In this video Jack Hargreaves looks at how garden tools were transformed into farm machinery, how World War Two saw the horse being replaced by tractors and how a plough works.
He also looks at stooks, combines regarded as huge in their day (they now look small) , straw and stubble burning and how the combine & tractor changed the face of the landscape and what could be grown.
The language is that of the day, I’m guessing this was filmed in the ate 70s or early 80s (straw burning was banned by the late 80s), and some of the language is not a PC as today!
Jack Hargreaves was regarded by many as the quintessential countryman. But he was born in London in 1911, and despite being in a reserved occupation joined up at the time of WWll. Enlisting as a private he ended up becoming an NCO, was sent to Sandhurst and reached the rank of Major whilst serving with Montgomery.
Hargreaves real role was as a communicator. And in his day he did it very well. I can’t say I agree with his views on everything, but he does communicate his point of view very well.
To See the video click on the image of the horse drawn plough.

Tag: Ploughs, Cultivation Equipment & Traditional Farming