Former Farmers Weekly editor dies after short illness

Former Farmers Weekly editor Travers Legge CBE died, aged 87, at his home in  Angus, NE Scotland last Friday (18 Aug) after a short illness.

Mr Legge was a pilot in Coastal Command during the second world war and ended up as a reporter for Farmers Weekly after graduating from Durham University in 1948.  He stayed with the magazine for the next 34 years working his way up and becoming editor in the early 1970s.  

During this time, Mr Legge also ran the Farmers Weekly farms in the UK and France and managed farms for Sir Edward Hulton in Gloucestershire and the Loire Valley.  He was honoured with a CBE for services to agriculture and retired in 1982 with his wife Molly and four sons.  

John Lambkin, who used to be Farmers Weekly’s farms manager, said. “He was a man who commanded authority and had a wide influence within the farming industry:  a figure to respect and admire.” 

“He was the driving force behind the initiative for Farmers Weekly to farm publicly with its own farms and was the named tenant at Easton Lodge from 1966. We shall all miss his informed contribution.”

The funeral will be held at Edzell Church, Angus, Scotland this Friday (25 Aug) at 11am.