Mr R J Higgon

Spittal

ROBERT John Higgon of Froghall, Spittal, was born October 3 1969. He died suddenly, unexpectedly at home on October 4 2014. He was the only son of John and Margaret Higgon (nee Whitehead).

John had died tragically soon after Robert was born.

Rob spent the first part of his life at Woodstock East farm, where his mother continued to farm along with his half-siblings, Sarah and Ian lea. He had many happy memories of his time helping on the farm, riding ponies with his cousins and playing with neighbouring friends and family.

He attended Spittal School from age four, and later went to The Downs, Malvern. However, Rob always preferred the outdoor life of home so he returned to Pembrokeshire aged 11 to live then at Froghall (which had been his father’s farm), and continued his education at Sir Thomas Picton. On his first day there he renewed his friendship with Paul “Stretch” Armstrong.

In later years he was an active member of Llysy- fran Young Farmers Club and enjoyed many spirited adventures with friends from neighbouring farms.

He became Head Boy at STP and then went on to study Agricultural Economics at Reading University (1991- 1993). There he met John Lee, another enduring friend. It was with John that he first travelled independently overseas.

Rob then did a stint on a farm in the wheat-belt in Western Australia before furthering his studies at Aberystwyth University (1994- 1995), attaining a Masters in Agricultural Business with a MAFF scholarship.

Based at Froghall thereafter, he worked on behalf of local businesses, in the main preparing Processing and Marketing Grants for the food industry locally, during which time he made some lasting friendships among his business contacts.

His mother, Margaret, died in 2002 and Robert cared for her faithfully at home throughout her final illness.

This changed his life immeasurably.

From then on he became self-employed as a business consultant, taking on some hands-on property developing, starting a specialist firewood business, and more recently researching and preparing EU protected status applications for the Welsh food industry, including the Pembrokeshire potato, Tenby Daffodil and Welsh leeks. He helped to further Wales as a source of quality food production and enjoyed doing so.

He met his wife, Sarah during the summer of 1994 at a local barn-dance, both were away at different Universities at the time. They met up again in 2000 and from then on were rarely parted, just enjoying living and working together. Their two young sons, Edward and Laurie, were the proudest achievement of his life.

Rob loved good books, music and film. He travelled widely, his favourite place the Nepalese Himalayas, but he always felt glad to return to the lush green landscape of Pembrokeshire with its remarkable light. He often helped deliver sailing boats around the British Isles with his cousin Roland and walked his dogs with his friend Mark. He cared for his mother’s legacy of animals: horses, dogs, rescue-donkeys and sheep and found huge satisfaction working around the farm with all of his family.

He took many beautiful photographs recording this life.

Rob embraced both the future and the past, although the obsessions of the modern world did at times puzzle him. He always counted himself as fortunate in life, rarely got carried away with his own importance and kept life in perspective: a gentleman with gentle manners and humour.

He was quietly proud of his ancestors, the Higgon family of Scolton and honoured his father’s memory by loving and preserving the land his father passed on to him. It was his hope that one day his sons would do so also.

Rob was buried on October 14 2014 at Spittal. The Reverend David Rees kindly officiated.

Bearers were friends from each phase of his life: Paul Vaughan, Roland Bowen (cousin), Paul Armstrong, Mark Reed, Michael Lewis and John Lee. His very dear cousin Isobel Bowen gave the reading.Donations were given generously to Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund.

He leaves his wife, sons, family and friends to mourn. His memory will be cherished, always.

 

Mr J Weston-Arnold

Nevern

THE funeral of John Weston- Arnold, formerly of Trellyffaint Farm, Nevern, who died April 28 aged 79 at his home in Ngunguru, New Zealand, took place in Whangarei on May 1. His wife, Diane, was accompanied by two of their seven grandchildren and the funeral was attended by over 100 family members and old school, college and farming friends who related moving speeches and memories.

Donations in lieu of flowers were made to the Northland Hospice where John had spent a little time. John and Diane’s children, Susan, Kim and David had journeyed to see their parents in April before returning to Pembs and Spain respectively oi April 27. Grandchildren Tim and Ella Warner were in NZ whilst Rose and Kes Warner, daughter-in-law Sian and children Mark and Kara Weston-Arnold and Thalia Bertin-Arnold also mourn their grandfather.

John grew up with his English father, kiwi mother and four brothers on a dairy farm at Maungatoroto, in the warm north of New Zealand.

He studied Agriculture at Northland College under the tutelage of a Gallipoli veteran, continued at Massey University, where he met lifelong friend John Paterson, and then worked for the Ruakura Research Centre. He took three years out travelling and working his way round the world and returned to NZ where he married Diane, a teacher and ex next-door neighbour, and they began farming in NZ. They left in 1962 as the highly respected Rex Paterson, father of friend John, who had a large number of dairy herds in Hampshire and Wales invited John to manage farms in Pembrokeshire – ultimately ten dairy herds and three drystock farms totalling 2000 acres in North Pembs and Carms with a staff of 19, for 18 years.

