Industry Stalwart Receives Blamire Prize
2011-08-01

This weekend one of the stalwarts of Cumbria’s farming industry David Thomlinson, was presented with the prestigious 2011 Blamire Award. David who farms at Scaleby has been part of the county’s farming scene for nearly 50 years as both an auctioneer for Harrison & Hetherington and as a breeder of Limousin cattle.

Michael Cowen (left) & David Thomlinson

Each year, the prestigious Blamire Award, a monogrammed coin like medal is presented to people who are directly involved in agriculture in the old county of Cumberland. David has been 100% committed to working as an ambassador for Cumbrian Farmers his whole life and this accolade is a tribute from the entire Cumbrian Agricultural Community. In a special presentation at the National Limousin Show, David was presented with his medal by Michael Cowen, Chairman of the Blamire Trust and a Director of H&H Group.

Mr Cowen who has known David personally for 25 years gives some further background to this presentation, “As a Trust we award this prize to the people we feel who have gone beyond the call of duty and gone out of their way to do as much as they can for our agricultural community. The Trustees are all made up of local farmers and this is their way of recognising the exceptional efforts of those in their own industry. David is a well known face in the Cumbrian community, he has served us all by promoting our livestock for nearly 50 years and he is certainly worthy of The Blamire Prize.”

This award was a complete surprise and on accepting it David said “It is a great honour to receive this award from The Balmire Trust, I thoroughly enjoy my job working for the farming community in Cumbria and further afield.”

David was born and brought up in Cumbria and after leaving Carlisle Grammar School he began working for livestock auctioneers Harrison & Hetherington as an office boy based in Botchergate. He has made a huge contribution to H&H and during his career he took his surveying exams and then moved into auctioneering and rose through the ranks to become Managing Director. Today he still maintains a key role within the company through his love of the livestock ring as senior pedigree auctioneer and with English property sales.

One of his highlights as an auctioneer was the sale of the prize winning Limousin bull Haltcliffe Vermont who sold for the world record price of 100, 000 guineas in 2010. David started the bidding for this exceptional animal at 10,000gns before seeing the price rise to make this highest priced Limousin Bull ever sold.

It is this involvement in local agriculture and in particular his work to promote Limousin cattle that lead to Nick Utting, Secretary of the Blamire Trust also reiterating why this presentation is so well deserved: “The Blamire Medal is presented to those persons who have given great service to Agriculture in Cumberland. There is no doubt that David Thomlinson fits the bill through his many years of work as a first class auctioneer with Harrison and Hetherington and also his enthusiastic promotion of the Limousin breed of beef cattle.”

Throughout his career David has maintained his passion for farming, livestock, and rural issues. Along with his wife Sheila, he farms their 200 acre farm, Park View at Scaleby from where they started their pedigree herd of Limousin cattle in 1978. The farm produces quality bulls and females for sale both in the ring and privately. The Beeches herd has enjoyed success in the show ring with Beeches French and Beeches Georgette.

David is also a former Chairman of the North West Limousin Cattle Breeders Association. He has made a hugely important contribution to the Limousin Society where he has been instrumental in the creation of Borderway being recognised as The National Limousin Centre.

Outside of work and commitments to his farm and Livestock, David has been Chairman of the Cumberland Show and President of the Young Farmers. For a six year period which included the outbreak of BSE he was also Chairman of the Livestock Auctioneers Association.

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