Sheep auction raises £7,000 in memory of Will Pedley

A North of England Mule shearling sold in memory of 15-year-old Will Pedley has raised more than £7,000 for suicide prevention charity Papyrus.

The ewe, Wilma, went under the hammer at Rugby Farmers Mart on Friday 28 August, exactly one year after Will died by suicide.

Will, from Barbon, Cumbria, was the son of prominent Mule breeders Richard and Jess Pedley ,and had shown Wilma as a lamb.

See also: ‘Mind Your Head’ tackles mental health barriers in farming

The charity auction formed part of Rugby Farmers Mart’s annual North of England Mule Sheep Association (Nemsa) Mule show and sale at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, an event the Pedley family has attended for about a decade.

Wilma was first auctioned following Will’s death last year, raising £8,400 as buyers repeatedly purchased her before putting her back into the ring.

Together with donated Nemsa merchandise, the latest auction has raised more than £7,600, taking the amount generated through Wilma’s two sales to about £16,000.

Rugby Farmers Mart manager and auctioneer Thomas Wrench estimated over 500 people packed around the ring.

He said many of those donating had never met Will or his family, who live about 300 miles away, but were brought together by their connection to sheep farming.

“For people who don’t suffer with their mental health, it’s hard to imagine ever being in that situation, and that’s probably what’s so frustrating about mental health,” said Mr Wrench.

“It’s hard for us to understand. We work in one of the best industries in the world, and this whole thing has shown what a community it is that we work within.”

Community support

Reflecting on the past 12 months, Richard Pedley told Farmers Weekly much of the year had been spent “going through the motions” and simply getting through each day.

He said knowing the family had support from friends within farming, including those connected with the Rugby sale, had made an unimaginably difficult period slightly easier.

Mr Pedley said the response also demonstrated the importance of maintaining the communities built around hill farming and traditional sheep breeds.

Nemsa connects farmers from hill flocks through to lowland producers and, he said, had created friendships across the country which had become like family.

“Without the hill sheep, we wouldn’t have the community like we have,” he said. “It’s humbling to know that you can turn to people.”

A message to farmers

But he said there had been no warning signs that Will was struggling.

“There were no signs for us with Will,” he said.

His overriding message to anyone struggling with their mental health was simple: “Just talk, honestly, just talk. Tell people how you’re feeling.”

Fundraising will continue on 20 September, when ladies from Kirkby Lonsdale Rugby Union Football Club will pull a vintage tractor about four miles from Barbon to the rugby club in Kirkby Lonsdale in Will’s memory, raising further funds for Papyrus.