Andrei Spence • Obituary Eventually, they married, on the Isle of Wight in 1968, and after a brief time with ICI, and the arrival of son Jeremy, Norman took on the family farm and bought a 100-head herd. A Nuffield Scholarship to New Zealand inspired a more ambitious approach and the herd expanded to 300 with a new parlour. All was going well, until Brucellosis hit in 1979. The entire herd was destroyed and the land lay silent for six months, before Norman could start rebuilding – he was as resilient as he was determined. Political engagement In 1988 Norman was elected President of the Ulster Farmers Union and relished the opportunity to represent the UK on the EU Agricultural Committee in Brussels. Interests and appointments beyond farming included membership of the Northern Board of the Bank of Ireland and Chairing the BBC Council for Northern Ireland. One of Norman’s greatest pleasures was his membership of The Farmers Club, stretching almost 50 years. As with everything he committed to it fully and held various Committee positions before being elected Club President and Chairman in 2000, the first Ulsterman in the Club’s history to do so.
Norman Shaw CBE Club Chairman in 2000 “A gentleman who connected with a diverse collection of wonderful personalities, and enriched a lot of lives too. A perfect blend of mischief and wise words, a Saintfield man to his core, his many adventures led him far beyond local shores.”
THE second son of Sam and Lily Shaw, Norman was born in March 1943 into a family of an elder brother and three sisters. He was raised on the family farm at Craigy and attended Carricknaveigh Primary School and later boarded at Friends School, Lisburn. He was a multi-talented sportsman, captaining the school cricket, rugby and hockey teams, and was also Head Boy. At Newcastle University he took a degree in Agricultural Economics and honed his prodigious sporting attributes, captaining the hockey and cricket teams, as well as developing a lifelong love of Newcastle United football club. Norman met Gillian, his bride-to-be, at a cricket match. But before they could marry he suffered a very serious car accident, requiring a six month recuperation. Medical advice was to take a sedentary job and stop playing sport – he did neither and developed his love of cricket, imparting his gifts and skill to Saintfield Cricket Club.
16 • The Farmers Club Spring 2022
Millennium year It was an extraordinary year, in every sense, marked by the first Club St Patrick’s Day Dinner, a Millennium lunch in the Painted Hall at Greenwich with speeches by the Rt Hon Chris Patten and former First Sea Lord, Sir Jock Slater. There was also a visit by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh to the Club Pavilion at Stoneleigh to present the Nickerson Cup to the Pinnacle Award winner and even a Club visit by UN Secretary General, Kofie Annan! The Club provided Norman and Gillian with many unforgettable memories with their family and friends, no better than the ‘post-match celebrations’ after Norman and Gillian both received CBEs at Buckingham Palace. With the onset of Parkinsons Disease and his ability to get around restricted, life slowed considerably for Norman, but was made more bearable by unstinting support from Gillian. He was, until his death, an Honorary Vice President of the Club. A true gentle man and gentleman in every sense of the word, who lived a very varied and active life, he was dedicated to his family and will be sorely missed by his wife Gillian, son Jeremy and granddaughter Laura. Andrei Spence Club Chief Executive
