Threshing Days – A Story of Farming in the North Riding

Softback Book

William Alderson has drawn on a lifetime
of experience with threshing machines to
produce this charming book. From an
early age William would leave home
before dawn with his father Ossie
Alderson and return well after a young
boy’s bedtime on threshing days. He is
one of only a handful of people left who
actually experienced threshing days,
working alongside his father even while
still at school, on Saturdays and during
the school holidays.

His enthusiasm and interest for
machinery led him later to restore his
father’s last threshing machine and
stationary baler as well as a Bisset
binder a task for which his detailed
technical knowledge was of an immense
help.

In Threshing Days William has gathered
together his recollections of his life
as a threshing contractor from the 50s
and 60s and gives a glimpse into rural
life gone by, where despite the hard
work associated with threshing there was
also a lot of fun and laughter.
This book will appeal to a wide
readership, including anyone interested
in the local history, and those
interested in the general history of
agriculture.

• 125 pages
• Black and White Photographs Throughout
• Softback book
• 168mm x 243mm