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ABOVE: Serial number of 502 confirms this was the second Nuffield Universal to leave the factory.
The Nuffield Universal M4 prior to being sold for £5800 at a farm dispersal sale in west Somerset.
Very early Nuffield under the hammer
T
HE SECOND NUFFIELD UNIVERSAL M4, serial number 502, to leave the company’s production line at Birmingham was the star lot at a farm machinery dispersal sale held at Leigh Farm, Dulverton, west Somerset, on 21 September. The 1948 tractor was owned by Chris Rawle and was bought new for the farm, most likely from dealer Jones’ Garage of Wiveliscombe,
Casterton event will celebrate 1919 trials 6
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ABOVE: The historic Nuffield was displayed at Newark Vintage Tractor & Heritage Show by new owners Pam and Graham Towndrow.
HE ORGANISERS OF THE TWeekend Casterton Vintage Working have announced that their 2019 event will commemorate the staging of the historic Lincoln Tractor Trials, which took place at South Carlton, near Lincoln, from 24-27 September 1919. Consequently, they are looking for examples of
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Somerset, by his father, Donald. The family still have cine film footage of the tractor baling on the farm in the 1960s, which showed it having the registration number KYC 509. Leyland themselves showed interest in the tractor in the late 1960s. The firm was considering putting together a museum of Nuffield and Leyland products, although this never materialised. Soon after that, the tractor was ‘put out to grass’ at Leigh Farm, where it remained until the auction. Despite being in dilapidated condition and in need of a full restoration, the historic Nuffield M4 was sold by auctioneer Gethin Rees of Exmoor Farmers Livestock Auctions Ltd for a resounding £5800, much to the amazement of many onlookers. The new owners, Pam and Graham Towndrow, best known for their long-standing involvement in the Nuffield & Leyland Tractor Club, later exhibited the historic tractor at the Newark Vintage Tractor & Heritage Show in November.
the tractors and implements that would have taken part in the Trials. Manufacturers represented at the event included Austin, Blackstone, Case, Crawley, Fordson, IH (Mogul, Titan and Junior), Overtime, Saunderson and many others. The organisers are also hoping to attract many of the matching ploughs, such as those
of Cockshutt, Oliver, Massey-Harris, Ransomes, Howard and Roberts. Included are self-lifting and ride-on models, all of which should have been built in 1919 or earlier. Many trade stands attended the Trials, so the intention is to attract as many other implements, binders, carts and items of equipment that would have been
