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September 2011

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September 2011 September 2011 Based at Beachamwell and Sup- porting the East Anglia Air Ambulance th Sunday 19 June saw 17 entrants, sup- ported by other members and friends, gather at Beachamwell for the NVTEC th East Anglia Group’s 7 annual, spon- sored vintage tractor road-run. We set off at 10.30 travelling off- Malcolm Bush: John Deere L, Cliff Armsby: Allis Chalmers road through Shingham to Gooderstone and Foulden and return- ing to Beachamwell for lunch. We would like to express our thanks to Beachamwell Our afternoon run went towards Oxborough, cut back both for the support and welcome we received and tol- cross-country before reaching Eastmoor. From here we erating the intrusion into their pretty village. Thanks again went “off road” down into Boughton Fen returning are also due to Richard Bailey of Albanwise and John Rix via Barton Bendish to Beachamwell. for allowing us access to their farms. Both drivers and The competition for the trophy, sponsored by Frontier supporters were grateful for the staff at the Great Agriculture Ltd, was won by John Mitchell and Peter An- Dane keeping them refuelled. derson who shared the driving and jointly raised £307. Malcolm Bush is to be congratulated for his persever- Overall we raised in excess of £1,200 for the Air Ambu- ance in completing the full route on his 1942 John Deere lance. Model L. I hope he has recovered from the whiplash. Finally I must thank the entrants for their efforts in Peter Thorpe leading the fundraising and support in making it a pleasure to organ- start of the Road Run with i s e . Andrew Hunt his Fordson Power Major. Daniel Mycock : Allis Chalmers and Peter Allflatt: Zetor Michael Squires exhibited this interesting Cut Away Lister D with Lio Pump during a damp and windy weekend at Holkham. A good engine line at Burghley, organised by Clive Richardson, who is seen here present- ing the trophy, (donated by Clive and Julie,) to John Bailey for his Lister. This was chosen by a member of the public. Editor: Mrs Viv Gray Printed by Minuteman Press, 4, The High Street, King’s Lynn By Darren Tebbitt nd In the early hours of the 2 of June, a coach left Har- Beetling at the National Trust owned WellBrook Beetling rod’s Bexwell yard to collect forty-four Ferguson enthu- Mill. The curator told us Linen is best when ‘beetled’ as it siasts from across the British mainland- (Norfolk, Cambs, tightens the nap of the cloth, producing a good sheen. Northants, Warks, Worcs , Shrops, and Cheshire) for a Driven by a waterwheel, the beetling engines consist of a four day tour of Northern Ireland. row of wooded hammers above a wooden cylinder- be- Organised by Roger and Carol Thulbourne of the Norfolk tween which the cloth passes. The noise of which is hor- and Cambridgeshire group of Friends of Ferguson Herit- rendous! age-the focus of the trip was to visit the locations where On day three we learned about Harry Ferguson’s early Harry Ferguson grew up, and did his early pioneering work life and tractor experiments at Tullylagen Manor, from an on the “famous Ferguson System’ Three-point- linkage, in informative lecture given by ex-tenant Fred Faulkner. addition to visiting regular tourist attractions on the way. He told us that Tullylagen Manor (near Cookstown) was On arrival at Belfast docks, our coach was met by Mr the home of Mr Thomas Macgregor Greer, and that Mr Greer, a member of the aristocracy, was one of the first people in Ireland to own a motorcar. However the car proved unreliable, which prompted a call to Joe Fergu- son’s car garage in Belfast. A very young Harry was sent to fix the car. Impressed with Harry’s work, he became a regular visitor to Tullylagen to look after Mr Greer’s growing fleet of automobiles. A friendship began, and in due course it was he [Mr Greer] who provided encouragement and funding for Har- ry to set up a garage business on his own and participate in experimentation. George McAleer- the Northern Ireland coordinator The first Ferguson for Friends of Ferguson Heritage, and we are indebt- hydraulic pump was ed to George, and colleague Iggy McCrystal for acting made on the site, as tour guides throughout the duration of the trip. and the experi- Day one began with a visit to a new museum named the mental ‘Black’ trac- Braid in Ballymena which pays homage to the heritage tor was tested of the local area, followed by a guided tour of Bush- there. mills Whisky distillery and a walk on the Giant’s Cause- When production way. of the Ferguson We were grateful at lunchtime to