The British Simmental Review 2022

FAREWELL TO DEAR FRIENDS
PAUL RADBURN
DILMORE HERD
1956 - 2022
Paul passed away in March 2022, aged 66, following
a very short illness. He farmed a smallholding
in Claines, Worcester, consisting of around 50
Simmentals and a few Hereford cows. He was born in the
small village of Cutnall Green near Droitwich and lived in
the countryside all his life. Although not originally from
farming stock, he just loved the outdoor rural life and
all his friends were farmer’s children. He spent hours at
weekends and school holidays down on the farm.
His parents and grandparents were market gardeners but
Paul was always more interested in the chickens, ducks
and geese who shared the fields. They had a pig sty at the
bottom of the garden so his dad bought a couple of small
pigs for Paul to look after as a young teenager, and that
was the beginning.
A family friend in the village had a livestock transport
business so Paul soon became a “driver’s mate” helping to
load animals and deliver them to other farms and markets.
Paul didn’t get on well at school, mostly because his mind
was already made up – he wanted to be outside caring
for animals and couldn’t see the point of academic stuff.
As soon as he was old enough he got his HGV license
and joined the company transporting animals around the
county. He loved it.
As he grew older he wanted more animals for himself and
was lucky that when his aunt retired from the Post Office
in Cutnall Green, she bought a cottage in Claines which
had a pig farm attached. Paul lived there with his aunt
for the next 40 years. Paul developed the pig farm and
supplemented his income by running his own haulage
lorry with his name across the top.
But it was always about the animals. At its peak the
pig farm had over a hundred breeding sows and was
very hard work. The trade became quite poor and Paul
couldn’t make a living from the pigs, so he made the
switch to breeding high quality pedigree cattle. Firstly
Charolais then Simmentals and recently adding a few
Herefords. Whatever animals he reared, his buyers would
always comment on how well they looked and how well
they had been cared for. Simmental breeders were often
calling to find out if he had animals for sale.
Paul was a big strong man but very gentle with it. He
became a carer for his aunt and looked after the house
they shared. He was a very private man and never
married. He treated his animals as his family and would
do anything for his neighbours and local farmers. They
held him in high regard as a friend and this became very
obvious in the days and weeks following his death when
many of them turned up to help feed and care for his
animals in such difficult circumstances.
Paul would never have done well on Eggheads or
University Challenge but he made up for it with other
talents. It is doubtful if many of the Eggheads would
be much good at reversing a large trailer full of cows
through a small gateway. Paul was brilliant at it.
For a big “no nonsense” type of man, he was incredibly
tolerant and calm when things weren’t going well. He has
been severely challenged and let down by many builders
and contractors whilst trying to get his barn conversion
completed over the last two years and it is such a shame
that he was only just starting to enjoy his hard work. He
will leave someone with a brand new bungalow but he
will leave us all with lots of warm and positive memories.
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