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ARE YOUR SOUTHDOWNS IN THE SAS?

In July 2004 the Daily Mail published an article by Michael Taggert on the Specially Able Sheep (hence the letters SAS) who roam the Pennine moorlands around the village of Marsden. These sheep live on the moors and come into the village for special food which is the flowers, plants and vegetables in the gardens of Marsden. The villagers became tired of having their gardens ruined by these sheep so they installed a series of cattle grids to stop the sheep getting into the gardens. All went well for a few years but the sheep appeared again in the gardens and the greenery went.

How did they get into the gardens? One villager found out how they did it. Cattle grids are difficult for humans to pass over but how do sheep do it? A sheep walked up to the grid and rolled over it commando-style before continuing into the garden to eat the good food. They get on their backs and just roll over and over the metal grids.

More athletic sheep have been known to jump over 5ft fences but rolling over the grid gets the biscuit (or, literally, the best green food). We all know what happened to Hugh Clark after he retired from keeping Southdowns - he thought they would have a few sheep of other breeds to keep on the fields along the roadside. In the middle of the night the first day they came, the Clarks were woken up by the Police: 'Excuse me, Sir, but have you any sheep at Moulton?. They are now half way to Newmarket, running faster than racehorses. Will you please collect them?' The next day the fences were all extended upwards by two feet.

Scientists at Barbraham Institute, near Cambridge, have found that sheep have good memories and also have feeling for others. They can remember up to 50 faces in the flock (Hallo Susan; there's Eric and Sylvester chasing Sharon. What are they up to?). Sheep can retain these memories for up to two years. Sheep are far more intelligent than we have previously believed. It is likely that one sheep got caught on the cattle grid and rolled over to free itself and other sheep noticed and said to themselves, ''That works. Let us do the same". The National Sheep Association said that they had for years been trying to educate the public that sheep are resourceful creatures.

The people of Marsden are now considering the next move in keeping the sheep out of their gardens. One idea would be to appoint two sheep as guards - rewarded with tit bits - to stop other sheep from coming into their gardens. What do you think?

AUTHOR’S FIRST BOOK

“A START IN SMALLHOLDING”
Alan Beat writes: Many people harbour the dream of escaping from an urban rat race and moving away to a country smallholding, where a slower pace of life beckons. Rosie and I made that move with our two young children back in 1987.
After a lifetime of living with a house-and-garden, the culture shock of moving to a smallholding comprising farm­house, range of outbuildings and sixteen acres of land was enormous. All the planning and preparation, our hopes and dreams were suddenly reality; we had arrived! The house and outbuildings were all basically sound in structure, but had been neglected for so long that woodwork, doors and windows were decaying, with electrical circuits and plumbing no longer working or in safe condition.
It was a similar story on the land itself; the two roadside gates were just about standing, but between the several small fields, not only the gates but even the posts had long since disappeared without trace.
Don’t think that we were complaining, for it was the very lack of ‘modernisation’ and the resulting unspoilt charm and character that had attracted us in the first place. We were raw novices with everything to learn. We set about renovating the house and outbuildings; kept hens, ducks, sheep and pigs; grew vegetables and fruit; hung gates; put up fences; laid hedges; made hay; and tackled many more things besides.
Gradually we became more self-sufficient, not just in food, but in every aspect of our lives. Sometimes we made mistakes or were overtaken by unforeseen events; sometimes our endeavours succeeded; and all the time we were learning through the example and advice of others, and from the practical experience of our own efforts.
I described our early experiences as they happened for Home Farm magazine, forerunner of Country Smallholding, through a series of articles entitled “Tales from the Riverbank”; and it was Katie Thear, the founding editor of the magazine, who originally suggested that these articles be brought together and re-published in book form.
At the beginning of 2003, I looked into the possibility of publishing it myself. I wrote an introduction and some additional new text for continuity, but firmly resisted the temptation to modify and update the core material so that it retains, I sincerely hope, the fresh perspective of the novice that becomes so elusive in hindsight. Katie Thear kindly agreed to write the foreword herself. Now the hard work is done and the idea has finally become reality. “A Start in Smallholding”is the result, an A5 paperback with colour laminated cover, 112 pages and 45 black and white photographs throughout.

“Not only is the book a fascinating and rewarding story of a family that succeeded in making the move to the country, but it also acts as an inspiration and practical aid to those who seek to find a measure of self-sufficiency in their own lives.” – Katie Thear

“A Start in Smallholding” is now available by post from: The Bridge Mill, Bridgerule, Holsworthy, Devon EX22 7EL. Please make cheques payable to Alan Beat for £6 plus £1 p & p per copy within the UK (overseas add £2.50 per copy).
It is also available on the Internet at www.smallholders.org

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alan Beat trained as a chartered mechanical engineer, running a successful family business until he moved into smallholding in 1987. His first article was published in a fishing magazine when he was 14 years old, and he’s enjoyed writing for magazines and newspapers ever since. With his wife Rosie, he lives on an idyllic sixteen acre smallholding in the upper Tamar valley, on the Devon/Cornwall border. Here they keep a small flock of sheep, most with naturally coloured fleeces selectively bred for hand-spinning quality. They also keep pigs, poultry and waterfowl; offer educational visits to school and adult groups; run training courses; sell a range of unusual plants; are restoring a water mill to working order; run Smallholders Online at www.smallholders.org; and write a regular monthly feature for Country Smallholding magazine.

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Southdowns In Anglesey

We have kept Southdowns for eleven years or so, have had a lot of pleasure with them but more importantly we have made a lot of good friends through showing them and I would like to thank them all for the support and back up they gave us when that dreadful Foot and Mouth was with us. But thankfully we survived it, and we hope never to have to cope with anything like it again and look forward to meeting up with old friends at the shows in 2004.

