Photo: Journal No.24 Winter 1996/97
It is with a heavy heart that Graham & Ted have decided to delay their charity road run until early next summer. They both feel that under the current Gov’t restrictions regarding COVID-19 that to carry out such an event would be ill advised. Both for themselves and everyone else involved in support. They would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their generosity so far, both in donations and hospitality. Further updates will be posted on this website.
Graham Dell from Worcestershire and Ted Lake from Buckinghamshire will be embarking on an epic UK tour on a MF 2135 and David Brown 780 no later than first week of September. ( start date to be confirmed ). They are starting from Malvern in Worcestershire, across to the east coast, up to Scotland, John o’ Groats, the west coast of Scotland, across to Belfast, down through Southern Ireland, across to Fishguard, Devon, Land’s End, the south coast of England and back to Malvern. Travelling some 2500 plus miles they are raising money for Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation, Lupus UK and Fibromyalgia UK. Further details will be in the spring issue of the Journal and updates on this website. Please give your generous support to these two Gent’s in their tour of the British Isles. Graham can be contacted on : 07860 361145 or e-mail : grahamdellboy@aol.com (Graham will send you a Sponsorship form if needed)
I am trying to trace a Massey Ferguson 135 (HTD 976F) that my Grandfather purchased new in 1968. It was part exchanged in 1978 with a local machinery dealer and I believe it was possibly sold on to another local farmer in or around Preston Lancashire in 1978. Unfortunately, that is the limit of my knowledge at present. I believe it was last taxed for road use in 1989. I am hopeful that it is still in the area but I appreciate that a lot of time has elapsed. I would greatly appreciate if anyone can shed any light on its current whereabouts. Please feel free to contact me on 07840 563315…Thank you…..Matthew
Chassis no.TEF 501074 – Manufactured 1956 Registration no. TMO249 (Later) Registered 1959
Horticultural History ; In 1956 this Ferguson was the first tractor purchase and used in the creation of the first two of six Polo Ground’s at smiths Lawn ,Windsor Great Park, Royal Berkshire. We lived and grew at the foot of the polo grounds at Smith Lawn in a crown house called Flying Barn. Windsor park covers about 5,000 acres of beautiful majestic pine and broad leaf forestry, arable and live stock farming, Ornamental Gardens, and Course fishing lakes that contain some of the largest pike I have ever fished for.
My father a 3rdgeneration Groundsman Ray Nash worked for the Household Brigade Guards Polo Club from 1955 to 1973. as head Groundsman. This Ferguson was used to draw a set of nine Ransomes Mk10 gang mowers, Chain Harrow, belt driven Circular Saw, Patterson spiker and rollers, Ferguson tipping Trailer, Muck Spreader, Rear Loader, Sisis slit Spiker, Vicon wheeled Fertilizer Spreader etc.
Before leaving The Polo Club in 1973 to move to South Wales, my father purchased this Ferguson where it was dry stored after being replace in the late 1960’s with two refurbished David Brown 850’s which where donated to the polo club by member David Brown himself. I later joined my parents in Wales a year after completing my Apprenticeship at Huxley s Garden Machinery, that used to be based in Staines, Middlesex.
In 2004 my father and mother Dilys decided to donate the Ferguson back to Polo Club after property down sizing from the beautiful rural area of Moelgiliau, llangienor to the town of Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan. At that time , ( Son ) I was not in a position to take on the tractor as I had just moved with my wife from Bridgend to Pembrokeshire. All I know is that my late sister contacted the polo club office which was located at the royal Mews near Windsor Castle and arranged for it to be collected by Paul the Groundsman. Later I found out that there was alleged talk of using it for a childrens playground or left in some crown estate park to deteriorate. Last year I spent a several days visiting retired Crown Estate worker friends in Windsor park,and i also needed to find out what happened to my fathers Ferguson over 16 years ago. I later made enquires to the polo manager at smiths Lawn, but unfortunately he has not seen this tractor and does not know where it has gone . As a retired time served Horticultural/Plant/HGV Mechanic and West Wales NVTEC member and recent new Ferguson Club Member, it would be nice to locate and restore this tractor, as it brings back many good childhood memory’s , and when I worked assisting my father as a teenage Groundsman.
Mr,John Nash ; Contact Via E-Mail at john.jonnienash@gmail.com
Published in Journal No.58 Spring 2008.
