Tractor Wheelies
"In 1978 there was
once a young tearaway called Hurlingshaw who lived in a nearby
village on a farm. One day he and about four children were bunking
off school and he decided to take them for a ride to remember in the
biggest tractor on the farm, and by this I mean one of those giant
ones you usually see on the Downs.
They came into
Malmesbury and "H" (christian name I have forgotten) thought some
"showing off" to his friends who were stood around him in the huge
cab would be in order to wake up the sleepy locals of our High
Street.
Now you may have
seen the victory celebrations performed by top motorcycle racers on
the television at world class events where at the last turn into the
final straight the winning rider lifts the front wheel of the bike
several feet off the ground and travels several hundred yards down
the track and over the winning line before becoming a two wheel
machine again. Well "H" in his giant tractor could perform this
trick as easy as breathing.
They treated the
gob-smacked shoppers to a free show several times after the short
trip around the block, then went on to visit their chums up at
Malmesbury School."

This article was found on the
internet and undoubtedly
refers to Richard Herlingshaw who was aged about 14 in 1978
and at the time lived with his parents Louis Raymond and Phyllis
Mary at Cleverton, near Malmesbury. The tractor would have been
"borrowed" from Richard's Saturday employer across the back field as
the those belonging to the family were old and very small.


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© 2021, Ken Herlingshaw.
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