John E Matthews OH 1951-1956
Friday 16 September 2022
John Edward Matthews of Marsh House Farm and formerly of Bartonsham Farm Dairy. Passed away on Friday 16th September 2022, aged 81 years. A much-loved Husband, Father and Grandfather. The funeral service will take place at the Church of St Michael and All Angels, Eaton Bishop at 2pm on Saturday 1st October. Family flowers only, but donations if desired will be equally divided between Eaton Bishop Church, Hereford Round Table and Leominster Meeting Centre (supporting people living with dementia).
Born 22 September 1940 the only son of Thomas, Stanley Matthews and Lucy Rose Matthews. Educated locally at Hereford Cathedral School from 1945 - 1957 He left after taking his O-levels. After leaving School he joined his father Stanley on the farm, however at this point his father spotted an opportunity to sell the meat from the cows at Bartonsham Farm Dairy and Dad consequently helped establish Heggies Butchers on the Whitecross Roundabout, with his father and Charlie Heggie in 1956.Dad married Cecelia Patricia Matthews née Lawrence in 1961 and they had three children Paul, Mark and Sarah. He left Heggies in 1961 to return to the dairy at Bartonsham Farm to work with his father. During the 60s the dairy retailing business, which at that time still had some local deliveries being made via Horse and Cart went from strength to strength and a farm was purchased: Marsh House Farm, where Dad was to move to in 1967 and live with his family for the rest of his life. He saw many changes within the milk industry over the years, not least of which was the introduction by Bartonsham Farm of plastic sachets for the delivery to customers during the 1970s. This delivery method ceased in the early 1980s, when realising that his customers preferred glass bottles he created a new bottling Hall at the dairy and replaced the old traditional farm buildings the dairy operated in, with a ground floor containing the production areas and a modern office block above. Plastic jugs came along in the early 1990s and again further development was needed at Bartonsham Farm to house new dairy equipment to fill them in 2003.During this time he built up the herd of cows to supply the dairy from the 100 or so at Bartonsham in the 60s to over 700 based in 4 locations in 2018. On top of which he also purchased milk from many local farmers to supply what had become a considerable dairy retailing operation, that had grown from an area with a radius of 15 miles from Hereford City in the early days to over 60 miles, encompassing, South Wales and the valleys, Forest of Dean, Worcester, Welshpool, Brecon, Hay on the Wye, Leominster, Ledbury, Ross and Bromyard. A very keen sportsman, Dad rowed for Hereford Rowing Club at many regattas and Heads of the River during the 60s and 70s where he aquired the nickname Slim.A member and past Chairman of Hereford Round Table it was during his time as Money Raising Chairman for the organisation that he came up with and planned with his fellow Tablers the Fireworks night on Hereford Racecourse, featuring on that very first occasion Orinoco the Womble as the celebrity guest. This turned out to be an enormously successful event and due to the huge amount of people trying to get in brought Hereford to a standstill. An annual Round Table fireworks event has been staged every year since except during the pandemic. Furthermore it spawned many other Round Table firework nights across the country, raising many thousands of pounds for local charities nationwide. He was involved with the NFU for many years holding various honorary roles within the organisation. When his days of rowing finished at the end of the nineteen seventies he moved on in the 80s to squash at Whitecross Squash Club an enthusiastic and determined player he stuck with it until the early 1990s. A keen skier, and golfer with the Hackers Society lead to many enjoyable times both on the golf course and in the mountains. A fan of horse racing and rugby he lead a very active social life with Cecelia, which also included being a member of Herefordshire Agriculture Club of which he was Chairman of in 2000.John's last few years were difficult for him due to failing mental health, although he remained cheerful and at large in the community right up to September 2021, when he finally had to join the residents at Lynhales nursing home in the John Sperry Unit. Sadly he passed away on Saturday 17th September 4 days before his 82nd birthday. John is survived by Paul and Sarah.Mark predeceased him in 1990 as the result of a motor accident and Cecelia died in 2012. Paul and Sarah still work in the family business, although the dairy which was sold in 2021 is now under the ownership of Cotteswold Dairy. He was lucky enough to have 7 grandchildren all of whom are either attending or have finished their education at Hereford Cathedral School. It was a life well lived with much happiness and success. Paul Matthews OH