot of the East Anglian County shows and then another called Ewefield’s Annette that did the same. Not just fantastic conformation and high yielding, but some of the nicest charactered cattle I ever saw too. Born to please.
Do you remember those herd family names?
About dawn one morning, our Annette was struck by lighting while giving Birth. We called the kennels who came to pick her and the calf up.
But later that day in the evening, we found another calf, a heifer that could only have been what must have been one on Annettes twins. We rang the kennels to ask what sex that dead calf was, but it was too late.
So we kept the live calf in the hope that she wasn’t a Free-martin. Fortunately, she not only calved but also went on to win other shows too!

Everything was so smart at Ewefields, that I don’t think they’d ever have anything that would appear on this Wreckers thread.

Cab-over Pete · Feb 25, 2024

I’ve spread lime for Winston Warhurst at Ewefields, and also for another Warhurst, whose christian name escapes me at Furze Hill, between Wellesbourne and Kineton (just near to where the gantry man farmed) and also, most recently at Geoffrey Warhursts, Sutton Under Brailes on behalf of @pgk

serf · Feb 25, 2024

Two Tone said:
I’m not sure. I remember Geoffrey ringing my boss, while he and I were having our regular Monday morning meeting to say that he had died and would he let me know. I’d say that was mid 2000’s.
By Christ they had some cracking cattle. We bought one called Ewefield’s Honey that won a lot of the East Anglian County shows and then another called Ewefield’s Annette that did the same. Not just fantastic conformation and high yielding, but some of the nicest charactered cattle I ever saw too. Born to please.
Do you remember those herd family names?
About dawn one morning, our Annette was struck by lighting while giving Birth. We called the kennels who came to pick her and the calf up.
But later that day in the evening, we found another calf, a heifer that could only have been what must have been one on Annettes twins. We rang the kennels to ask what sex that dead calf was, but it was too late.
So we kept the live calf in the hope that she wasn’t a Free-martin. Fortunately, she not only calved but also went on to win other shows too!

Everything was so smart at Ewefields, that I don’t think they’d ever have anything that would appear on this Wreckers thread.

Unfortunately I didn't appreciate the quality of dairy cattle then as I would now esp being Friesans !
They had a herdsman there at the time as I remember , decent bloke too he must have been in his 50s at the time not sure how long they carried on milking for after I was there for the week ?

Two Tone · Feb 25, 2024

Cab-over Pete said:
I’ve spread lime for Winston Warhurst at Ewefields, and also for another Warhurst, whose christian name escapes me at Furze Hill, between Wellesbourne and Kineton (just near to where the gantry man farmed) and also, most recently at Geoffrey Warhursts, Sutton Under Brailes on behalf of @pgk

That would have been on John Warhurst’s farm. But he died in the late 90’s. Winston helped John’s wife Kate keep the farm going until John and Kate’s son, Henry could take it over.
Bloody nice family, the lot of them.

Two Tone · Feb 25, 2024

serf said:
Unfortunately I didn't appreciate the quality of dairy cattle then as I would now esp being Friesans !
They had a herdsman there at the time as I remember , decent bloke too he must have been in his 50s at the time not sure how long they carried on milking for after I was there for the week ?

I wish I could remember that Herdsman’s name. He was brilliant guy too. Like many of his ilk, he loved his cows as much as he did his family.
I remember going to Ewefields for a Surplus sale in the late 70’s, It might have been just after the Dairy Event at Stoneliegh. I distinctly remember seeing wheat tipped and pushed up on an outside concrete pad, because the shed it should have gone into as being used for the cattle sale.
You never saw so many Jaguar XJ6 cars turn up in all your life. I particularly remember several XJ6 Coupes, which are quite rare to see now. The Pedigree Friesian world was booming then and there was a certain amount of showing off between the rivals to be done!
We went out of Dairy in 89 and dispersed the herd. Not really caring too much for the long legged, short lived Holsteins that were taking over.
I always said that if ever the Ewefields herd was dispersed, that would be the end of the world.
But it happened as it did with the Hunday and many other famous herds too.

All that meticulous, carefully thought out breeding wrecked and lost!

serf · Feb 25, 2024

Two Tone said:
I wish I could remember that Herdsman’s name. He was brilliant guy too. Like many of his ilk, he loved his cows as much as he did his family.

Can still picture the chap now but no chance remembering his name !

Even though I wasn't a dairying fan it was such pleasure to go and help out down there even though it was about 4.30 start

Cab-over Pete · Feb 25, 2024

Two Tone said:
That would have been on John Warhurst’s farm. But he died in the late 90’s. Winston helped John’s wife Kate keep the farm going until John and Kate’s son, Henry could take it over.
Bloody nice family, the lot of them.

Whenever I spread for them I’m called by a chap named Jack Cooper, good chap.

They farm some ground nearer to Coventry which needs lime more often than the Furze Hill heavy clay.

There used to be a very nice chap managed the place…Duncan somebody? Dudley maybe?

jellybean · Feb 25, 2024

Two Tone said:
IIRC, it had a Nodet DP12 fertiliser spreader and a sprayer on it.
The idea was to have a single wheel tramline instead of 2.
Wasn’t it somewhere near where Walton Lane crosses the Fosse way @Cab-over Pete ?

Yes it was David Dowler, I bought a Holder A60 tractor from him about 1984.

Wreckers!!

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