The Long Arm of the Crane!

[hdtrust]

Another story Geoff from Big Ears!
Mostly veteran Motor mowers tend to be not for the faint hearted, Most were made sent from the factory to the place where they were needed and left for their full working life. After a hard working life some lucky ones would have been pushed in a hedgerow while others not so lucky were met with their maker – the melting pot!
However this one has a flowery tale!
This is a Ransomes 36 inch Patent Motor Mower of 1913, which was part of the famous Halford Collection. David Halford wrote the first book on Old Lawn Mowers for Shire Publications, He was the senior Lecturer at Lancashire Horticultural College, Preston.
The first time I saw this machine it was in the Observer supplement magazine back in the early 1980’s.
Then for many years it went missing from public sight.Unfortunetly David died suddenly, which put a spanner in the works for the whole collection.
Eventually a new home was found in Cornwall with the National Trust.
For some reason or other not all the collection went, those which were left had been stored away in some old Council workshops(Some would say the best bits)
After much searching we found the sheds which were due to be torn down. Grabbing every abled person that we could find, I even borrowed the contractors working on one of our Brewery instillations (that was interesting cross booking that job on the accounts!) Their side loading crane certainly came in handy.
League of all Nations I can even see Jim Ricci from the States lending a hand!
Needless to say today it sits in one of our stores, tucked up in the dry

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