Colin Campbell passed away on December 27 having spent Christmas Day with four generations of his family at Thrunton Farm, Alnwick. Colin was a well known cattle and sheep breeder in Northumberland who was amongst the first to introduce Charolais cattle into his farming enterprise in the early 1970s.
His first Charolais purchases formed the basis of the Thrunton pedigree herd which has become one of the largest and best known in the UK. 
Colin was brought up at Old Felton with his brother Tom and sisters Joyce and Helen. Tom stayed at the family farm while Colin moved away when he married Phyllis in 1956 and they started their own farming business at High Learchild. It was at High Learchild their family of four children were born – Ian, John, Anne and Helen.
In 1969, the family moved just over the road to Thrunton where Colin founded his pedigree livestock enterprises. Colin’s greatest loves were farming and his family and he took a great interest in and pleasure from both throughout his life.
The Charolais herd management was shared with his son Ian and a Suffolk sheep flock founded just a few years later was managed by his son John along with a large commercial sheep flock. Colin always focused on the commercial traits of the livestock he bred and the Thrunton Suffolk shearlings have become a feature of Kelso ram sales. Colin and John enjoyed showing prime lambs at the Royal Smithfield Show and at the Scottish Winter Fair and picked up the silverware at both events on several occasions in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Charolais and Suffolks have more recently been joined by Aberdeen-Angus, Texels and a small flock of Bluefaced Leicesters and Colin’s grandsons Andrew, Bruce and Ed have taken up the reins to follow his lead in pedigree livestock breeding. 
Thrunton cattle have secured several Perth Bull Sales championships and feature in the bloodlines of many leading Charolais herds. The sale top is Thrunton Voldemort which sold for a then record 55,000gns at Perth in 2006. Previous to that, in 1994, Thrunton Ideal sold for 45,000gns which was the second highest Charolais bull sale at that time.
Colin and Phyllis made many friends within the Charolais Cattle Society and enjoyed visiting herds throughout the world and judging across the UK and abroad. Thrunton bulls have been exported to Canada and South Africa and highlights included visiting Canada to see Thrunton Captain settled in his new home and judging in Brazil in 1985.
In 1983 Colin Campbell served as chairman of the Charolais Cattle Society and was president in 1988. Colin was also the recipient of Northumberland NFU Chairman’s Award for promotion of the livestock industry in the county. 
He and Phyllis celebrated their Diamond Wedding anniversary with family and friends in January, 2016. Colin’s legacy is left in the farming business of JHC Campbell and Sons at Thrunton and Rosebrough which continues to develop in the hands of the next generations. 
Colin also always took grade pleasure is the success of his other seven grandchildren Richard, Flora, Emily, Camilla, Fraser, Julia and Amelia in their chosen careers and in his three great grandchildren, Harry, Poppy and Angus.