Tractor heritage, news and features

New lease of life

The next time you rush down the tractor rank at your friendly neighbourhood tractor show – just slow down to make sure you have time to absorb what you have before you. Take this John Deere A, for example, on one of its first official outings at an event since its recent restoration – and a nice example it is too. Sure, as the only John Deere at the show and the old ‘yeller and green’ shining like a beacon in the autumn sunshine you would hardly fail to miss it. On closer inspection, a glance at the logbook reveals it to be a petrol/paraffin John Deere A, first registered 26 August 1942. A hint of its past life as a Lend Lease tractor doing its bit for king and country.

Reunion

But to all those who have been involved with it, the tractor is far much more than this and the small event, the Lineside Vintage Show & Working Weekend, held at Swineshead Bridge near Boston was to be the venue for a significant reunion over the weekend 3-4 October. Bob Pearson had come to the show specifically to inspect the restored John Deere – the first time he had seen it since 1967 when Walter Pearson & Sons of Freiston sold it from the family business. Bob, who has just turned 81, remembers the tractor from when he started driving at around the age of 17 and said: “It’s wonderful to be reunited – it was such a well-built tractor for its time.”

He certainly remembers row-cropping with the JD and being particularly impressed with how good the independent mid-mounted steerage hoe was, a development by Levertons of Spalding who also supplied the tractor from new. The JD was used for many other jobs around the farm such as threshing and then for contract ploughing where it was employed pulling a crawler on a low-loader from job to job. It eventually ended up running a mill, grinding corn for the chickens before it was sold in 1967.

Little is then known of its whereabouts until about ten years ago. One of the organisers of the Lineside show, Rex Clarke, had taken his son Fred’s baler for shotblasting to Alan Thompson of Bolingbroke. A chance discussion followed with Ray Thompson, Alan’s father.

Fond memories

“Ray had two John Deere tractors. He wanted to keep the B but part with the A and I was going to have it,” said Rex, a self-confessed collector. “But my friend Alan Tingey wanted it. So I eventually gave in and let him have it and even helped deliver the tractor, which was mostly in chitting boxes.”

It was while all this was going on that the arrival of the documents provided a shock for Rex’s wife Fran. The tractor was the one her uncle, George Daubney, had worked with all those years ago at Walter Pearson & Sons. With so many fond memories of her uncle George, Fran was bitterly disappointed that they had let the tractor slip through their fingers! But it was too late. All they could do was tell Alan they would buy it from him if ever he wanted to part with it.

Alan began the restoration, rebuilding the back end, but once he got it back on its wheels and to the stage of working on the engine and transmission he got stumped and decided to take up their offer. That was around three years ago and Rex and son Fred then set about completing the task. Fred is a qualified engineer and is employed by local company Mastenbroek, who manufacture massive pipe laying plant machinery for applications worldwide. He often visits countries like Russia, France, Holland and Germany to PDI the equipment and help with on-site modifications. Meanwhile Rex works repairing light commercials, although he claims to be 'sort of retired really'. Father and son are no strangers to tractor restorations and their growing collection includes a 1947 E27N, Fred’s first restoration; while Rex fondly remembers his first working tractor, a 1952 Diesel Major, for which 30 years ago he paid just £90.

Official outing

But it took two donor tractors to supply the necessary parts to do this job. “They were bought at a sale,” says Rex, “and as is usually the case I had to buy one just in case I didn’t get the one we really wanted! These supplied the engine, gearbox and tinwork for the tractor – so that only the running gear is original on the finished JD.”

The tractor was now ready for its official outing at the 11th Lineside Vintage Show & Working Weekend in October. And the grand reunion would not have been complete without members of George Daubney’s family being present as he himself had four sons and three daughters. Three of the sons, Peter and the twins John and Fred were able to make it to the event, while Billy was away on holiday. But all four are now proud to have been able to drive in the seat their father once occupied. Fred Daubney recalled: “George was a ploughman through and through, he was ace at it.”

Peter carries the nickname Pop, which he says was the first words he spoke, apparently trying to copy that tractor sound!

Rex currently has two diesel Majors in the workshop to be ‘done up’ and sent to auction. “Although,” says Rex, “buying and selling is not what we are about, we’re collectors really.”

But what about the JD? “The John Deere will definitely not be sold and will stop in the family,” insisted Fran, “the next owner is my daughter Bev!”

Special thanks also go to Charlotte Pearson, one of Tractor magazine’s regular designers, who was pleased for the opportunity to contribute something to her grandfather, Bob Pearson’s, story by designing these pages.