Sir, – Reading The SF has been a constant in my farming life and I particularly enjoy the weekly Farmer’s View. The current group of contributors are the kind of clear-thinking individuals who stimulate discussion and who appear to be sadly lacking in our political scene.

Once past our allotted span of three score years and 10, one becomes reflective about events and people in our experience, and I am grateful to John Elliot for jogging my memory of two of the most inspiring people I have met in my lifetime.

The first of these is John Moffitt CBE. His dairy herd was one of the best known and respected of his time, and was a must for those organising group visits for dairy farmers. You just had to say 'Hunday' to fill a bus or carloads of eager visitors. It was a privilege to be shown round his herd and his wonderful collection of vintage tractors by the man himself.

The other name which I fondly recall is the last one in John’s article, William (Bill) Reid VC, BSc. Bill’s working career ended as sales manager for a feedstuffs company. In that capacity, he liked nothing more than to accompany his salesmen on their rounds of different farms.

On one such visit, he casually asked if I had seen 'The World at War' the previous evening on TV. On enquiring why?, he said: “Oh they did my episode”. Your episode? "Yes, when I won my VC!"

When I picked myself off the floor, I realised I was in the presence of a man I had read about in my schoolboy comics. We became friends with common interests and I am now the proud owner of a signed print of two Lancaster bombers which commemorates Bill Reid and Norman Jackson, two pilots who both won the Victoria Cross for extreme valour.

Willie Crawford

Hatton Mains,

Kirknewton.