A dairy farmer who has raised over £120,000 for charities as a tribute to his late wife will be selling his unique pedigree breeding herd of British Blues to raise even more funds.
When Emyr and Evelyn Wigley retired, they planned to travel, spend holidays in their caravan and go on walking adventures in the British countryside, all things they had put off whilst devoting their time to farming.
Tragically, soon into their retirement, Evelyn was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and she passed away aged 69 in 2015.
Emyr, who lives at Llansantffraid, on the Powys-Shropshire border, immediately pledged to do something positive to combat ovarian cancer, which he describes as an “evil disease”, as a tribute to her.
Because of the couple’s long connection with the farming community, he also wanted to support farmers in need.
He therefore established The Old Stackyard British Blues, a small, closed breeding herd of pedigree British Blue cattle, in 2016.
It’s the only charity herd of its type in the UK, as all the money raised from the sale of the cattle over the past seven years has been shared between Ovarian Cancer Action and the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI).
To date, Emyr has raised more than £121,000 for the charities by selling cattle from the herd and books he has written, raising awareness and educating people about ovarian cancer and supporting farmers in their time of need.
Sadly, in another cruel twist of fate, 78-year-old Emyr was seriously injured by one of his bulls whilst preparing it for a sale in Carlisle last month.
He is lucky to be alive after the “spooked” bull crushed and trampled him, leaving him with a badly injured leg and broken ribs.
His niece, Laura Pritchard, who has helped with admin since the herd was established, rescued Emyr from the pen where he was attacked.
Due to his injuries, Emyr has now decided to sell his herd of 33 cattle. What started as “a small Initiative with a big ambition to fulfil a dream” will end at Shrewsbury Auction Centre on 4 March.
Auctioneers Halls will sell the herd in the company’s annual sale of British Blue Cattle Emyr hopes to raise £100,000 for the charities.
Emyr says his charity project has exceeded his expectations: "Evelyn and I built up a dairy herd and we managed to be successful only by hard work and much self-sacrifice, with the business needs always coming first.
“Our plans to travel and to enjoy caravan holidays and walking in the beautiful British countryside, which we both loved, were put on hold until our retirement.
"It was a devastating blow to learn in the first few years of our retirement that Evelyn had ovarian cancer."
He added: “She was a very special lady, kind, caring and multi-talented. After a lifetime of work, the majority of her retirement years were stolen from her.
"Whilst tragically too late to help my dear Evelyn, I had to do something to help combat this evil disease, as a tribute to my wife.”
Both Ovarian Cancer Action and RABI have paid tribute to Emyr’s “exceptional” generosity and the “astounding” sum of money raised for the charities.
Claire Lubbock, Ovarian Cancer Action’s events manager, said: “Mr Wigley is possibly our first and last supporter who has sold pedigree cows to raise funds.
"But his incredible inventiveness, enthusiasm and sheer hard work has made a big difference to what we do at Ovarian Cancer Action."
RABI, a national charity that issued funds to farming communities across England and Wales, said the money raised would be used to further support farmers.
“The sale will mark the end of an astounding chapter – such an amazing achievement," said Kate Jones, RABI’s regional manager for the West Midlands.
"The positive impact the money he has raised has made and will continue to make on those struggling in the farming community is beyond comprehension.”