The hard winter of ’62 was a baptism of fire for the warm-blooded kiwis but they survived and their three children were born and raised here. Gregarious, engaging, a great mentor and good humoured, John loved nothing more than to communicate and share information – this was the mainstay of his life and he was a firm believer that people, especially farmers, should have a voice and learn from one another in mutual cooperation. As Lifesavers in NZ, he, Diane and the late Essex Havard were founder members of the Newport (Pembs) Surf Life Saving Club, very active today.

They both spent 11 years as voluntary lifeguards at Crymych swimming pool and John was a former auxiliary coastguard and also a Nevern Community Councillor for 25 years as well as following his passion for sub-aqua diving.

These sea-side activities included monitoring and almost accidentally helping to apprehend the protagonists of the infamous ‘Seal Bay’ drug smuggling operation of 1983.

Rex Paterson was already a farming pioneer and John furthered that tradition.

Once in Wales, John immediately set up paddock grazing coupled with farm tracks and large circular water troughs on farms. He encouraged a local firm, Granant Concrete, to manufacture the round troughs and some 30,000 plus have been produced since.

He observed industrial loaders being used during the construction of the M4 in 1972 and became the first to apply this concept to the farm scene – the forerunner of hundreds now on Welsh farms.

He joined and led many groups during his almost-50 years in Pembs including the North Pembs Grassland Society and became immediately active in training; writing short courses and forming training groups in grassland management, animal nutrition, block calving, milking parlour design, etc for the newly formed Agricultural Training Board. He went on to represent the NFU on the ATB council and then to the LANTRA Sector Skills Council where he acted for several years as the Chairman of the LANTRA Wales Advisory Group. He championed the formation of Dairy Discussion groups and the MDC and Farming Connect have now established several such groups in Wales. Eight members of the first group, the Grasshoppers, including John’s three farm enterprises, became accredited as Investors in People in 2004, the first dairy farmers in Britain to do so.

He was long-term member of Trawsgoed Experimental Dairy Husbandry Farm’s Advisory Committee and a member of Pembrokeshire Business Initiative, was invited by the Welsh Assembly government to join a dairy industry working group and chaired a joint steering committee of the Milk Development Council and Dairy Development Centre at Sir Gar. For 25 years he was a board member of the Welsh Agricultural Organisation Society actively involved in promoting cooperation.

Thus he was a natural chair of the Pembrokeshire Machinery Ring. He served for many years as a member of Clynderwen and Cardiganshire Farmers cooperative and acted as Chair for two, retiring at the age of 70 believing it was time to make way for a younger man. He was the NFU County Chairman in 1997 but was active in the NFU politics all his working life. In 1969 he had been awarded a Nuffield Scholarship and in 1997 the Idris Davies Memorial which acknowledges outstanding service by Pembrokeshire farmers.

John purchased his first farm, Trellyffaint in the 1980s and then Haroldston Farm in 1993. He and a neighbour set up the first share-farming operation in the UK – a test case for the Inland Revenue and this ran successfully for years – eventually taking on the tenancy of Picton Castle Farm together with his daughter and late son-in-law, Jack Warner. Picton Castle Farm became a dairy demonstration farm for three years and was one of the four host farms of the 2004 European Dairy Farming Congress held in Wales. Finally, in 2009, John and Diane, having given so much to their local community and the wider farming community retired to the greater warmth and extended family of Northland, NZ.

As John rose to prominence and influence in the UK agricultural scene meeting, amongst others, Helen Clark, prime minister of New Zealand and Rhodri Morgan, First Minister for Wales, the Bank of England Governor Eddie George, entertaining the Head of HSBC UK at one of his farms, he never became self-important, at ease with all and sundry. A motivational force, those he worked with say they were proud to and others say he was an extraordinary man who achieved extraordinary things. A farmer friend states ‘I always felt him to have a warmth of heart, a charm of approach and a personal courage which is denied to most of us. Towards me he was always straight and clear. The best neighbour a man could have.’ Family, friends, hitch-hikers and overseas students filled John and Diane’s house – their visitors’ book started in 1962 records over 750 names to date retaining long-standing friendships.

Travel back and forth to NZ was common as well as much international travel with Nuffield Scholars’ groups and many friends comment as to how they were always requested to bring parts for the milking parlour over if they were a-visiting. Susan and Kim spent a wonderful Christmas in NZ with four of their children and this is a poignant memory as John, never one to sit still, was still busy on construction projects, keen to discuss future plans and debate politics of the day. His zest for life was irrepressible and he shall be sadly missed. His courage, humour, and dignity with friends and family shone through to the end. Truly, his passing signals the end of an era.

Diane can be contacted at 4 Haven Place, Ngunguru RD3, Whangarei 0173, North Auckland, New Zealand. Should friends wish to share the taped funeral service please contact jacksue_warner@ hotmail.com