April 2020

13 Buckden Roundabout April 2020 Old Buckden Tom Swepstone A village character re- membered by many, Tom was the archetypal farmer ’ s boy and man of the land. Tom ’ s land comprised the arable fields to the east of Buck- den, between Mill Road and the Great Ouse river. While most of us ‘ Old Buckden ’ folk associate Tom with ‘ Martin ’ s Farm ’ on Leaden ’ s Lane, where he lived as a family man for 40 years, as a boy Tom lived in one of the tied cottages at Margett ’ s Farm a little further to the east. Tom ’ s father, Thomas, was a horse–keeper for the landowners, the Bowyer family. Tom was born in 1924, second - in - line, after his older half - sister Nellie and followed later by brother John and sisters Nancy and Pan- sy. The family later moved into the farmhouse at Margett ’ s when Thomas had more responsibility. Tom started at Buck- den School in Septem- ber 1929. At this time village boys and girls were educated sepa- rately. Tom was under the tutelage of Mr Hearn, while in the neighbouring building his future wife Vera joined the girls in- structed by Miss Payne. On gloomy winter days they must ’ ve struggled to see their work for there was no electricity at this time. When not at school Tom helped his father on the farm; he carried out gar- dening work for neighbours and on a Sunday regularly attend- ed church, where he had duties pumping the bellows for the organ. School - leaving age was 14 and Tom was keen to take up farm work, so he joined the other labourers at Margetts Farm. He thrived ‘ in the fresh air ’, with the physical nature of the work, whether stacking bales or tending livestock. He worked with the horses and his favourite ‘ hoss ’ was Punch. Tom struck up an easy rapport with this huge work - horse, even sharing his lunch with him as they worked in the fields. During the war Tom joined the Home Guard, along with his brother John. Training took place in the Rifle Range, which along with being the venue for most village events also catered for target practice. Unsurprisingly, Tom was already very handy with a shot gun. He also found time for community - spirited enterprises and with Horace Haynes and Cecil Wytten set about organising both a Youth Club and an Over 60’ s group for the village. Of an evening Tom would often call on the residents of Mar- tin ’ s Farm, home to the Dudley family. Tom needed to discuss matters with Ernie (also known as Jerry). Together they had taken on 10 acres of land off Van Dieman ’ s Lane which they worked in their spare time. There they kept pigs and grew bar- ley. Following the harvest, the barley was taken the short dis- tance to Offord and Buckden Mills where it was converted to feed for fattening the pigs. Tom married Vera at the Methodist Church in the Spring of 1953. They headed off to Eastbourne for their honeymoon, boarding the train at Offord Station, where wedding guests lined the platform to wave them off. On their return the newly - weds moved into the now vacant Martin ’ s Farm, as Ernie had moved on to Park Farm to be chief stockman. Tom continued to work for The Bowyers and rent some extra acres to work for himself. Later he went into partnership with John Ekins and together they purchased the farm. Between them they had two tractors, a range of implements and a com- bine harvester, so they were able to undertake contract work for other farms in the area as well as keep pigs and grow vege- tables. Martin ’ s Farm became increasingly lively with the addi- tion of cows, rabbits, over fifty hens, numerous cats and Tom ’ s four children. The children were required to play their part in the family business and for the most part enjoyed their in- volvement, whether helping in the fields with potato picking, setting brussel plants, feeding animals helping out at Harvest time, weighing up the produce or serving customers. In the 1970’ s Tom and John started door - to - door deliveries of fresh eggs, fruit and vegetables around Buckden, using a trac- tor and trailer. The home grown produce included eggs, pota- toes, carrots, brussels, courgettes and sweetcorn. Other pro- (Continued on page 14) Tom Swepstone Tom, with his father, Thomas, and his nephew, Robert Tractor and trailer used to deliver fresh produce to the village