Introduction
During the 1920s, Julius Fricker emerged as a prominent breeder and exhibitor of Berkshire pigs, continuing a tradition established by his grandfather, Julius Augustine Fricker. From his farm at Bridge Close, Hardington, he achieved repeated success at major agricultural shows, including Smithfield and the Bath and West, gaining recognition within the specialised world of pedigree livestock breeding. However, this period of success was relatively brief. By the mid-1930s, he had withdrawn from competitive exhibiting and later acquired his own holding at Buckland Newton, where he spent the rest of his working life as a farmer.
Early years
Julius was born on 22 October 1894 at Salisbury Street, Mere, as the eldest child of Julius and Lily Fricker.[1] His sister, Edith Mary, was born three years later, and another sister, Ruth, followed in 1912.[2] His mother, who was the daughter of a carpenter, had lived in the town for most of her life.
His father, Julius Senior, worked as a stockman, probably for his own father, Julius Augustus Fricker, who kept a dairy and bred pigs at Burton, on the east side of Mere.[3] In 1906, when Julius Augustus took on the tenancy of Suddon Grange, a 160-acre farm at Wincanton, Julius Senior followed him there.[4]
Julius Augustus was among the most successful breeders and exhibitors of Berkshire pigs in England, winning many prestigious awards and over £2,000 in prize money over his career—a considerable sum for a provincial breeder. He was born the son of a plumber, and he did not take up farming until he was nearly 20.[5] He established his herd of Berkshire pigs at Burton and took it with him to Suddon Grange. Following his death in August 1913, the herd was sold by auction through a London firm.[6] His estate was valued at £2,339 14s 1d.[7] Both his son and grandson continued the family’s involvement with Berkshire pigs.
Julius Senior stayed at Suddon Grange until 1919, when the owner, Captain J. Bailward, sold the freehold.[8] In October of that year, he sold his entire herd of Berkshire pigs and moved to Marsh Farm, Stalbridge, where he lived until 1946.[9]
First World War and marriage
On 5 September 1914, shortly before his twentieth birthday, Julius Junior enlisted in the Dorset Yeomanry at Sherborne. He was recorded as 5 feet 7 inches tall, with good vision and sound physical development. He served in the Gallipoli Campaign and was invalided home in September 1915. During this period, he attended the Irish Command School at the Curragh, where he qualified as a first-class shot. He also qualified as a 1st-class signaller.
In December 1916, he embarked from Southampton for Egypt, where he remained on active service until March 1919. In August 1917, he successfully applied for a transfer to the Signal Troop of a Mounted Brigade within the Royal Engineers, serving thereafter in the rank of Pioneer. Shortly before demobilisation, his superiors assessed him as sober, reliable, intelligent, and a good horseman.[10] His wartime service provided him with structured training and responsibilities beyond rural life, experiences that may have influenced his later approach to farming and exhibiting.
After returning home, Julius Junior began courting Violet Annie Lovelace, the daughter of a garage proprietor. The couple married at Stalbridge on 27 April 1921.[11] Their first child, Joan, was born later that year or in early 1922.[12]
The couple initially lived in Kings Mill Road, and Julius Junior continued working for his father.[13] However, in April 1922, his mother died at the age of 45. Within the following year, his father formed a relationship with Susan Elizabeth Green, a young cheesemaker employed at the farm, whom he married in late 1923 or early 1924.[14] Around this time, Julius decided to leave his father’s farm, possibly in response to his father’s actions.
