Billy Gale
Billy Gale


William James Gale was born in May 1914 at Cerne Abbas, Dorset where his father farmed. In 1942 he married and moved to a War Department farm, Reeves Farm in Bratton, at a rent of 13s 6d (67.5 p) an acre. They farmed arable crops, poultry, pigs and also beef suckler cows. They purchased Parsonage Farm in Edington in December 1955, and this included the area of Piquet Hill. The following year Fitzroy Farm at Bratton came up for sale. This was 15 acres surrounded by land Billy already farmed and he bought it to complete the estate. Subsequently the pigs and poultry were sold and replaced with sheep.

Billy served several terms as Chair of the Bratton Parish Council and member of the N.F.U., and he also became Chair of the Lackham College museum. He was a generous benefactor, presenting Pear Tree Orchard to the village and giving the Pavilion to the village when it was no longer required by the school.




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Bratton History Association.

The Bratton History Association aims to provide all those curious about local history with an opportunity to meet, exchange ideas, and discover more about the history of Bratton and Wiltshire. Activities include monthly meetings, talks by professional historians, visits to places of interest to historians, and our own local history project.

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