Brown-type A be- George’s wife Hazel for providing us with gan, the first tractor off the line a buffet lunch. was delivered to Tullylagan Manor on th On day two, our first port of call was the 12 January 1937 and presented Bertie Dunlop’s tractor spares business. to Mr Greer. Bertie’s business is invaluable to the This tractor survives and is current- Ferguson restorer because in addition to ly displayed in the museum at Mas- regular parts he sell some items that are sey Ferguson’s Beauvais factory near not available elsewhere. In particular he Paris. sells replicas of the Ferguson Commis- The present owner of Tullylagan sion plates which were fitted to all Fer- Manor- Mr Raymond Turkington is very interested in the guson machines. heritage of his home and in particular it’s place in the Later we spent an enjoyable afternoon at the Mid Ulster Ferguson Story. So much so, he has established a Fergu- Tractor rally in the grounds of Springhill house at Money- son themed tractor museum on site. A good spread of more. A lovely relaxed little rally, with a friendly atmos- Ferguson/Massey Ferguson tractors and implements are phere where there was something going on for everyone. displayed and the museum is currently being extended. However the tractor handling competition was very short Today, located in the barns where Harry worked, is a res- on participants? Was this because the first competitor taurant aptly named Harry’s Bar, and it was here where set a very fast time that looked hard to beat? This was we enjoyed an excellent lunch. only a one day rally, Very wet weather forced a change of schedule in the when asked why? We afternoon. Instead of visiting another rally, we were giv- were told rallies are not en an informative tour of Belfast, during which, among held on Sunday’s for other sights, we saw the location in May Street where religious reasons. the Ferguson car garage was located, and the massive Saturday finished with a cranes of the Harland and Woolfe shipyard. demonstration of Linen Our final day began with a visit to Harry Ferguson’s homestead to see the Memorial Garden established in his memory. Located at Harry’s birthplace at Growell County Down, the Memorial Garden was the brainchild of a group of Ferguson enthusiasts, and features a life-size bronze statue of the pioneer leaning over a farm gate. See right More info on the memorial garden can be found at : http://harryfergusonmemorial.com/ Then it was on to Lisburn, to visit the Linen Museum and have lunch, followed by a visit to Tom Herron’s private col- lection, in the beautiful hills near Castle Wellum. Tom’s collection is not large but features a bit of every- thing collected over the last 40 years. Cars, tractors, en- gines, models, etc etc and all displayed in an immaculately kept barn. Later in the day we were back on the Ferguson trail with a walk Just a Sec!! along Newcastle beach, for this is the location where Harry As members, you flew the airplane he designed and built in 1909. will know that the The day, and the tour finished, with a drive around the scenic current committee Mourne Mountains near the border with Eire. Darren Tebbitt has served the club well for many years. However, the time has come to seek new committee YOUR CLUB NEEDS Once again I attended this country show and again I wasn’t dis- members for key appointed. This event seems to be going from strength to roles over the next strength as it increases in size. Now in it’s 3rd year at this ven- year to enable the ue, word seems to have got around, thus drawing more exhibi- club to continue to tors in most sections. The organisers reported that they had thrive. At the AGM we will be seeking nomina- record entries in some sections, the stationary engines being tions for committee members and for an engine one of them, and it was also noticed that this section had a big- steward and winter meetings organiser. If you ger variety of engine types than last year, which is always good think you may be able to help or know of a person to see. The tractors , commercial vehicles, vintage cars and who will be prepared to be nominated please give steam engines were all well supported. There was a different me a ring for an informal chat. field lay-out this year with some sections moved to another ar- O1553 617653 ea; as with all new venues it takes time to find the most suitable Ted Gray lay-out. Secretary. The showground is alongside the new Guided Bus Route from St Ives to Cambridge and is ideal for show visitors as the stop is nearby, or for exhibitors to go shopping on their free days.
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