On a totally different note, the dreaded ram sale at Builth; we all went there with our stock and wellies and waited, and waited, and I could go on and on but the main problem was that the potential customers did not wait and the sale was a total loss to all and that was a shame because there was a lot of interest in the Southdowns on the Sunday and Monday morning but by about two o' clock people were going home, and by four I wanted to go home as well and so did my sheep. Maybe they will change the times around this year but I don't think I will be there to find out.

Hope we all have a good lambing season and an even better 2004. Happy New Year to you all.

Lynne and Thomas Rowlands, Anglesey [Caer Owen]

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What Will They Do Next?

It is not Brussels and the European Union this time but the Food Safety Agency (FSA), an Agency of the British Government, who are considering whether to ban livestock from grazing in orchards because of fear that their dung causes food poisoning.

No decision has been taken yet but the FSA are drafting proposals in conjunction with the National Farmer's Union and the Soil Association and these proposals will be published in September 2004.

Why is animal grazing considered a potential problem?

In 1992 - 1997 some 60 outbreaks of food poisoning relating to fruit and vegetables took place and the FSA are investigating whether any of these were contaminated by manure. The FSA could not say whether any of these incidents were related to faeces.

There has been one case in America where food poisoning from consuming unpasteurised apple juice contaminated with the E.coli bacteria was traced to animal droppings.

How can fruit on trees be infected by bacteria from droppings on the ground?

Comments on this proposal range from 'Too ridiculous to take seriously', 'Red tape gone mad', 'It would be better to issue guidelines for people to wash or peel fruit before they eat it', 'Grazing in orchards is commonplace throughout Europe so the fruit that ends up on our shelves would be no different', 'A significant proportion of imported fruit contains banned pesticides'.

Thank you to the Daily Telegraph (Matt Born & David Sapsted) for bringing this to our notice.

How many Southdown breeders graze their sheep in orchards? What will happen to them if it is banned?

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TIMES PAST

The late Lord Harvington, formerly Sir Robert Grant Ferris, Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons ( a well known Southdown breeder ) said in 1958 in the House of Commons when fighting the shut down of the Kemble to Tetbury railway line ' I pay tribute to all the drivers who are always careful to stop whenever the Duke of Beaufort's hounds are about the line and many times we have slipped a driver five shillings for his kindness.'

The world has changed a lot since those days. The Commons is such a drab place these days. Stunning press for Southdowns recently.

Max Cotton of the BBC ( and a Southdown breeder)

SOUTHDOWN LAMB fit for the Queen

Fifty years after the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on Monday the 2nd June 2003, the Prince of Wales hosted a dinner for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at which a saddle of Southdown lamb was the main course.

The Prince, whose interest in the Southdown Breed of sheep is well known, chose Southdown for this important meal as a token of support for British food.

The Southdown Sheep Society is grateful to the Prince of Wales for this practical way of putting our breed in the public eye. To see a copy of the menu, click here. It is shown by gracious permission of HRH Prince of Wales.

DO WE NEED FRENCH BLOOD?

I was concerned to read in a missive from the Secretary that Sir Richard Cooper has visited France to look at French Southdowns and is organising another trip and inviting members to join him.

I feel VERY STRONGLY that we should keep Southdowns TRADITIONAL and ENGLISH. I would mention the following points;-

a) The Society has had two or three imports from France. One many years ago and two by the late Mrs Sheila Colman in the last few years

b) I gather one of the rams she imported called Paris was not all that useful but the other one called Thomas was used by her and featured a great deal in the Steepdown dispersal sale in 2002

c) We are all aware of the damage caused by the French in our own world of agriculture

I hope that the Southdown Council will take note of my views. I ask for comments by other members for and against. I would be pleased to discuss this with other members

GERALD HAYES, Tel. 01926 632493

French Blood

I was disturbed when reading Mr G. W. Hayes' article in the 2003 Year Book (See above). I think that Southdowns are a British Breed, not French Cross. I take pride in breeding my British Southdowns.

In the late Sheila Colman's flock she involved French blood and in my opinion the outcome was Paloon SHEEP not Southdowns. I hope that the Southdown Council will take note of my views before it's too late and we lose our English breed.

I would be pleased to hear from other members.

Andrew Beckett, Tel: 01691 830364; Mobile: 07811055248

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Sheep in the Orchard

THERE are certain things which are evocative of old country life: church bells across the fields for Matins and Evensong, cricket on the village green, a good head on a pint of dark beer (I write as a teetotaller, but believe this is valued by afficionados), the scent of Nosegay tobacco on market day, a herd of cows unconcernedly jamming a lane as milking time draws near, and high on the list of such resonating images is that of sheep in the orchard.

It is a sight which unfortunately has grown very much less frequent as the twentieth century turns into the twenty-first, partly because the bulk of the sheep population is now managed in large flocks for economic reasons and for handling, but also because orchards have been melting away like morning dew in the fierce heat of today’s rural world. Yet, through it all, there remain here and there some orchards where the peaceful pastoral scene, such as our forefathers of several centuries ago knew, is still to be enjoyed. And since there is currently a strong resurgence in “community orchards”, augmenting private holdings, I am going to take the bull by the horns and recommend some breeds of sheep to those who are thinking of trying a foray into peaceful rurality “sub malis”.

Edward Hart, in his book “Sheepkeeping on a Small Scale”, writes: “Unchanging in a changing world, they are a source of continuing satisfaction, and to go and look at his sheep has been the relaxation of many a farmer harassed by the other complex departments of his trade”. This is right up the street of the stockbroker alarmed by the index, of the headmaster frightened by the pupils, of the industrialist with shrinking markets, and any others with similarly demanding day-jobs. Sheep, orchard, apples, a lean on the gate, peace . . . what could be finer? The words trip off the tongue, and the mind gets into the lotus-eater’s drift in no time at all.

