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The following story has been added to the website by 大象传媒 Radio Cornwall Action Producer Nina Davey, on behalf of the author John Parkin who understands the site鈥檚 terms and conditions.

I was an agricultural contractor based in Mid Cornwall during the war. Cart horses were on the way out and tractors were coming in. There weren鈥檛 any rubber tyres then instead there were steel lugs on the wheels. It soon became obvious tractors had to move on roads so we had to put on road bands which were wood bands over the wheels. When rubber tyres came in the treads weren鈥檛 very efficient. I was engaged with moving tractors overnight from one field to another to enable operators to work in daylight. The Cornwall Agricultural Committee had control over any new tractor leaving the factory and could decide where it would be best used and on which farms. There simply weren鈥檛 enough tractors to go round. As there weren鈥檛 enough tractors we used old lorries and reconditioned the engines, converting them to run on TVO, Tractor Vapour Oil. We also shortened the wheelbase to make them more manoeuvrable in the field. They were then used to pull mowers and trailers. The lorries which couldn鈥檛 be adapted were turned into trailers.

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