BCCS September Newsletter 2022

Obituaries
BILLY TURNER
1935 - 2022
Billy Turner was born at Norton le Clay, a small farming village
in the heart of North Yorkshire.
He attended Scorton grammar school for his secondary
education and then returned to the home farm, where in his
spare time loved to deal in sheep and cattle and was a great
supporter of the live auction system. This honed his bargaining
skills and when in the coming years Billy was selling bulls at
Society sales, it drew great amusement from the audience
when Billy was extolling the virtues of his cattle to the
auctioneers, usually with his hand in the air until the hammer
dropped.
He used to say, “You have 18 months to prepare a bull for sale
and one minute to sell it.” So make the most of it.
Billy was a great supporter of the Young Farmers Club and it
was at a YFC rally that changed his life. There was a young girl
who was outstanding in a poultry dressing competition and
this together with her other charms attracted Billy’s attention.
Billy and Jane were duly married and shortly after their
marriage were awarded the tenancy of Village Farm, Skelton
on Ure, which is a farm on the Newby Hall estate. They later
also took the tenancy of Brampton Hall. The family began to
grow, with the births of Janet, Margaret and Sarah. With Sarah
now the custodian of the farms and the Charolais herd
Billy and Jane made a formidable partnership with her
incredible work ethic and Billy’s ambitious plans.
Billy was a countryman who loved his hunting, shooting,
fishing and racing but above all he was a traditional farmer,
a true custodian of the land. He believed in mixed farming,
achieving the benefits of keeping livestock for the added
benefits for the arable side of the business. Billy was a positive
character who looked forward. He was always there to give
sound advice but sometimes would not take heed of his own
words!!
If there was a discussion and it was maybe not coming round
to Billy’s way of thinking, he would finish by saying “ Well you
can please yourselves but I am telling you”. Or if there was a
problem which had to be sorted he would say, “It’ll be right.
End of conversation”
Billy was not always right but
he was never wrong!!
One of Billy and Jane’s
positive innovative moves was
purchasing a batch of Charolais
heifers in 1972, which were the
foundation of the Brampton
Charolais herd. When the herd
became established it proved
to be a very influential herd,
particularly during the 1980s
and 90s in both the show and
sale rings. Over the
years bulls sold to a
top of 28,000gns with
several bulls selling for
five figure sums and in
the show ring the stock
bull Nebulus won the
breed and interbreed
Burke Trophy at the
Royal Show in both
1980 and 1982. The
Burke Trophy at the
Royal Show was the
blue riband interbreed
championship event in
the cattle world, where
the numbers of cattle
forward at the Royal
far exceeded any of
today’s shows. In the
Charolais section alone
there were regularly
more than 100 entries.
The 1982 Royal Show
was one of Billy and
Jane’s highlights when the show team cleaned up most of the
Charolais and inter breed trophies with the exception of the
Charolais female championship, where the homebred cow
Mull took the reserve rosette.
At the Royal Show, the three young bulls Tenpin, Ulysses and
Chopper won the junior Charolais bull championship trophy.
At the Great Yorkshire Show, it was drink’s all round between
1980 and 1982 when Nebulus and Mull completed a hat
trick of wins in the beef interbreed competition. All the more
poignant winning this prestigious award at not only the local
show but also the best livestock county show in the country.
Billy was invited to join the BCCS council of management to
represent the Yorkshire region and served some twelve years
on council where he was the BCCS treasurer in 2002. The
following year he was elected to be the BCCS president, a
role he was proud to accept. He was a great ambassador for
Charolais cattle and the Society, and over the years the Turner
family have hosted several open days, young breeders training
sessions and a World Charolais Congress in 1996. All visitors
to Brampton to view the cattle, or just call in for a chat were
made welcome.
The Brampton Charolais herd is one of only a
handful of British Charolais herds which can
celebrate 50 years since joining the Society.
In conclusion Billy was a man of integrity, kindness
and boundless generosity, who lived life to the
full. His care for Jane over the 20 years of her
debilitating illness was inspirational. He was quite
simply one of a kind.
There will never be another Billy Turner.
David Benson
Billy Turner
85
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