A pioneering farming leader who found himself at the centre of a national GM crops flashpoint during the 1990s has died at the age of 86.
William Brigham was a former Norfolk county chairman for the National Farmers' Union (NFU), where he was a leading member for six decades.
His family has farmed in and around Lyng, near Dereham, for three centuries, and he was an active stalwart for the dairy sector, the Royal Norfolk Show and his village community.
He fell under the glare of the national spotlight in the summer of 1999 when a group of 28 Greenpeace activists destroyed a six-acre field of genetically-modified GM maize - a legal trial of the controversial crops.
Mr Brigham later recalled: “I remember walking into a room of Norfolk farmers after that and they all applauded me. We had been participating in a legal trial and there was no question that farmers and the NFU were behind me."
The protestors were subsequently cleared of criminal damage charges - a verdict which angered the farming community.
Mr Brigham was born in January 1940, and returned to the family farm in the mid 1960s having worked briefly as an engineer after leaving school.
With his two brothers, Eddie and John, they built up an arable and dairy enterprise, including one of the county’s best fishing lakes, Catch22, on about 600 acres.
Dairying was the key enterprise at Walnut Tree Farm until last year, when the pedigree Holstein Friesian herd was sold.
Mr Brigham's election as NFU Norfolk chairman in January 1991 was to prove a test of his leadership, at a time when the union nationally was closing county offices to implement a regionalisation policy.
Although Norfolk NFU unusually owned its Norwich office, the regional strategy was fiercely opposed by many - but Mr Brigham managed to persuade those pushing for an independent Norfolk NFU that a “go-it-alone” strategy was not feasible.
He also served on the NFU’s dairy committees at county, regional and national level, which gave him invaluable insight into the industry.
“If the NFU wasn’t there, we’d all be running around trying to invent it,” he said.
Among those paying tribute to his lasting legacy was Ken Proctor, a fellow former NFU Norfolk chairman who farms at Shipdham, near Dereham.
He said: “William was a great stalwart of the NFU having served as county chairman and chair of the East Anglian dairy board.
“I think it was his forthright manner and his ability to understand a subject and hit the debate immediately that I really admired. His degree of honesty was second to none as was recognised by everyone who worked with him.
“William worked tirelessly for agriculture and will be sadly missed by myself and Norfolk farmers.”
Mr Brigham was also a long-serving steward at the Royal Norfolk Show, and elected an honorary vice-president of the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association in 2002. He was a trustee director for eight years between 1992 and 2001.
He joined the car park and traffic section as an assistant in 1966, becoming a steward two years later. In 1984 he was an assistant head steward and later head steward still with the same team, until 2001.
He was heavily involved in local affairs, initially with the parochial church council of St Margaret, Lyng. Elected to the parish council, he served two lengthy terms as chairman, managed the former village hall and helped raise funds for its replacement, which opened in 2018.
He was also a former chairman of governors at Reepham High School.
Married in 1967, Mr Brigham is survived by Carol, son Philip, daughter Sarah, two granddaughters Bethany and Hannah, and great-granddaughter, Primrose.
A thanksgiving and memorial service for William Brigham will be held at 2pm on Monday, February 9, at St Margaret's Church, Lyng. Family flowers only. Donations in his memory to the church.
Share