East Lothian Courier | News | Late farmer’s tractors fetch £250k

Thursday, 20th November, 2008

Published: Thursday, 10th April, 2008 08:00

Late farmer’s tractors fetch £250k

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A TRACTOR enthusiast amassed some 35 machines at his farm near North Berwick before his death from cancer last year.

The full extent of Jeff Ritchie’s private passion was revealed when his collection of modern and vintage vehicles fetched £250,000 at a recent auction at East Craig Farm.

More than 2,000 collectors and farmers from all over the UK and Ireland attended the on-site sale conducted by auctioneers John Swan.

Reclusive bachelor Mr Ritchie was 64 when he lost his three-year battle with cancer last November.

With no nearby family – he is believed to have relatives in South Africa – to take over the running of the 200-acre farm, his executors sold the property and all the farm machinery.

News of the farm machinery auction – which was conducted over four hours in a muddy field – saw some enterprising county farmers contribute an additional 25 tractors to the line-up.

The size of the turnout took the auctioneers by surprise.

“We’ve never seen a crowd that big for a farm sale,” said Frank Forrest from the St Boswells-based firm. “It resulted in some outstanding prices being achieved, especially in the classic tractor section.”

Mr Ritchie’s personal collection included a rare 1928 John Deere Model D tractor, which fetched £2,150, and a 1940 Allis Chalmers HD7 crawler, which went for £3,400.

Classic Massey Ferguson and John Deere models from the 1970s and 1980s fetched up to £12,000 each.

Many of the tractors were sold with their original manuals.

Kelvin Pate, vice-chairman of the NFUS East Lothian branch, said: “There was a lot of interesting stuff up for sale. It is certainly very unusual for a farm sale of that size to be held in the county.”

Mr Ritchie is buried in the family plot at Whitekirk Church. It’s understood his home and land have been sold privately.

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