Number 8 WYE The Journal of The Wye College Agricola Club 2017 – 2018 Volume XVIII Volume Volume XVIII 2017 – 2018 Number 8 Wye College Agricola Club Agricola Club Secretariat, Cumberland House, Church Street, Wye, Ashford, Kent, TN25 5BJ, United Kingdom Tel: 01233 813884 Email: [email protected] Journal Editor John Walters Tel: 01233 812 823 Email: [email protected] Production Editor Gill Bond With help from Francis Huntington Vinny McLean Jane Reynolds wyeagricolaclub.org.uk Wye College Agricola Reunion – Schedule of Events Lunch We suggest that you might like to meet up with contemporaries at the Wye hostelries – please make your own arrangements. 3.00pm – 5.00pm Wye Heritage Centre – Latin School, Wye College. Exhibition: ‘Wye College expedition – 1968 – The Gambia. Tea/coffee and scones will be served in the Latin School until 5.00pm. 5.30pm The Annual General Meeting of the Agricola Club will commence in the Kempe Centre. 6.45pm Pre-dinner drinks and canapés in the Kempe Centre. A glass of sparkling wine will be offered, and a pay bar will be available throughout the evening. 7.30pm Dinner will be served in the Kempe Centre. Please see page opposite for menu. Some wine will be included on the tables. Please note that for security reasons there is no access to the College buildings Please do not park in the car park opposite the College Please use the Kempe Centre Car Park or the Village Car Park. Follow the signs. 2 Saturday, 29th September 2018 Annual Dinner 6.45pm for 7.30pm Kempe Centre, Wye College, Wye, Kent, TN25 5AH All the arrangements are in place and we look forward to welcoming you to Wye on 29th September. As before, we are targeting particular years; this time it is those who graduated in 1958, 1968, 1978, 1988, 1998 & 2008. However, all years are of course welcome. In addition, if you arrived at Wye in one of these years you might like to celebrate. Dress: Black Tie or Lounge Suit. To reserve a place, please complete the booking form in the green pages at the back of the journal MENU Smoked Salmon Lemon & Lime with Crème Fraiche and Roquette Salad or Stuffed Field Mushrooms with Mozzarella and Sundried Tomato Slow Roasted Lamb Shank with Rosemary Mash and Crispy Sage or Pan Fried Sea Bass with Caramelised Fennel Lemon & Lime Tart with Clotted Cream or Summer Berry Cheese Cake Coffee and chocolates (There will be some wine on the tables with more available to purchase, plus beer) 3 Contacts UK All queries (excluding membership): John Walters Tel: +44 (0)1233 812823 Email: [email protected] Membership queries: Francis Huntington, Agricola Club Secretariat, Cumberland House, Church Street, Wye, Ashford, Kent TN25 5BJ Tel: +44 (0)1233 813884 Email: [email protected] OVERSEAS Do get in touch with your named contact Australia Matthew Coleman, Parklands, 265 Thwaites Road, Yannathan, Victoria 3981 Email: [email protected] Peter Darby, Box 308, Lyndoch, Barossa Valley, SA 5351 Email: [email protected] Susan Johnston, 84 Dunstan St., Curtin, Australian Capital Territory 2605 Helen Day, PO Box 193 Kapunda SA 5373 Email: [email protected] Botswana Motshwari Obopile. Dept. of Agricultural Research, Pb 0033, Gaborone France Tom Hickman, La Chambre Blanche, Lezele en Plouye, Huelgoat, Bretagne 29690 Kenya James Hutchings, P O Box 1877 Naivasha Email: [email protected] Malawi Stephen Carr, Private Bag 4, Zomba Email: [email protected] New Zealand John Varcoe, 154 Charles Road, Karaka, RD1 Papakura, 2580 Auckland Email: [email protected] Nigeria Christopher Akujuobi, Afribank Nigeria plc, N Chia Branch, 33 Hospital Road PMB 2002, Nchia-Eleone Southern Africa David Gooday, Lima Farm, PO Box 1288 Mbabane, H100 Swaziland Email: [email protected] Uganda John Magnay, 17 Akii Bua Road, Nakasero, P O Box 32041, Kampala Email: [email protected] USA Adrian Wadley, 1750 27th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122 - 4210 Email: [email protected] 4 Contents Editorial 6 Wye courses and food production President’s Message 8 John McInerny 128 Secretary’s Report 10 The forgotten front: WW1 in East Africa The Future of the Wye Campus 13 Malcolm Alexander 132 The future of the Club 16 What conditions will UK agriculture face after Brexit? The Wye Heritage Centre 18 Prof Berkely Hill 136 The Shrieval Procession 2018 20 Afghanistan: integrating agriculture, nutrition and Health: Part 2 Nigel Pool 140 Wye College Seal ‘reborn’ 22 A lot of coffee in Brazil in 1952 2017 Agricola Club Reunion hog roast 24 John Barham 144 Gloucestershire reunion 34 Nairobi reunion 38 Wye, water and wags Peter Youngs 148 ‘60’s Penguins reunion 42 60th Anniversary reunion 44 Bucket lists, lifelong learning and soya beans Richard Longhurst 154 News of members 48 The Tropics: where great expectations can become Letters 52 great