However, there are a few considerations to be borne in mind as the reel runs satisfyingly on. In Edward Hart’s words, the “lack of the will to live must be remembered at all times”. Sometimes the factors are internal - worms and microbes and viruses galore. At other times the problem may be external, in the shape of the gambolling puppy the orchard master has furnished for the delectation of himself and his family. Given half a chance the dog will find another dog, and two dogs add up to more than three when they get a dekko at sheep legging it away from the gate. This is the moment which sorts out the men from the boys (or the women from the girls) and all the latest City argot powerfully delivered (e.g., “Rover, come back, you naughty woofles!”) will not prevent Rover, Fido, et al, from sinking their canine ivories in the anatomy of the cuddly orchard dweller. All the work of control must have been done before the dog is allowed to see the rabbit (pardon me, the sheep), for like a ripe pear, when you see the problem it is too late.

Another hazard is that of fencing. Good fences, they say, make good neighbours, but a lot of people today have very little idea of the extent of ovine cunning. However, if you are really excited by the prospect of a regular cross-country run, then of course there are sheep which will oblige, and I do not wish to put you off. You cannot do better than to try the Welsh Mountain, or Black Welsh Mountain, sheep; these have been without exception to the Houdini Academy of Performing Arts, and will creep under any tiny gap.

We had one of the latter in the first pair of sheep my wife and I kept, and she (the sheep, that is) could get through the proverbial keyhole, even if it meant tearing her side on the fencing wire and getting attacked by flies. She knew to a nicety the potential of any gap between shepherds and fence, and on the very eve of lambing with twins she easily beat us round the paddock.

On the other hand, if you have Caledonian leanings you could try the Cheviot breed - these, unlike the Welsh, mostly prefer to go out over the top, and very frequently, only exceeded by Soays who leap “like a hart” as Scripture says. A good and high fence, well maintained, is necessary.

The Reverend Sidney Smith, the 19th century wit and clergyman, wrote in 1819: “I had heard a great deal of the fine flavour of Scotch mutton, and it was one of the great luxuries I promised myself in farming. A luxury certainly it is; but the price paid for it is such, that I would rather give up the use of animal food altogether than obtain it by such a system of cares and anxieties. Ten times a day my men were called off from their work to hunt the Scottish sheep out of my neighbour’s wheat. They crawled through hedges where I should have thought a rabbit could hardly have found admission; and, where crawling would not do, they had recourse to leaping. Five or six times they all assembled, and set out on their return to the North. My bailiff took a place in the mail, pursued, and overtook them half way to Newcastle. Then it was quite impossible to get them fat . . . ten or twelve per cent. always died of the rot. . . .”.

We have, then, an interesting opportunity for health-giving exercise in such shepherding, with cross-country running combining with the excitement of the chase to provide the young and fit with just what they crave - no need for pumping iron here.

If your apples get scab, fail to pollinate, succumb to honey fungus, or the fangs of the leaf-curling aphids, you can always look forward to the retrieval exercise of the other occupants of the orchard. Supposing, though, that your legs and wind are not what they were? Let me recommend for you the quiet Southdown sheep, which can be contained within modest fences, and are used to paddock life. These handsome creatures (“little lumps of lead” as the farmer who sold us our first Southdown ewe in 1979 called them) are ardent consumers both of trough food, and also of fallen apples. Like an army which marches to the sound of guns ours galloped to the thuds of falling fruit, making short work of anything of less than cannon-ball hardness.

It is one of the misapprehensions about sheep that they merely graze; the truth is that, even with only a lower set of teeth closing on to a pad in the upper jaw, they can bite like a dragon. If you treat a sheep which has a patch of fly-strike on the fleece with maggots at work, be careful to keep out of the way of the jaws, for such is the irritation when the affected area is cleaned that the sheep’s jaws work by automatic reflex action, and if your anatomy is in the way you will certainly feel the effects of their dentition.

If, though, your preference is for something large and lazy - let us say to complement a Bramley on its own roots, or a huge old Perry pear, or a flourishing cherry - then a Lincoln, Leicester or a Cotswold sheep may be the breed for you. The former yields the longest staple of any sheep in the world, and can weigh more than 20lb. in yearlings. The Cotswold has been saved from extinction in the “bad years” of the last century by a very few dedicated breeders, and this was the sheep on whose back many of the great Cotswold churches were raised. They need more than apples to fill out their frames, but they look the part of thriving orchardists.

Should you have a problem with juvenile scrumpers, you could do worse than try the Manx Loghtan or Jacobs breed, with four gigantic horns. The only problem is that handling them is like grappling a bony octopus, but the plus is that the first sight of these creatures, especially by moonlight, could well be a most effective deterrent to errant young.

If you wish to keep things ticking over to keep pace with the annual apple and pear crop, you will need a ram. If he is lively he will keep you ticking over at tupping time if you take your eye off him; two farm workers I knew, one of them a highly experienced old-style shepherd, both had to have time off work after they had been rammed in unwary moments by a bone-headed four-legged projectile. Still, there is always the incentive to develop tree-climbing skills which will come in useful for the autumn crop on full-standard old trees.

I cannot, from my own experience, give a full list of fruit which sheep particularly like, but in our small orchard they took whatever fell, or occasionally could reach with balletic standing on hind legs. This was principally from two grand old Annie Elizabeth culinary trees, which Bagenal calls “a good orchard apple”. It was raised at Knighton in Leicestershire about 1857 by Mr. Samuel Greatorex, and named pleasingly after the two daughters of the nursery proprietor, Mr. Thomas Harrison. It is a splendid apple which can last into next summer, and I cannot recommend it too highly. Our lambs, with teeth like razors, took a particular liking one year to the bark near the roots of one of these, and so rasped it that some root rot ensued, and the tree began to lean like the gnomon of a sundial, necessitating the use of an Acrow to jack the tree up again, and prop it thereafter, until better root growth.

