The British Harvest Brigade

DVD PAL

DVD: THE BRITISH HARVEST BRIGADE

The Massey-Harris No. 21 was the
world’s first commercially successful
self-propelled combine harvester – a
real landmark in the history of farm
mechanisation. This 66-minute
programme is dedicated to the 21 in
the UK, and looks at a unique and
exclusive gathering of four combines
working together.

Four 21’s brought in the harvest at
the Kemball family’s Wantisden Hall
Farms in Suffolk from 1947 to 1962,
and Bill Kemball set out to recreate
their harvest scene from 1953 complete
with period tractors carting and a
Massey-Harris 701 baler picking up the
straw. We follow the preparations and
maintenance through to cutting in
earnest on the day, and Bill talks us
through the farm’s involvement with
the model.

Archive footage is used to tell the
story of the 21’s development and how
it played an important part in wartime
food production in Britain, as well as
in the 1944 Harvest Brigade carried
out in the United States.
We also focus on its design features
in detail, including the Chrysler six-
cylinder petrol engine, and how these
influenced its successors. Other
later models shown include the 722,
726, 780, 788, 400 and 565.
The 21 established the basic layout of
modern combines, making this DVD a
must for anyone with an interest in
harvesting machinery or Massey
Ferguson History.

• Running time 66 mins
• PAL DVD