Pre-war Ferguson Type ‘D’ ridger # 36 (a little like a US Lister), originally used with ‘A’ # 104 (see Vol 4/1) as was the plough. Both were very rusty having stood outside many years. All wearing parts were both worn out and rusted away. Replacement parts came from a David Brown type RLD 2 ridger. Photo A Boorman
Andrew’ Boormans ridger refurbished with D-B parts. Original Ferguson parts at front. D-B discs, mouldboards and shares were used on the plough apart from modified Ransomes parts used for landslides. New parts no longer available from manufacturer. Note the marker’s pull chain anchored over the peg. Photo A Boorman
The maker’s plate on the ridger showing type, ‘D’ and # No 36. Pre-war implement plates did not list patent numbers but referred you to the tractor where they were displayed on the dash. Under-beam clearance on pre-war Ferguson ploughs is 2 inches less than later types and a similar amount on other implements. Photo A Boorman
The above photographs of the Type ‘D’ ridger were featured in Vol. 7, No. 2, 1994 of the Ferguson Club Journal
Photo: N. Shearer
This sack lifter was photographed at the Alness Vintage Show earlier this year. It lifts to a height of about 4ft 6ins and the platform rotates through 1800 left/right so presumably would have been handy for loading a trailer. It located to the drawbar by means of pins. The plate identifies the makers as Culverwells, Lewes, Sussex. Would a local member please respond for it looks very much as though this implement was made for the TE-20 to fill a gap in the Ferguson inventory. It would have been very useful behind a thrashing drum or to follow up the bagger combine harvester. Note the mid-mounter mower.
Report from Lawrence Jamieson. Journal Vol.8 No.2 Autumn 1995
The article in the Autumn edition on the sack lifter made by Culverwells provoked an agreeable response, leading to the discovery of at least five more examples. One correspondent, Mr T. Sturmer, who was mentioned earlier, wrote ‘in this collection there are two sack lifters and they have the name of the company as Culverwells, of Lewes, Sussex. After seeing the Newsletter we attached one to the back of a tractor and the implement worked very well.’
It seems that Culverwells are still the local Massey Ferguson agents and that the implement was indeed produced for the TE 20, primarily for use behind a thrashing drum. It would be desirable to locate their literature and sales material for the club archives. Can a local member help?
Editor’s Note. If any Suffolk member has one of these sack lifters I would be very interested in trying it out behind our drum later this year. At the moment we use a Cook’s sack barrow with wind up hoist, an excellent device but rather slow and not always convenient.
Published in Journal no. 23 Winter 1995/96
I write this sat looking out at the garden during a very dry April, we could desperately do with a drop of rain having had no significant rainfall for some time. Winter seems a distant memory now, however, always looking for an excuse to utilise the Ferguson System my thoughts turned to processing some firewood.
Having been keen to get a Fergie saw bench for some time a chance purchase from eBay re-ignited these thoughts. A very nice leaflet with the Dealer stamp of ‘Boggis of Halesworth’ was purchased depicting an early saw bench and a very jolly looking chap obviously very pleased with his purchase. I realised now how much I needed to own one, however I had the final obstacle to overcome, convincing Mrs S of the virtues of such an addition to the collection. Fortune must have been on my side as she either wasn’t listening or she understood what a wise purchase this was for us to make and seemed fully committed to the project!
With permission sought I trawled the internet and tractor magazines, as luck would have it through a chance conversation, I found exactly what I was looking for not too far away at a reasonable price, once back home I could take stock of what I had bought. It’s a later Massey Ferguson model in nice condition, it came with a belt although this is too long and needs replacing as a farm spec modification has been made to enable adjustment to tighten the belt, the previous owner had fitted some extra guarding which was also a nice touch, so far so good. Everything turned freely by hand, so I decided to fit it up to a tractor and give it a run up, a dig around in the depths of the shed revealed a Ferguson belt pulley so now it was just a case of hitching up. With a little persuasion the saw bench was duly hitched up to my 1948 Fergie TEA20, with the belt tensioned we were in business and it was time for the moment of truth, now I have to admit at this point I was rather nervous of the fearsome spinning wheel of death I had just fitted on to my tractor so it was with some trepidation I slipped the PTO in to gear and gently let out the clutch. With a whirr we were off, leaving the engine ticking over I listened out for any odd noises or grumbles, but all sounded good so now I was feeling rather pleased with myself.
During the storms several hedgerow trees had been damaged and fallen across the fence of a rented paddock, so this was the perfect excuse to tryout my new toy, the chainsaw made light work of the field maple. I trimmed all the smaller branches and brush into a pile and stacked the thicker wood next to the tractor ready for processing. After making sure to clear the work area from trip hazards I ran the saw up and started to make my way through the pile, the blade zipped through the wood with ease. With an explosion of sawdust, the blade ate through the wood and the lengths of timber were soon reduced to a nice pile of logs perfect size for splitting.
With the logs cut it was now time to get· out the Fergie transport box to cart them back the shed, other than the use of the chainsaw all tasks completed by the Ferguson system.
So, a success, the blade needs a light sharpen and I need to source a belt of the correct length but otherwise one of my better purchases! Another implement ticked off the list and whilst on a roll perhaps another purchase is in order …. until next time keep on a-trosh’n.
Harry Semmence, 1948 TEA20, Journal 102 Autumn 2022
Ferguson Specification & Uses first published in Journal 72 Winter 2012/13, and Journal 102
Published in Journal 57, Winter 2007
Published in Journal 60, Winter 2008
