Dressed in red, 400 people and a procession of 60 tractors made their way through Woolpit to say goodbye to a man who knew tractors like the back of his hand.
It was a fitting tribute to Stephen Proctor, one of the founders of the annual rally Woolpit Steam, who was described by some as “a village institution”.
“Dad always seemed to know someone, everywhere he went,” said Stephen’s eldest son, Jonny Proctor.
Stephen had spent his whole life in the village of Woolpit. Born on March 16, 1961, he was the middle child of five children born to Thelma and John. Stephen had two older brothers, David and Peter, and two younger sisters, Tracey and Susan.
After leaving school at 16, Stephen found his first job at Thurlow Nunn Standen in Elmswell, a dealership of Massey Ferguson agricultural vehicles.
This marked the beginning of Stephen’s lifelong love affair with tractors. He would spend the rest of his life working with farming vehicles, and sharing his skill and passion with everyone he knew.
In fact, Stephen was one of the founders of the Woolpit Steam. What started out as a small village gathering held at Grange Farm has grown over the years into a prestigious annual event in the Woolpit calendar, with agricultural displays, steam engines and vintage tractors. Thousands of pounds have been raised over the years for local charities.
It was also at Thurlow Nunn that Stephen came by his nickname Percy. With two other Stephens already working at the dealership, Stephen’s colleagues began calling him Percy, a name which has stuck with him ever since.
Stephen threw himself into farming life, and began attending barn dances and discos arranged by the Suffolk Young Farmers club. It was here that he met Christine, the woman who was to become his wife of nearly 41 years.
The couple tied the knot on August 7, 1982.
Stephen and Christine decided to stay in Woolpit and raise their family in the village where he had grown up. Their daughter Cheryl arrived in 1982, with Jonny following in 1984. Twin boys, Robert and Andrew, came along in 1989, completing the family of six.
When his children were young, Stephen went to work on Barrack Farm in Woolpit for Bob and Patricia Baker.
Jonny remembers his father taking him to the farm with him, and he would sit and watch, fascinated, as Stephen worked.
Stephen would often give his son ‘little projects’ to do, and Jonny remembers many happy times spent sitting with his father as he patiently explained how to fix whatever it was that they were working on.
Stephen spent more than 30 years working at Barrack Farm and was immensely proud to be presented with a long service award at the Suffolk Show, recognising this contribution.
Although he took early retirement aged 60, Stephen had no intention of slowing down just yet. Inspired by his father, Jonny had set up his own business, Woolpit Engineering, in 2017, and Stephen decided to come on board two years ago.
Working with his father was, Jonny said, “brilliant”.
“I’m glad we had the chance to work together,” he said. “He helped me a long way.”
Stephen loved to collect tractors, and amassed quite a collection of vintage models. In 2013, the German manufacturers CLAAS held a competition in celebration of its 100th anniversary, looking for its oldest combine.
Stephen entered a combine he kept stored in his shed – which turned out to be the oldest CLAAS combine in the UK.
As a prize, Stephen was flown out to Germany to be shown around the CLAAS factory. He was also presented with a cheque for £500, but Stephen decided to donate this to the children’s ward at West Suffolk Hospital, Bury St Edmunds.
“Dad would help anyone in a muddle,” said Jonny. “That was what he was like – a helpful, happy person.”
Stephen Proctor died after a short illness on Tuesday, June 6, aged 62.
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