We also had Bismarck, King of the Pippins, and Cockle Pippin in the orchard, all of which went down well. How sheep would fare on Black Dabinett, Foxwhelp, and other cider apples I do not know, from my Sussex growing. It is necessary to wrap trunks with fine wire netting where sheep get a taste of the barking fever.

For shearing, an orchard is invaluable in providing shade, for shearing in full sun on a hot day is a corker, as I know to my cost when tackling a toughly-woolled Leicester-type ewe with hand-shears. I was so among the “rosaceae” that the farm shepherd invited me in for a welcome cup of tea to revive flagging flesh. A benefit of orchard shearing is that, where the customer gets fed up and starts streaking, half-clad, there is a better chance of capture than in a hundred-acre prairie field, though in either case the fleece suffers.

These are some of the pleasures and delights of combining sheep-keeping with orchard pomology: exercise, skill, excitement, restful contemplation, a full larder, and meat and pudding in one go. There is more to it than the reverie over the gate, of course, but provided you survive the rest of the combination that moment is the icing on the cake, and greatly to be savoured.

The miracle of life is a wonderful thing, and it is certainly wonderful that a small scrap of wet life born in a bed of nettles during a rain or snow storm in the dark can grow into a powerful ram or a prolific ewe. On the other hand, unless the shepherd is slippy, the tale may end there until next year.

REVEREND CANON DONALD A. JOHNSON
Reprinted by kind permission of the Royal Horticultural Society. Fruit Group Newsletter, October 2002.
Canon Donald A Johnson is a member of the Southdown Sheep Society

First Impressions of a Council Meeting

Additional seating had to be brought into the meeting room at The Farmers' Club in London to accommodate all the members of the Southdown Sheep Society Council - this certainly made a favourable first impression on me, one of the newly elected council members attending her first meeting!

A full turn-out is an encouraging pointer for any group or organisation, ensuring lively discussion with a healthy representation of varied viewpoints. This generalisation fitted my initial impressions well: Council members with a wide range of experience and from most corners of the country too, ensuring that discussion was lively, well-informed and in-depth.

We new members received a warm welcome. A number of faces were already somewhat familiar, several of whom we had met in the show ring in their judges' capacity. I think it's fair to say that one of the nicest things about like-minded sheep people is their ability, and inclination, to talk about sheep! Over the years we have picked up numerous pieces of advice and ideas (and, it is hoped, perhaps passed on a few too!). Probably the best advice of all was to "make haste slowly", a maxim we have applied to much of our stock-handling ever since.

The skills of the Chairman were much in evidence as he steered Council members through a very full agenda, juggling the need to allow a wide spectrum of diverse views and opinions to be aired before any conclusions could be reached.

A lengthy agenda, coupled with a finite length of time in which to successfully conclude all discussion, inevitably meant that not all business could be satisfactorily completed in one short morning. The need for additional, and longer, meetings was evident; an extra Council meeting to be scheduled for January should help to alleviate this difficulty.

Items on the agenda were varied and wide-ranging. Lively discussion emphasized the need for a nationally placed show and sale, and, having looked at the options put forward, further discussion in January should enable a decision on venue and format to be reached.

Scrapie monitoring within the schemes available and the importance of those animals whose genotype results are in the most desirable categories are issues which are set to dominate discussions at all levels for the foreseeable future and beyond, from the small producer right up to the corridors of EU Government! Time to swot up on genetics and try to discover what ARR and ARQ actually stand for!

An interesting and well-documented account of one Council member's visit to inspect the notable Southdown flocks in France was well received, and should lead to the chance in the future for any interested members of the Southdown Society to view for themselves these flocks at first hand. A long weekend in France pursuing sheep activities sounds inviting!

The Council has a challenging and multi-faceted role to play to meet the needs of the sheep and their breeders. As breeders, we are an eclectic mix; but whether we have purchased only a couple of ewes to reduce lawn-mowing commitments, or whether our objectives are of a more commercial nature, we all share one fundamental principle - the Southdown is a breed we value, and we have chosen to play a part in its future.

GAIL SPRAKE (Tel. 01986 782416)

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The Editor's Thoughts

Society Newsletter, Volume 2, Issue 1, May 2002

Hopefully we are now over the worst epidemic known to the farming industry, but its repercussions linger on. At all the early shows the sheep classes have been cancelled and the later ones are awaiting the revised biosecurity regulations due to be announced at the end of May, early June. These regulations will have an impact on both exhibitors and Show Societies, as I am afraid that considerable costs could be incurred if these regulations resemble those presently enforced. I understand that the Bath & West Show, which is going ahead with pig and cattle classes, estimates that the biosecurity precautions are going to cost in excess of £61,000.

I agree entirely that precautions have to be taken, but I believe that another outbreak of Foot & Mouth Disease related to the last one is very unlikely. However, the risk of it being introduced is still as great as ever because very little has been done in the past year to prevent the illegal importation of meat or meat products from countries where Foot & Mouth Disease is endemic. In fact, officially no light has been thrown on what started the outbreak initially.

As well as the regulations we have been subjected to, the powers that be seem hell bent on imposing further restrictions on the sheep industry. The Consumer's Association, SEAC, and the Meat & Livestock Commission have suggested preventing all lambs over 12 months old from entering the food chain, the removal of the lymph glands from the carcass and an extension to the offal ban.

The French are insisting that, as from July, all lambs imported over the age of 6 months will have to have had the spinal cord removed, which requires the carcass to be split.

In writing this Newsletter I feel that I am being somewhat pessimistic but it does seem apparent to me that our present government has little sympathy with or understanding of agriculture and is quite content to see it go into decline. I can remember the Agricultural Depression of the late twenties and thirties. It took a World War and a food shortage to bring the politicians to their senses then. I therefor pray that it does not take another war or terrorism to do it again.

