Sam Frederick - a tribute by his son Simon

A lifetime farming in Penshurst – Sam Frederick

A tribute by his son (and successor) Simon given at Sam’s memorial service in July 2016

Sam Frederick started farming in Penshurst in 1938 at the age of twelve. he remained active until shortly before his death in the summer of 2016, a Penshurst farming career of nearly eighty years. In a moving tribute given at Sam’s memorial service in Penshurst church, his son Simon told of how his father took over running the farm during the Second World war aged only thirteen.

Witnessing dogfights int he sky above during the battle of Britain and dodging bombs dropped by German planes returning from their air raids over English cities, Sam earned just £5 from his father for a whole year’s work.

For these and other vivid memories of Sam’s lifetime in farming and Penshurst – from horse drawn carts to modern combine harvesters – read the full text of Simon’s tribute below.