THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com  created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

FINDON SHEEP FAIR DURING THE WAR

Findon Sheep Fair on 14th September 1939.  11,000 sheep changed hands on that day.   It was to be the last Sheep Fair to be held on Nepcote Green for the next seven long years of the Second World War.

Copyright Valerie Martin 2000

Part published in the Findon News in September 2000.

Sheep have always grazed the Findon downland. Or perhaps I should say that the downland above the village has nearly always been sprinkled with white, slowly moving sheep. In times gone by, on still days, it must have been magical to hear the quiet flat sound of their bells over the countryside.

Findon sheep of the past were the walking lawnmowers that created our famous turf. Up until the Second World War the shepherd and his flock were a familiar sight. The keeper of the flock was recognised by his garb; a smock to guard against the cruel elements. The closely gathered stitches of the smocking were impervious to the most drenching rain, and the garment had probably been designed for this very practical reason.

Over the smock the shepherd wore an enormous complete embracing cloak of cloth. It is reputed that this mode of dress harked back to the old army capes from the days of the Waterloo war and that of the Crimea. There was one Findon shepherd who wore his great coat all the year round and had a good reason for doing so. He believed that it kept out the cold he endured in the winter months — and kept out the heat of summer.

A Findon Shepherd on West Hill early in the 20th century.   Rogers Farm is below and Findon in the distance.

As the years past the older and more worthy apparel from the war years gradually vanished and the quality of the shepherd’s clothing inevitably lessened and cheapened. By the 1930s, the strong and indestructible cream or blackish-grey lined smocks were no longer woven and were destined to be seen only in museums of the future.

The dying race of the simple shepherd and his dog hung on, working seven days a week. For such dogged devotion he received meagre pickings which fellow workers would have despised. It may have appeared to some that he stood idle, with crook in hand, for long hours with his coat floating and flapping around him in the breeze. In fact, he worked long hours and there were many necessary crafts to be tackled — tailing, cutting, shearing, dipping, trimming and, of course, lambing.

A shepherd proceeding along a Findon trackway. 

Then came the "modern" shepherd with the advent of the Second World War. He wore the rural agricultural labourer’s corduroys, casually tied at the knee with string; a loose-hanging nondescript waistcoat (on warm days, even undone) and an indeterminate coat.

Shepherds were invariably old characters — lame, crippled with the stiffness of rheumatism and only holding themselves upright with the help of a crook or a stout ash cane. Perhaps it is little wonder after being out in all unkind weathers. The Findon shepherds were a stout-hearted breed as they were out all year round on the Downs. Then the war brought a final end to it all.

The Sheep Fair, another old Findon institution, has been conducted on year-in and year-out. The exception was, of course, one autumn when it was moved suddenly to West Grinstead. This was in 1940, during the gloomy war years. The fair was in the process of being pitched that year on Nepcote Green when a halt was called to the proceedings. The Regional Commission for the War Office had telegraphed that the venue was far too close to the coast. It does not seem possible now, but during the dark days of war, Nepcote Green was considered to be a prime risk for bombing from a German air attack.

Word quickly spread like wildfire. Another site was swiftly sought from Alfred Pankhurst who was the Landlord of "The Tabby Cat" public house at West Grinstead for the use of two fields on the western side of his public house. These fields were part of the West Grinstead Park. The Tabby Cat will now be recognised on the Partridge Green road as the "Little Chef". The area was conveniently close to the railway line and station, (at that time operational), and there were plenty of quiet meadows for laying up the farmers' flocks before and after the Fair.

How everything, including the wattles, was transported in the days of petrol rationing is not now certain but some may have gone on trailers drawn by traction engines belonging to the Harris family who had run the funfair before the war.

The War Office may have thought that Nepcote Green was going to be in the line of fire during the duration of the war, but as it was the Green remained safe.   Not so, the new site of the Sheep Fair at West Grinstead though — a German aircraft was to come down on the location.

As a result of a "ploughing up policy" ordered by the Agricultural Committee, many flocks of sheep were dispersed that year. It resulted in a record entry of 17,000 ewes and lambs and 340 rams during West Grinstead's first year of hosting the Findon Sheep Fair. (It was still named the Findon Sheep Fair in spite of the new location).

The Lamb Fair was the last to go to West Grinstead for the duration of the war, and this was in 1941. One year there was an exception and it was held at Steyning.

Nepcote Green was deserted and void of sheep for seven long years — their place was taken by military vehicles — Churchill tanks, parked under the beech trees which lined the Cissbury Estate to the south of the Green, and alongside the Wattle House.

One question remains unanswered to date and that is whether the wattles used for the sheep pens were stored at West Grinstead for the war years, or whether they returned to the Wattle House on Nepcote Green each autumn, in anticipation of an early end to the conflict.

Between the 1939/45 years, two families occupied the accommodation at the Wattle House and paid a rent of 10s.9d. a week for their accommodation and vegetable plot. No, I did not say "garden". There was no garden as such at the Wattle House during this time, but during World War II, patches at the rear and to west and east sides of the Wattle House were dug up and used for growing vegetables for the survival of the inhabitants.

In 1941 because of the big dispersal of flocks the previous year, the number to be auctioned at the "Findon" Sheep Fair dropped severely to 7,000.

In 1942 the total of animals penned at the West Grinstead venue rose again to a very presentable 14,000. This was because the downland had been requisitioned for our troops in training for battle and flocks were inevitably sold off.

In 1943, 1944 and 1945 the annual totals nose-dived at the West Grinstead auction as would be expected during the dark years of war, to 9,000, 10,000, and 9,000 respectively.

Sheep were on the increase after the war and in 1946 the number reached 11,500 at the year's auction in West Grinstead. The following autumn the "Findon" Sheep Fair, returned to its home ground at Nepcote Green. It has been held there ever since, and long may it reign.

Continue if you would like to read about Findon's Wartime Schooldays.

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THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — was launched by Valerie Martin in January 1999 and will grow to be a historical record of life in Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

 

E-mail: valeriemartin@findonvillage.com