On a lighter note, here in the South West we have enjoyed a very mild winter with very little rain up to almost the end of January. I cannot remember a year when the fields have had that lovely green sheen on them throughout the entire winter; in fact, the grass has been growing slowly all the time. This has helped greatly with the winter feeding; my own ewes and hoggets stopped eating hay towards the middle of March, several weeks earlier than normal, in spite of having first class pasture hay on offer.

Our lambing of both Dorset Downs and Southdowns is now over with very little trouble; all lambs now doing well. The December-born Dorsets are already up to killing weight. One of the modern trends I cannot understand is why so many people on good land seem quite happy to run lambs on to 10 or 12 months old before getting them fit. I prefer them to go at 12 to 16 weeks old, even if it means feeding them a little creep. I am a great believer in the saying: "the quicker a lamb goes, the more it pays".

I always prefer to get the lambs on to creep feed as soon as possible, usually at about 2 to 3 weeks old. I have found over the years that not only does it get lambs to killing weight quicker but it also improves the killing out percentage.

One hears a lot today of grass fed beef and lamb. Admittedly there are certain permanent grazing pastures that will finish cattle and sheep unaided, but on most modern young leys a little concentrate feeding makes a significant difference. The same applies to older lambs that are being weaned. In my opinion there is no time in a lamb's life that feeding concentrates will not improve profit. Weaning invariably results in a lamb either standing still or losing a little for a fortnight; it then takes another week or two to recover what it has lost, but if fed half to a pound of decent concentrates it will suffer very little if at all, thereby gaining a month.

Concentrates can be obtained in several different forms - pellets, coarse mix, or home mixed. Personally, I have never fed any commercially mixed concentrates, preferring to mix my own for both ewes and lambs, using protein of a vegetable origin, e.g. beans, peas, linseed cake, or soya bean meal, together with a cereal, e.g. oats or barley, preferring the former.

The lamb ration would consist of either beans or peas, depending on availability, linseed cake and oats. The ewe ration before and after lambing consists of oats, dry beet pulp, plus sufficient soya to give a protein content of 18-20%.

JOHN RANDALL

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Tribute to Sheila Colman (1919 - 2001)

Given by Clive Pritchard, Secretary of the Southdown Sheep Society at her funeral at Sompting Parish Church,
27th November, 2001

You learn a lot about people after they have died and I certainly have about Sheila. In fact, I have learned a lot about the Southdown Sheep Society by reading her obituaries in the Times and the Daily Telegraph and I have only been the Secretary for over 30 years. I am pleased that both newspapers gave praise to Sheila, which she deserved, but over the last week or so many members have spoken to me about her. She was so sincere. She talked to everyone. She treated them all the same. She made us welcome. She invited us to a meal time and time again. We stayed at her house as an honoured guest. We met her at the Royal Show and we started talking to her. We learned a lot from her. She treated us like a friend. She was an inspiration to other members of the Southdown Sheep Society. She said what she thought but was never unkind.

I first met Sheila and Edward, her husband, at the Findon Fair in 1973 when they came and purchased Southdowns from the dispersal sale of Greg Chapman - the Upwaltham Flock. Findon Fair on Nepcote Green, above the village of Findon just outside Worthing, has taken place by Royal Charter for many, many years. Originally they drove the sheep over the Downs to Findon and I think this continued until the 1950s. It was also a hiring fair for shepherds and labourers and in its heyday there were 50,000 sheep to be sold. It still happens on the second Saturday in September but not so many sheep are there. It was not held in 2001 - the first time in living memory.

When Greg Chapman retired and eventually was in a Nursing Home, Sheila visited him three or four times a year until he died. This was the sort of person she was. At Findon there was a sort of ritual. Sheila and Edward would arrive with many picnic baskets - all immaculate and full of good things. After she had made Edward comfortable, because he was the first person in her life, and after the sale, she opened the picnic baskets and invited everyone she knew and many she did not know to join in. I was at the other side of the field in a caravan, also making tea and coffee to give to members, and those who did not come to me went to Sheila. After two years I gave up and joined Sheila's party.

Edward had written to me to say he wanted the Southdowns to be in his wife's name, and so started a very happy relationship between the members of the Society and Sheila and the Steepdown Flock. Edward died in 1988 and at his funeral, here in Sompting, Sheila had a hymn which very few knew. The last lines were:

Each to his choice and I rejoice
The lot has fallen to me
In a fair ground - in a fair ground
Yea, Sussex by the sea.

Sheila loved Sussex and her home here on the Downs above the sea, and her flock of Southdowns progressed. In 1975 she used TE ARAI, a New Zealand ram imported by the Society and used by members. It did not work. She asked for her money back. John Craig said in a loud voice at a Council Meeting: "It is the raddle that is the problem". Sheila Colman did not agree. Hugh Clark said he had used it the year before and it went to 15 ewes and 13 of them lambed and produced 21 live lambs. We refunded her money. John Craig had the ram the next year and used it successfully.

Sheila was elected on to the Southdown Council in 1985; she was President in 1987, and Vice President since 1988. She was a judge since 1990. We had two very successful Field Days and AGMs on her farm. The last one was three years ago, when we sat down to an excellent meal with wine in a marquee lined with silk. I think the wine cost £10 a bottle. You should have heard what our Treasurer said when the bill arrived!

She gradually improved her flock and then imported some French Southdowns, which were larger. They did not quite arrive in the way it was put in the Times, but when they did it caused some discussion. The Southdown Society has two schools of thought. Those who want the traditional Southdowns and those who want them larger. Then, at a Field Day and AGM at Clayton we had the GREAT DEBATE, with John Randall as the champion for the traditional Southdown and Sheila Colman who wanted us to come into the modern age. Some 200 members and friends attended and most said what they thought. Even Paul Wakeham-Dawson's dog joined in the fray. I am not sure of the result, except we agreed that we would try to make sure all Southdowns, even the larger ones, were traditional though they were larger. The Times jumped the gun a bit when they said that Sheila won the argument because those who were on the other side eventually came and bought the larger Southdowns from her. Some did, but not all.

