Eric Wilson – Profile George Eric Wilson was born in Barnard Castle in County Durham in England in 1921. He went to the local school and on leaving at age 14, he went to work at Gainford as an apprentice joiner. In 1940 he volunteered for the Royal Air Force and spent most of the … Read more
Farming in the North Pennine DalesBy Eric Wilson It started to look as if t’ grass was going to grow despite the severe winter of 1947, and against dire predictions against such a possibility. The record snows had arrived late that year to catch everyone out. Once a Dale’s farmer is absolutely sure that “grass … Read more
Farming in the North Pennine DalesBy Eric Wilson In a bad season – weatherwise that is, the “good hay” previously mentioned came at a premium in the Dales. Farmers faced long hard hours of labour tossing the stuff about, hoping the black clouds were heading away from the hay field and that the dew would … Read more
Farming in the North Pennine DalesBy Eric Wilson Following the horse-drawn gate sweeps and the pike bogey, the tractor mounted hay sweep had it’s turn in the scheme of things. This was a frame with a number of long wooden tines made of ash – some up to 10 feet long and the sharp end … Read more
Farming in the North Pennine DalesBy Eric Wilson One of the disadvantages of fitting milking machines in that part of the world was the fact that many of them were installed while the cows were inside for the winter. This meant we were working among the cows, as well as what they deposited on the … Read more
Farming in the North Pennine Dales By Clive Dalton A tale Eric Wilson told me that he never got down on paper was his regular experience of having to part a Dales farmer from his “brass” (money). Eric used to relate how he would be summonsed up the Dale by a farmer who had called … Read more
Farming in the North Pennine DalesBy Eric Wilson My next encounter with a bull was in Baldersdale, one of those smaller offshoot valleys that branched off Teesdale but didn’t go anywhere except to a few isolated farms. The farms were more a way of life than a means of making a fortune, most of the … Read more
By Eric Wilson Invariably the farmer would suggest starting with “Betsy”. “Anybody can milk Betsy, she’s as quiet as a lamb” he would say. So she was duly chosen to be introduced to the joys of machine milking. On more than one occasion, after picking up the equipment from the dung channel, washing and re-assembling … Read more
Farm Machinery in the North Pennine Dales By Eric Wilson But of course, all through the hectic activity of haymaking, someone had to be there in the cow byre, twice a day to milk the cows and see to getting the milk cooled and into the twelve-and-a-half gallon churns for collection. Once a day the … Read more
Farming in the North Pennine Dales By Eric Wilson The next job was pretty well straight forward, or at least it would have been if it hadn’t been for the farmer’s kids. I think it must have been school holidays and they had been sitting in the window waiting for us to arrive. I say … Read more
By Eric Wilson Now back over the river Tees and up to the fringes of the Durham pit district, another day and another milking machine installation. This one was different in that it had two byres separated by a walkway. No problem we thought – a little bit of piping high enough to walk under … Read more