ironies Hugo Ramirez-Guerrero 157 Obituaries 56 Wye Rustics cricket tour 2017 Lives remembered Dickon Turner 160 Prof John Nix 66 Book review – Mary Knighton Ca rolyn Hardy 69 Judy Brown 166 Dr Ian Robinson 70 Wye Community Farm update Minutes of 2017 AGM 76 Richard Bowden 169 Agenda for 2018 AGM 79 The Wye roller 80 Wye College Treasures John Walters 170 Life during Wye Surviving Botany Lab at Swanley at risk The tale of ‘Shepherd Bob’ 82 Dr Bob Baxter 172 Working for Wards of Egham 84 Mem orial Fund research grants 174 Memories of plimsolls etc 86 Agricola Club Accounts for 2017 176 Life after Wye Peter Cooper 88 Memorial Fund Accounts for 2017 179 Rob Savory 96 Wye College Agricola Club Privacy Policy 182 Tom Hickman 100 Lists of Agricola Club Members Peter Ranson 102 Main address list 188 Harry Gill 107 Email addresses 253 Paul Latham 108 Overseas Members 283 Chris Baines 110 ‘Lost’ Members 296 Kenya re-visited Survey of members 305 Andy Turney 114 Reply slips Wye College Icelandic expedition 1958 Annual Reunion and Dinner 307 Alec Forsyth 116 News please 309 Flying h igh in Ireland Application for membership 311 Jane Robinson 122 Change of address or email 313 Agricultural extension in North West China Wye Heritage application 315 Jerry Groom 124 Committee Members Inside back cover 5 WYE 2017 – 2018 Editorial John Walters – Chairman and Journal Editor Data Protection On the negative side You probably don’t need reminding that new EU We have lost a number of internationally- Data Protection rules have come into force in known members during the year, including the UK this year (See page 11). You can rest Professor John Nix who died in March. It seems assured that any data we hold on file relating to that anyone who knew anything about farming postal and email addresses for our members will knew about The Farm Management Pocket book continue to be respected according to our now in its 48th Edition. An extremely well- Privacy Policy. That is now controlled by our attended funeral service was held in Wye Church Data Protection Officer (Francis Huntington). and there will be a memorial service in London. We use the information merely to keep you A tribute prepared by Professor Paul Webster informed via the annual Journal and our twice can be found on page 66. yearly e-newsletter. Occasionally, we may use it Two of my best pals from University days, Drs to solicit views of members concerning such Ian Robinson and Derek Cuddeford (both in matters as the future of the Club and/or your my 1964–67 cohort) sadly passed away, far too requirements of it. We will not share the information with any other organisation or third early. Together they represented 50% of our party apart from the printers/dispatchers of our Animal Science quartet who, for six months or journal who are obliged to use it for the sole so, had to travel weekly to the RVC in London purpose of publishing it and addressing the for our physiology lectures since our own envelopes for mailing. lecturer was indisposed. We had some great times and both these guys went on to earn Future of the Club Ph.Ds and lead very successful and interesting A sub-group of your committee has been lives (see page 70 for tributes to Ian. Derek will examining some possible scenarios for the be remembered in the Journal next year). future administration of the Club and its associated Journal (there is a report on page 16). Two other soon-to-be losses of a very different Looking a few years ahead, it is hoped that the kind but nonetheless still very painful are Gill Heritage Centre will have moved into newer, Bond (1964–67), our Production Editor, and more permanent accommodation in the College Vinny McLean, our Database Manager and and the management of both organizations feel Committee Secretary. As I write this, I cannot that a closer collaboration with the Agricola for the life of me imagin e how we are going to Club at that time could be mutually beneficial. fare without them. Both, in their respective To solicit your opinions on this and other fields, have helped raise our Journal and our aspects of the Club, we have included a tear-out systems into the 21st century. Talent, clarity of questionnaire with this Journal for completion vision and commitment of the kind they have by members whom we are unable to contact by brought to their roles are qualities that will be email. PLEASE take some time to send us your exceedingly hard to find anywhere, let alone in views and opinions. this corner of Kent. I have very serious concerns 6 EDITORIAL about the survival of the Journal in its present from my first job as a journalist to my finishing form, particularly at a time when we are trying role involved in the politics around the use of to build something for the future.