In the 1990s she began to win shows. At the Royal she won the Champion or the opposite sex to the Champion from 1995 to 1998. She was the judge in 1999 and it was not correct to say that she was made the judge because she won too much. At the South of England Show, our own show here in Sussex, again she was Champion or best opposite sex to the Champion in 1996 to 1999. At the Kent she had first in all four years and was Champion or best opposite sex. She also won at other shows around the country, too many to mention. She was first or second at many of our own Flock Competitions but she had a rival in Hugh Clark. Finally, in 2000, she was awarded the Burch Dare Trophy for the member gaining most points winning at shows. This was an excellent finish to a great career, especially as she was in pain a great deal.

In the Southdown Sheep Society she never told anyone her age and did say that the time people would know was when they saw her coffin. One day, some eight months ago, we were talking on the telephone and she said, "Tell me, how old is John Randall?" I thought this was my opportunity and I said, "That is what they are all asking me about you." There was a long pause and she said, "Oh, do they?" I never said anything and after a longer pause she said, "Have you had any rain?" I never mentioned her age again.

About a year ago I saw her on television when she told us about Bosie and showed viewers all the items she had which had belonged to him. She said that he died in the four-poster bed on which she was sitting. I was startled, as I had slept in that bed. So had our President and his wife.

It is said that Sheila felt that the Southdown Sheep Society had not given her the credit for bringing the French Southdowns over and using them to bring fresh blood into our sheep. When John Ellman, at Glynde, improved the local sheep on the Southdowns, which eventually became the compact Southdown, it took many years for those Southdowns to become part of the British heritage. We celebrated this at our centenary and at John Ellman's bicentenary in 1991. It will take years for the French blood which Sheila brought over to be part of all the Southdowns. People have bought her sheep - we might say half English, half French - and gradually this blood will be in all Southdowns, and Sheila's foresight will be appreciated and Flockmasters will take it for granted.

A great example of this is when Bob Backshall went to see Sheila's Southdowns a few years ago. He had heard that she still had a few rams which were completely English with no French blood in them. He liked the look of one ram and he bought it. He found, when he looked it up in the Flock Book, that it was half French - not what he wanted when he went to Steepdown, but he had bought it, so he used it and the result was that its son became the Champion Southdown at the 2000 Rare Breeds National Show at Stoneleigh. It also became the overall Supreme Champion. So you see that her decision has been vindicated already.

We shall miss you, Sheila, for your love and kindness. May you rest in peace and rise in glory with the Lord Jesus. Amen.

CLIVE PRITCHARD, Secretary, Southdown Sheep Society

Sheila Colman (Steepdown Flock)

HRH The Prince of Wales in a letter to Clive Pritchard, the Secretary of the Southdown Sheep Society, dated the 26th March 2003, said: As the President of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, The Prince of Wales was enormously impressed by Mrs Colman's remarkable contribution to the conservation of the Southdown Breed, and he knows that she is sorely missed by very many people.

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Profile of Hugh T. Clark of Moulton

H.M. The Queen has awarded the MBE in the 2002 New Year Honours to Mr. Hugh T. Clark of Moulton, Newmarket, Suffolk for services to the sheep industry. This is a well-deserved recognition of his services to the National Sheep Association, the Southdown Sheep Society, and the sheep industry in Great Britain over many years.

He joined the Southdown Sheep Society in 1950 and established the Moulton flock of pedigree Southdown sheep that became the most outstanding flock in the country. Members were willing to travel a great distance to purchase rams and ewes from him. It is right to say that some 90% of Southdown flocks now have Moulton blood in them and some people equate him with the great John Ellman, who founded the breed over 200 years ago.

He was elected to the Council of the Society in 1960 and remained a member for 40 years, being President in 1965, and 1979, and in 1999 he was our centenary President. He is the only person who has been President for four times, as he was again in 1998. (Our first President was the Earl Bathurst, CMG in 1898).

He was appointed Hon. Treasurer in 1974 and remained so until he retired in 2000. Flockmasters travelled all over the country to his dispersal sale at Moulton in 2000 and the prices were extremely high. Known as an expert judge not only in Southdowns, he was in high demand all over the country. His Southdowns have won from the Royal Show, the South of England, the Kent, the Suffolk, and other shows many times.

Many a time we have seen Mary Clark towing the caravan while Hugh followed towing the trailer full of sheep. They liked to arrive at shows early so that they could make the sheep comfortable and feed them before they had their own meal. Hugh was always willing to give advice if asked by anyone, but he never interfered. The greatest honour given by the Royal Agricultural Society of England was to invite him to judge the Supreme Sheep Championships.

The Southdown Sheep Society has presented Hugh and Mary with a statuette of a Southdown sheep, engraved with the words: "If you want to see his memorial look at all the Southdown flocks in Great Britain". A good tribute to a person who is still alive and in his 84th year. We want to give credit to Mary, his wife, who has supported him over many years. They have both been made honorary members of the Society.

We are aware of his work for the community,the Church where he is Churchwarden, the Parish Council where he has been a member and chairman, the School Governors, as well as his work for the Eastern Region of the National Sheep Association.

Thank you, Hugh and Mary, for your hand of friendship over the years.

CLIVE PRITCHARD, Secretary, Southdown Sheep Society

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Broadreed Southdowns

Henry B. Paynter moved from Cornwall to Broadreed Farm, Rowlands Castle on the Sussex-Hants. borders in the late 1890s. The flock was started in 1898, along with a herd of Dairy Shorthorns, and a small herd of pigs. The farming was mixed - corn, roots, grass. By 1907 the flock numbered around 400 ewes.

Henry was made a judge in 1918, by which time he had been successfully showing his Southdowns for 6-7 years. He had a keen interest in stock and regularly showed and judged poultry at the big poultry shows in London.

