Obituary: Mick Duddridge, farmer

Patrick Michael (Mick) Duddridge, who has died at 98, had long been the voice of the Egton Show, deep within the North York Moors.
Mick DuddridgeMick Duddridge
Mick Duddridge

Patrick Michael (Mick) Duddridge, who has died at 98, had long been the voice of the Egton Show, deep within the North York Moors.

A well-known retired farmer and countryman from Newbiggin Hall, Aislaby, he was born in February 1922 in Cardiff, the youngest of six children.

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On leaving school, and after initially joining his brother Charlie as a painter and decorator, he was recruited into the Royal Artillery, where he instructed recruits on the use of HGV recovery vehicles.

It was during his time there that he met his wife, Kitty, a driver for a Brigadier General. They married in 1943, at Llandaff Cathedral.

After the war they lived in Rhyl, North Wales, before emigrating to Rhodesia, in search of opportunities. There they ran a children’s nursery, but they returned to Britain nine months after the birth of their daughter, Michaelette, and began farming at Newbiggin.

Soon after moving in, Mick was invited to join the local show committee, and became its highly articulate commentator, a role he kept until three years ago. In 2014, he was awarded a long service award at the Great Yorkshire Show for his dedication to the Egton event.

He was also district commissioner and subsequently chairman of the Goathland Hunt, another role he retained for many years.

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