Page 12 - Demo

Obituaries
When George Woolford died on the 15th March 2023, the breed lost one of its
most loyal supporters as he had spent his entire working life devoted to the Dairy
Shorthorn and his family had been members of the Society for 75 years.
GEORGE WOOLFORD
A man of transparent honesty, he
lived a modest life and acted with
integrity in all things.
At the time of his birth George’s
family farm, Hook Farm,
near Wootton Bassett, had a
commercial shorthorn dairy
herd and his mother ran a large
chicken hatchery business. In
1948 when George was seven
years old his father, Mr R. G. H.
Woolford joined the Shorthorn
Society to begin Grading Up
and purchased some pedigree
cows to form the Hook Herd.
Those purchases at the Society’s
Reading Shows and Sales
introduced several female lines
prominent in the herd to the end.
Through the early years stock
bulls were selected from the
famous Iford Herd.
The Ruby Waterloo family was
established when he attended
with his father a production sale
of the Theale Herd at Home
Farm, Bradfield, Berks, on the
16th October 1957. At that time
Theale was nationally famous and
the Ruby Waterloos carried Iford
bloodlines which no doubt would
have added to the attraction of
the four week old heifer calf they
bought. Theale Ruby Waterloo
22nd (62694) joined the Hook
Herd very much by chance as
they had only attended the sale
because of a long run of bull
calves being born during 1957.
This female line became the most
numerous in the herd and many
cows and calves would later be
sold to other herds across the UK.
His fathers ill health meant
that George had to take over
management of the dairy herd
from 1960 and his fathers death
several years later led to a big
change. Sharing the management
of the farm with his brother, who
wanted to discard the shorthorns
and replace them with black
and white cows, created a need
to divide the business. George
purchased Woodshaw Farm near
Wootton Bassett and moved
the entire Hook Herd there in
1970. The farm consisted of land
and buildings but he lived some
distance away involving a daily
commute. When his land was
taken by a compulsory purchase
order he made his final move,
in October 1977, to the 66-acre
Spurham Farm near Okehampton,
Devon. With an ideal set of
‘model buildings’ it proved to be a
good home for the herd. Close to
Dartmoor with a heavy clay soil
and high rainfall the herd were
prone to mineral deficiencies, but
visitors always remarked on the
excellent growth and condition of
both the milkers and youngstock.
Those remarks were a testament
to the great care and pride that
he took in his stock.
George had to overcome major
surgery in his youth to correct
the growth of bones in his chest
and would again face major
surgeries following a catastrophic
farming accident on the 17th
July 2009. Airlifted to hospital
and later transferred to another
hospital to access the specialist
expertise needed, there followed
a long period of recuperative
care. Defying expectations he
returned to an active farming
life, determined to continue his
beloved Hook Herd which by that
time was run as a suckler herd.
Although his sight, hearing and
stamina had all been affected
he was still caring for two of his
cows at the time of his final illness
aged 81. He had a keen interest
in woodland management, was
a supporter of the Woodland
Trust and planted many native
hardwood trees on his own farm.
His only son, Daniel, sadly pre-
deceased him on the 8th August
2021.
George lies now in the graveyard
of Boasley Cross Chapel, divided
only by a quiet country lane from
the fields of Spurham Farm. He
made provision in his will for
the Shorthorn Society to receive
some money which could be
used to further the interests of
the breed he loved so well.
George Edward Woolford, 10th
August 1941 to 15th March
2023, remembered with grateful
appreciation by his many friends.
William Morris
William Morris
Shorthorn
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