He had two sons, Harold and Joe, and a daughter, Irene. He died in 1933. Harold was educated at Mile End School, Portsmouth. He was a keen cricketer, being Captain of the local club for many years. He was also an excellent shot. A great horseman, breaking all the farm horses. At the onset of the First World War, he applied for a commission in the Royal Air Force, where he served until the end of the war. He returned to Broadreed and went into partnership with his father. In April, 1932 he married May Gammon of Petersfield, producing a son, Richard, in April 1933 and a daughter, Jane, in August, 1934.

The number of flock ewes ranged from 350 to 400, with rams and draft ewes regularly being sold. A small amount of showing was done. Stud rams from top flocks were regularly purchased. Stock was usually sold at Chichester and Lewes, often winning rosettes, especially for groups of nine ewes. 1930 saw Harold's name on the judges list. Throughout his life he judged a wide variety of stock and was always in demand. Through the Thirties, stock was exported around the globe.

Farming was very much in the doldrums and the light flinty land at Broadreed was not overproductive, so the decision was taken to give up the tenancy at Broadreed and move to Knotting in North Bedfordshire, a 672 acre farm of heavy boulder clay land. The family moved in 1939. The outbreak of war brought the Southdowns into conflict with the War Ministry - they did not think they were suitable for the area. In 1942 all the ewes were sold - only the ewe lambs remained and these had to compete with the flock of Suffolk ewes, so only the healthy and thrifty survived. A large herd of Red Poll milking cows were kept; the change from Dairy Shorthorn being made to the Polled cows to be able to loss yard in the winter. In 1946 a further 464 acres were rented, which was part of Rifle Range Farm. One hundred acres of this was held by the War Ministry as a rifle range for soldier training. The Forties were hard on the Southdowns and by 1947 there were still only 73 flock ewes. At this point the Flock Competition was entered, the judges being Leslie Langmead and John Craig, two very well known breeders, and it was a proud moment for the Paynter family when they received the overall champion trophy.

Throught the Fifties, numbers slowly rose to around 120 and a small amount of showing was done. The sheep were usually in the ribbons. In September, 1957 Richard married Ann Peacock of Huntingdon, and he moved into Manor Farm, Knotting, and Harold, Mary, and Jane moved to The Manor at Sharnbrook, a smallholding rented for many years and used to house reactor cattle when TB eradication was being implemented in the late '40s. In 1959 rams and ewes were exported to Romania. The ram trade was slowly picking up, especially as a terminal sire on the Romney Marsh ewe. In 1962 Harold B. Paynter was President of the Society. A very enjoyable AGM was held at the Manor, Sharnbrook, where a large marquee was erected. There were about 90 flock ewes. The same year Manor Farm was purchased, and then sold in 1963 when Rifle Range Farm was bought.

1964 saw the sudden unexpected death of H.B. Paynter in March. In the Autumn, Mary and Jane moved to Wray Barton in Devon and Richard moved to Yielden to run the 464 acres of arable. The Devon farm was 200 acres of grass; a herd of Friesian cows along with the Southdowns and Suffolk sheep were kept. By 1967 it was obvious that both Rifle Range Farm and Wray Barton could not be kept, so the Devon farm was sold and a small number of sheep moved back to Yielden. Jane went relief milking for people on holidays, etc. This entailed milking cows and looking after family pets, etc. In 1971 Westlands near Tavistock was bought - a 10 acre holding, along with 20 acres of rented land, so that eight Southdowns which were left were moved to Devon and Jane started building up the flock again.

A herd of Dexter cattle was also started and by 1974 Jane was milking cows again. Land was getting short with 25 to 30 sheep, most of which produced two lambs. There was usually the odd lamb on Christmas day and the whole would finish by late January. Turn out to grass was late February or early March. Some showing was done with the sheep but the Dexters were on the way, slowly climbing to be the leading herd in the country and known worldwide. By the late Seventies it was bursting at the seams and the decision was taken to sell Grenden and have the Paynter family all under one roof.

In 1977 Jane was placed on the judges' list. The new dairy complex was built at Rifle Range Farm at Yielden, along with a modern bungalow for Jane and her mother to live in. The flock was now 30 ewes. Jane became a Council member in 1982. The main Presidency again went to a member of the Paynter family. In 1984 Charles came home to the farm, having worked at Valcourts for a few years after completing HND in agriculture at Cirencester College. He was top of the students, winning a gold medal. He married Sally Marsh of Bristol in 1981, producing a son, Ben, and two daughters, Sarah and Beth. He took over from Richard on his retirement, running the farm with Simon who eventually came home to work on the farm after a HND course at Cirencester and several trips abroad.

At the Southdown bi-century show in 1991, a first was taken with a ram lamb. The flock had been overall champion in 1987. A further 83 acres of arable land on the edge of Souldrop village was purchased in1986. The Dexters were going from strength to strength, with about 40 cows in milk and three bulls, and young stock. Some were exported to Vancouver in Canada, and later semen went to New Zealand. The Dexters have won championships at all the major shows, including eleven consecutive championships at the Royal Show.

A trade has been built selling Dexters and Southdown lamb direct for peoples' deep freezers and today all surplus lamb goes privately, which has proved very profitable. The flock runs to about 20 to 25 ewes, and ram lambs are only saved by bookings the previous year and only if they are top quality. No showing is done but those sold usually do well if shown. Jane says that her days of trimming are long past. She does take the odd cow to a show, but usually a friend leads it in the ring. In 1999 a visit to the Royal Norfolk show resulted in a championship.

Jane retired from the Council in 1995. In 1999 a further 100 plus acres were rented about 7 miles away.

