Some of you would have heard of the sad news of the passing of Andrew.

On 8 June, St Andrew's Church in Congresbury welcomed a very large gathering of the most diverse spectrum of people from academics, breeders of all origins of animals, farmers and scientists. As you may imagine many stories were shared. The Congresbury Choir (with whom Andrew was a member) sang a composition by Andrew.

Some of you were lucky to meet Andrew in March last year at the Bloodline and Breed Conformation Workshop. He was a gentleman, filled with enthusiasm and worked hard for his beliefs in preserving all breeds from his Hebridean Sheep, Poultry, Dexter Cattle and his love of the Oxford Sandy and Black Pig. We would email each other in the small hours of the morning as he said it was when you could get more sense out of people and that they were too tired to say "NO". This was around 01:30 hrs! Hence why he attended the workshop!

Andrew was one of our original breeders and the pioneer of the Oxford Sandy and Black Pig herdbook, published in 1985. Also his Alexander boar was the first and his Great Grandson – Cobthorn Alexander’s Colonel 5F.S. was widely used in the 1980s and is the origin of the later Alexander boars we see today.

The home of Andrew, Cobthorn Trust has been in his family for over 200 years and the Trust was formed in 1986, originally to support and promote the long established conservation activities at Cobthorn Farm in Somerset. Cobthorn Farm has been involved in rare breed farming since 1959.

Andrew was also an honorary lecturer at Bristol Vet College, winner of the Marsh Christian Trust Award for Conservation Genetic Bio-Diversity and founder and President of the Rare Poultry Society. Along with Dexter Cattle and the preservation of poultry and waterfowl, his breadth of knowledge, wisdom and witty banter will be sorely missed.