Farmer John celebrates his 100th birthday with a card from the King

John Harrison was born on July 19, 1923 at home in Keasden, near Clapham, North Yorkshire, and educated in Keasden and Ingleton before his parents moved to a rented farm in Rathmell.

John wanted to be a coach driver but his father wished him to farm, hence he farmed in Rathmell until the age of 65. In 1947 he married schoolteacher and amateur poet Olive Somers and they had five children.

John was a kind farmer. He did not enjoy the negotiations at the auction marts, had names for all his cattle and is still respected locally as a fair and generous person.

He enjoyed his time as a school governor, was the first chairman then club leader and president of Rathmell Young Farmers' Club and was involved in chairing local NFU meetings, was a delegate to county for several years, a proficient dry stone waller through his farming career, and was an air raid precaution warden during the Second World War - although his total war experience was one lone plane low flying along the Ribble Valley!

A fine tenor, he was in choral societies and into his 90s sang with a weekly group at Ingleton nursing home for the “old people”. He was involved in village activities, there are photos of him dressed up at carnivals, and he guided the Young Farmers club for many years through public speaking and entertainments competitions, and telling jokes wherever he could, a skill he retains, with a great sense of comic timing. He always laughs at his own jokes!

John was steward of Rathmell Methodist chapel until the age of 96, opening the building every week, climbing a long step ladder to wind the chapel clock, preparing the rooms, greeting the preacher, dealing with chapel correspondence and generally keeping things ‘ticking over’.

He has written a diary since the 1930s - a fascinating history of farming family and community through the years, the happy and sad times. Failing eyesight is now making this a challenge but he still jots thoughts down most days, and has given talks of his life story at chapels and village meetings.

Knees and eyesight have conspired to him ceasing car driving and cycling in his 90s but his interest in anything with wheels, cars,bikes, steam vehicles and trains has not waned.

Daughter Sheila has noted her father's reminiscences. His parents Thirston and Janie Harrison were Methodists and there was a set method for jobs throughout the week. No work was done on Sundays except for necessary farm work. Instead they went to Keasden chapel twice on a Sunday.

He wore clogs, had few toys, swam in the beck and went once a year to Blackpool on a chapel and Sunday School outing. His parents regarded whist drives as 'evil'.

If the chimney needed sweeping a live hen was dropped down. The preacher occasionally came to tea and had tinned salmon sandwiches.

An exceptional student, he passed the 11-plus to go to grammar school but his parents would not let him go. 

He remembers his mum baking and growing vegetables. Haytime was a manual task involving rakes. Milking was done by hand and put into kits. They had a horse called Neddy, hens, pigs. He loved the animals but didn't like them being slaughtered though they did provide food through winter.

His philosophy is help others, forgive, have faith, make and mend things, keep lots of interests, sing and whistle, eat at regular invervals on time, be kind and loving, be curious, give up smoking a pipe when you get to 70, have a serious side and a humorous side, accept life's hard knocks and move on, see the funny side of things and only get married once.

A birthday party was held in Rathmell to celebrate his milestone, along with a card from the King.