JANE PAYNTER

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The Royal Welsh Nears its Century

Throughout the countryside, the formation of Agricultural Societies had become fashionable. Wales, too, had its enthusiasts: the Brecknock Agricultural Society was founded as early as 1755, and the Cardiganshire Society followed in 1783.

Despite these early initiatives, it was not until the beginning of the Twentieth Century that Wales had its own National Agricultural Society. In this respect, Wales falls far behind the rest of the British Isles. The Royal Dublin Society originated in 1731, the Royal Highland in 1784, followed by the Royal Ulster in 1826, and the Royal of England in 1839.

The first Welsh National Show was held at Aberystwyth in 1904. There were 31 trade stands, and the medal for the best new implement was awarded to a "New Century Binder". It had a
4 ft. cutter bar and cost £27. Livestock entries totalled 482 - 206 horses, 149 cattle, 111 sheep, and 16 pigs.

Three sheep breeds were represented - Shropshires (29), Kerry Hills (36), and Welsh (46). There were no Southdowns.

In 1910, after six shows at Aberystwyth, the Society bowed to pressure and changed to a migratory show. The first new venue was Strady Park, known the world over by Rugby Union enthusiasts as the home of the Llanelli Club.

In 1914 the Great War intervened, and it was 1922 before the Society felt confident enough to stage another show. It was at Wrexham and it proved to be a momentous one. King George V agreed to become Patron and the title Royal was bestowed on the Society. Its first President as a Royal Show was the Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward VII. Although he was not able to attend the Wrexham Show, he remained as President and attended the Cardiff event the following year. A photograph of the occasion hangs in the President's Pavilion today. The Prince is easily recognised by the familiar jaunty angle of his bowler hat.

For the second time in 25 years the Show again resumed after a World War. In 1947, with the Princess Elizabeth as President, the Show was held at Carmarthen.

The effects of the War were still apparent. Shortage of paper meant few catalogues were printed, food restrictions made catering a nightmare, while few of the sectional buildings had survived the War. Torrential rain, which poured down from the hills prior to the Show, put the event in doubt until the National Fire Service, assisted by a gang of German prisoners of war, who, incidentally, had done a lot of casual work on the site, managed to dispose of the accumulated water, and the Show went ahead.

The 1948 Show should have been held at Llandrindod Wells but, because of political problems in the Middle East, the basic petrol ration was withdrawn and with such a rural site it was decided to cancel the Show. The 1949 Show should have been held in North Wales, but with the Royal Show of England being held at Shrewsbury, it was decided the Royal Welsh should be sited as far away as possible, the choice being Swansea.

From 1949 to 1962 the Show continued to alternate between North and South, but clouds were gathering. It was becoming increasingly difficult to find a suitable site and increasingly expensive. In the early 1960s the Llanedwedd Estate at Builth Wells was purchased, the first Show on its permanent site being held in 1963. Only two out of the first twelve Shows at Llanedwedd showed a profit, and it was 1976 before the attendance figure reached 100,000. It seems hard to believe now, but many North Wales people felt the Show had gone South and was lost to them.

The Society came up with a brilliant answer. Whereas in the past the Show would have travelled to each locality in turn, in future each county would act in turn as the host county. Each of the thirteen counties would have an advisory committee and in its host year would provide the President and also raise funds for specific projects on the Showground. Up to the year 2000 over £8 m. has been invested in buildings and facilities, most of it raised by the counties, to make the Showground one of the best equipped in the country.

The 1989 Show saw the first 200,000 crowd, and this figure has been exceeded at every Show since, with the record standing at over 231,000.

In recent times, Southdowns have been present at every Show since 1983. Prior to then records show that they made their first appearance at the Rhyl Show in 1956. John Craig, OBE was the Judge, there being three classes - Shearling Ram, Ram Lamb, and 3 Shearling Ewes. H.B. Paynter Ltd.'s shearling ram won the Championship, with Wing Commander R. Grant Ferris MP's shearling ram Reserve Champion.

In 1957 the Show was at Aberystwyth, the Judge was Percy Filkins, there were four exhibitors - Wing Commander R. Grant Ferris MP, Cooper McDougal and Robertson, H. B. Paynter Ltd., and R. M. Harris.

1958 Show - no record.

At Port Talbot in 1959, the Judge was B. D. Gough, the Championship was won by Wing Commander Grant Ferris MP, and the Reserve Champion belonged to Capt. H. G. Trumper.

With only two exhibitors in the Southdown classes in 1959, the breed disappeared from the schedule for the next twenty-three years. Their reappearance at the 1983 Show saw Hugh Clark judging at the Royal Welsh for the first time. D.R. Randall won the award for the best ram, Mrs. J. Hughes & Sons for the best female. Other exhibitors were J & D Humphrey, and P.A. Clementine.

At the 2000 Show, J.H. Armstrong judged a record entry of 51, with 10 exhibitors. The new class for rams 2 years old or over attracted 8 entries, the Champion was exhibited by J.D. & D. Goode and the Reserve Champion by Wakeham Davies & Harmer. The quality of the Southdowns at the Royal Welsh is outstanding.

In 1998, D.S. & P. Humphrey were Reserve Champions in the Supreme Pairs Championship, out of 40 entries.

H. George Hughes

They'll soon be old enough to gambol

This pair of Southdown lambs are seven days old, having come into the world on New Year's Day. The rare-breed animals were born at Meens Farm, All Saints South Elmham, near Halesworth, which is owned by Gail and Michael Sprake. Their daughter Philippa, 20, who is training to be a vet, helped them and the other eight lambs born on January 1. Gail Sprake, who runs the 35-strong pedigree flock, said it was the "fun" side of the farm business, which is mainly arable. She said: "We have had them for 18 years and the ewes are pedigree show flocks. We take them round to the Norfolk and Suffolk shows."

EARLY ARRIVALS: Philippa Sprake with two of the lambs on Meens Farm, All Saints, South Elmham

From the Eastern Daily Press, January 7th, 2005

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