Farming Stalwarts: Albert Cook
An astute business mind and a passion for farming and rural life have made Albert Cook a legend.
Born at West Heddon Farm, Filleigh, Devon, like his father before him, he has overseen significant changes to the business and had a profound impact on the local community – as well as further afield.
The Cook family has been farming at West Heddon for 120 years – and Albert is pleased to see his grandson now taking over the reins. Originally rented from the Fortescue Estate, the farm started out at 90 acres and Albert’s grandfather was one of the founders of the Devon Closewool sheep breed – a cross between Cotswold and Exmoor Horns. He also kept Red Ruby Devon cattle, a multi-purpose breed for meat and milk.
Both Albert’s father and grandfather were ropemakers, a skill essential to farming before mechanisation. However, when the 16-year-old Albert returned to the farm after leaving school in 1940, the war effort introduced tractors to the system and horses and ropes were no longer required.
“This has always been a grass farm, but we grew potatoes and cereals during the war. One day, during the Battle of Britain, I was making a rick and a Spitfire flew over in a dogfight with a German plane, which went down just over the hill.”
Albert joined the Filleigh Home Guard, which won the competition for the best shooting platoon in the area, and also threw himself into Young Farmers’ Club activities.
| Devon Show |
The three-day Devon County Show near Exeter opens its doors in 2010 on 20 May. It’s one of the first major shows of the farming calendar and will feature livestock, food and drink, flower and garden displays, crafts and traditional entertainment in six rings. More details at www.devoncountyshow.co.uk |
“It is not just the showing – I love the breeding. It’s great when you go to a show or sale and see a ram that you think would be perfect with your flock and you turn out to be right.”
In 1949 Albert married Ruth, a local farmer’s daughter and the couple moved to North Newton, where Albert bought an 82-acre farm. “I borrowed every penny – I only had £500 saved up because I’d never been paid any wages.”
Soon a daughter, Margaret, and a son, John, arrived and Ruth worked with Albert preparing sheep for the showing ring. “Ruth was the best shepherdess ever, and she loved doing it. All the credit for our winnings was down to her.”
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| Albert and Ruth, with one of their Devon Closewools, in the 1970s. |
Albert continued to farm at North Newton and to help at West Heddon, building up a flock of 60 pedigree Devon Closewool ewes and 100 dairy cows between the two farms. In 1956 he was made County Chairman of the Devon Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs and was presented to the Queen and Prince Philip during a royal visit to Devon.
Showing and shearing successes followed, including 16 breed championships, four interbreed championships and shearing championships at the Devon County and Royal Bath & West shows.
However, in 1958 Albert’s father was forced to retire due to arthritis, and Albert took on the tenancy a month before Lord and Lady Fortescue died and much of the estate sold off to pay death duties.
He installed a new dairy and swapped from Red Devon to Friesian cows – then in 1974 the opportunity arose to buy the farm. “I had to borrow the lot, but we built it up to 300 acres.”
Albert continued to farm both units with his family until 1983, when his son John got married and took over the main farm. “I didn’t ever have a weekend off, so we decided to sell North Newton and build a bungalow for us to move into at Heddon.”
Releasing the capital from North Newton and cutting down the day-to-day work proved a great blessing, he adds. “Times had been tight and we had to work hard, but we did enjoy ourselves.”
Having stopped competition shearing when he took over both farms, Albert switched to judging at the Royal Bath & West Show, which he did every year until 2007. He was the first chairman of the National Sheep Shearing Committee and in 1988 judged the world championship in New Zealand. He has overseen two other world championships at the Royal Bath & West Show in his time.
Albert continued to show his sheep until two years ago and his grandson Stephen has now taken on the nucleus of his flock. “It is nice to sit here and see my son and grandson carrying the farm on, much more efficiently than I ever did. I think farming would drive me mad now – there’s just too much paperwork, it’s just over the top.
“I am concerned that the future of farming will be too expensive for young people to start out. Tractors now cost more than a farm would in the 60s or 70s and to buy a farm now takes an awful lot of money.
“But farmers have an important part to play in the future of this country and this county – they are maintaining rural England and, with the world population growing faster than ever, they’re going to need every acre of land again. But at the moment we’re importing food which should be produced here – God forbid there’s another war because the people would starve.”
Albert’s favourite era of farming was the 1970s. “You really got good value for money because the land prices were relatively low. I don’t think farming will change as much in the next lifetime as it has in mine – the technology will go on improving, but not to such an extent.”
Sadly, Ruth died in 2000 – the only year Albert ever missed the Royal Bath & West Show. But he has since met a new companion, Lorna (pictured, top of page), with whom he is looking forward to the years ahead.
“The crowning glory of my farming life is to have been asked to be president of the Devon County Show this year – it’s a real honour. I’m just an ordinary north Devon farmer and the show has been part of my life.”
As well as his farming successes, Albert has served for many decades on the local parish and district councils, as well as being a school governor and part of the committee which saved North Devon Meat from insolvency. “If you are a local person you understand what people want and need – often rural people come off second best to urban areas and you need someone to stand up for them. I do what I think is right.”
He is also a keen huntsman and cricketer and is thrilled that his great-nephew, Alastair Cook, was named as England captain for the recent tour of Bangladesh. “For Alastair to have taken over as captain of England in the same year as I took over as president of the Devon County Show really is the dream family double.”
Read about other stalwarts at www.fwi.co.uk/stalwarts
So, if you’re a “farming stalwart” or know someone who is, we’d love to hear from you. You can nominate yourself – or a friend, a neighbour, relative or colleague.
Just email a few bullet points about the person you’re nominating (you can nominate yourself) to tim.relf@rbi.co.uk
Tell us why you think that person would make a good subject to feature in the Farming Stalwarts series.
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