The 4th World Ploughing Contest was held in Shillingford between 10th & 12th October 1956
The inaugural World Ploughing Contest was held in Cobourg, Ontario in Canada in 1953. This was followed in Killarney in the Republic of Ireland in 1954 and Uppsala in Sweden in 1955. The contest moved to the United Kingdom in 1956 for the 4th World Championship and was combined to coincide with the 6th British Ploughing Championships. The 13 countries competing in Shillingford were: Northern Ireland, Germany, France, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, UK, Finland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Belgium, USA and Norway. Each venue that hosts a World Ploughing Championships is presented with “the cairn of peace”.
The Duke of Gloucester opened the Championships by unveiling the Cairn and Plough on the Wednesday 10th October 1954. The British Championships were then completed by close of play allowing for the World Ploughing Championships to take place on the 11th and 12th.
The following extract is taken from the W & S Society Newsletter No 8 and recorded by Mr Stephen Cook of Shillingford Farm:
The original plough, sadly stolen two years ago, was a model of the ‘Golden Plough’. It was fashioned by a Canadian blacksmith and donated by the Canadian Council of Ploughing Associations. It was unveiled by HRH the Duke of Gloucester attended by three girls in national costume from England, Scotland, and Wales. They removed the flags of St George, St Andrew, and St David respectively to reveal the monument. The trumpeters of the Regiment of Lifeguards sounded a fanfare, and the Bishop of Reading performed a short service of Dedication.
The original cairn was built of Cotswold stone and included a piece of stone brought from the country of each ploughman and engraved with the country’s name. These stones were incorporated in the new cairn built recently by an Oxfordshire craftsman to house the new ‘plough’. This was donated by the ‘Society of Ploughmen’, following the British Championships held on the same field last October.
Sited at the original main entrance to the event, our cairn can be seen along New Road. The cairn measures 60” (1.5m) x 36” (0.9m) x 57” (1.43m) high. It lists the 13 participating countries around three sides of the cairn and supports the 4’ (1.2 mt) long plough, a replica of the 18th century Norfolk plough that was a landmark in plough design for all future ploughs. Originally, it was suggested by the Parish Council that the cairn should be built from flint, but in a letter from the World Ploughing Organisers, dated 24th September 1956 to Mr Belcher, they write: “Just a note to tell you that the Cairn will be built of Marcham stone on the advice of the builder”. Apparently, the flint stone would not have been a suitable building material. The original Golden Plough was produced from bronze.
The ESSO Petroleum Company sponsored the World Ploughing Championships, funding and arranging for the participating teams to travel to the competitions. They also provided accommodation and funded sightseeing tours for the competitors.
ESSO also commissioned the Esso Golden Plough in 1952, using the Royal Jewellers, Garrad and Co of London. The award is approximately 24” (60 cms) long and is held by the overall winner for a year before being returned for the next contest. The overall winner receives a miniature replica of the Golden Plough.
His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh, K.C. accepted patronage of the World Ploughing Contest in 1956 and summed up in his letter to the event organisers with:
“Advance, spare not, nor look behind, Plough deep and straight with all your powers.”
Why Ploughing:
By 1956, farming and farm merchandise was a major industry for the home market but more importantly, for exporters. To put this into perspective, in 1938, farm equipment sales were £4.5 million with exports a mere £1.2 million. By 1954, sales rose to £108 million of farm machinery with nearly £58 million being exported, a fifty-fold increase. Promoting farming, using the World Ploughing Championships was, therefore, an opportunity to market Britain’s’ skills to the world.
From the World perspective, with the recent ending of world hostilities, uniting countries in acts of togetherness were essential in building bridges. Britain played its part in strengthening ties globally. Indeed, the motto of the World Ploughing Championships, PAX ARVA COLAT, “let peace cultivate the fields”, sums up the aspirations for the event in Shillingford.
Location:
The venue would be Shillingford and hosted by Mr John R (Dickie) Warburton, of Shillingford Farm. Mr Warburton was a forward thinker in modern farming and installed and developed improved farming techniques on his farm.
The field chosen for the championships extending from Thame Road to the boundary with Benson at Elm Bridge and running adjacent to the Henley Road. As one of Oxfordshire’s largest continuous fields, being estimated at some 300 acres, it was ideally placed as having excellent access to main roads and rail systems. Wallingford in 1956, ran the Bunk Line to Cholsey, with onward connections to London and farther afield. The bus terminus was outside of Hartley House.
The field behind the allotments between the Green North and South, was also set aside for the British Ploughing Championships. The map shows how the competition fields were divided for both events with three entrances to the contests, the main entrance being where the Golden Plough cairn now stands.
Apart from parking near Shillingford Farm and VIP entry onto the site field, the organisers also received agreement from Mr Norman Belcher (Chairman of the Parish Council) of Violet’s Farm and his landlord, Lord Conesford, QC, of Shillingford Wharf, to use land next to Mr Warburton’s 9-acre field for additional parking and Lord Conesford remarks that the organisers “will make good any damage that may be caused.”
Along with the ploughing contests, visitors could see farming demonstrations, displays of equipment, both historical and new, view the shire horse paddock enclosure and see the latest Land Rovers, always the farmers choice. Onsite facilities included restaurants, a cafeteria, and Post Office.
The Contest:
The Contest ran from 10th to the 12th of October 1956. Wednesday 10th was dedicated to the British Ploughing Championships with Horse Ploughing starting the event at 09.30 am. Tractor ploughing followed shortly afterwards, and the competition ended about 14.00. Awards were announced at 16.30. Horse Ploughing was never part of the World Ploughing Championships. The overall winner would represent the United Kingdom, to be held in Ohio, USA, the following year.
The following two days were dedicated to the World Ploughing Championships. The first of the two disciplines, Stubble Ploughing, took place on the parcel of land to the left of entrance 3, Henley Road. Following the parade of the National Champions in the arena, the ploughing contest commenced and lasted 3 hours.
The final day, Friday, saw the Grassland Ploughing event take place in the field sectioned off roughly behind the Primary School. The competition finished at 14.00. At 15.00, the ceremony of the unveiling of the ‘Cairn of Peace’ commemorating the Championship was undertaken by H.R.H. The Duke of Gloucester.
The three-day event closed at 16.30 with organisers, sponsors and competitors heading to the Carfax Assembly Rooms, Oxford for the banquet, dance and presentations. The Duke and Duchess of Marlborough attended the function, and Her Grace presented the Golden Plough Trophy to Hugh Barr of Northern Ireland, his third consecutive championship win. The UK secured third place overall.
With Britain just coming out of national rationing of food due to shortages from WW2, the menu is not as bland as one might suppose. One nice touch from Mr Belcher’s menu shows that he obtained the autograph of the World Champion, Hugh B Barr and that of the only single participant, Jim Brooker, 22 years old from New Zealand, who travelled from his home in New Zealand through America to Britain alone. Other competitors would have travelled in pairs accompanied with an agent from their national association.
Mr Belcher’s menu and the back page with the overall winner, Hugh Barr of Northern Ireland and the lone New Zealander, Jim Brooker’s autographs.
And so, the Championship closes with the USA hosting the 1957 tournament in Peebles, Ohio.
The British Ploughing Championships:
Apart from the 6th British Ploughing Championships held in Shillingford in 1956, two further events were staged on, what is now known as Plough Field. These were in 1993 and 1999. Hopefully, one day, a World Ploughing Championship might be held here on this historic site.
One final note: sadly, the Golden Plough was stolen in the summer of 1991. A close replica of the original was crafted, and this now sits upon the Cairn of Peace.
Researched by: David Seymour, February 2024