Bridge Close Farm, Hardington
In 1924, Julius and his family moved to Bridge Close Farm, Hardington, which he rented from Mrs Hinks.[15] Their daughter, Lily, was born there on 26 June 1924, followed by Julius Archibald in 1929 and Violet Alice in 1933.[16]
In December 1924, he won a reserve place in the Smithfield Club Christmas Cattle Show for a pig carcass.[17] Over the following years, he established himself as a consistent prize-winner in Berkshire classes at major agricultural shows. He exhibited successfully at Smithfield, the Bath and West Show, and numerous county shows across Somerset and Dorset, as well as further afield at Newport, Nottingham, and Southampton.[18]
His successes peaked in 1927 and 1928, when his Berkshires won multiple first prizes at Smithfield and secured the Breed Cup.[19] In 1928, a pair he exhibited were judged breed champions.[20] In March 1929, he was elected a member of the Bath and West and Southern Counties Society in recognition of his standing within the agricultural community.[21]
In November 1929, he held a pedigree sale at Bridge Close Farm, organised by the London firm Messrs Harry Hobson & Co. Around seventy pure-bred Berkshires were offered for sale, including the Reserve Champion Boar from the Royal Agricultural Society of England’s 1928 Show. Despite being postponed for a month due to foot-and-mouth restrictions, the sale achieved strong prices, with several animals fetching as much as twenty-three guineas.[22]
The year 1930 marked the end of his exhibiting career. His last prizes were won at the Gillingham Show, the Yeovil Show, and the Smithfield Show.[23] He also served as a judge of Berkshire pigs at Folkestone Show in July 1930 and at Smithfield Show in December 1932.[24] In a 1937 article about Bath and Wells Show, the agricultural journalist Eldred George Frederick Walker reflected on the changes in the pig section: “No longer shall we see that group, Edney Hayter, Arthur Hiscock, Julius Fricker—they indeed knew how to show pigs and win golden prize money, no longer gold now.”[25] The remark suggests both Fricker’s former prominence and the waning prestige of the exhibition culture in which he had flourished.
In the early 1930s, Julius continued to keep some pigs, but his focus shifted to cattle. In March 1933, he advertised for a young man to assist with milking and looking after pigs, offering a house and garden in addition to wages.[26] The following month, he entered 18 Shorthorn yearling heifers in a spring sale at Yeovil Market; they had been sired by a pedigree bull bred by the Right Honourable Lord Dansbury and sold quickly.[27]
Nevertheless, by 1934, he was preparing to leave Hardington. On 12 October that year, he held a farm sale that included 30 Shorthorn cows, a Shorthorn bull, 160 Down ewes and mixed lambs, 2 cart horses, farm implements and dairy and cheese equipment.[28] Whether prompted by changing agricultural conditions, a desire to secure a holding of his own, or other considerations, the sale marked a decisive break with his Hardington years and with the show-centred phase of his career.
Higher Revels Farm, Buckland Newton
After leaving Hardington, the family moved to the Dorchester area, where a daughter, Edith, was born in 1936.[29] Julius later purchased Higher Revels Farm, Buckland Newton, an 80-acre farm, which was advertised for sale by private treaty in September 1938.[30] This purchase marked a transition from tenant farming to ownership. Their youngest child, Alan Roy, was born there in 1939.[31]
Julius and Violet were still at the farm when they celebrated his silver wedding anniversary in 1946.[32] In February 1945, Lily married Leonard Arthur John Chapman at Buckland Newton.[33] He was the son of a dairy farmer and served as an engineer in the Royal Navy.[34]
Final Years
In retirement, Julius and Violet returned to Stalbridge, living at Sunnyside, Church Hill. Violet died on 8 September 1970 at the age of 72, leaving an estate valued at £8,897, and Julius died intestate on 10 July 1974 at the age of 79, leaving an estate valued at £2,825.[35]
Conclusion
Julius Fricker’s prominence was concentrated within a single decade. During the 1920s, he ranked among the leading Berkshire breeders in England, maintaining a family tradition begun by his grandfather. His repeated successes at Smithfield and other major shows brought national recognition within a specialised agricultural community. During the 1930s, as conditions within the exhibition world tightened, he withdrew from competitive showing and reoriented his career towards mixed farming and farm ownership.
References
[1] Western Gazette, 26 October 1894, p.8.
[2] Civil Registration Birth Index.
[3] RG13, Mere, ED10, piece 1963, folio 116, p.9; RG13, Mere, ED10, piece 1963, folio 115, p.7.
[4] Western Gazette, 22 August 1913, p.4; RG14, Wincanton. ED9, piece 14446.
[5] Western Gazette, 22 August 1913, p.4.
[6] Bristol Times and Mirror, 21 October 1913, p.3.
[7] National Probate Calendar; Western Gazette, 3 October 1913, p.11.
[8] Country Life, 7 June 1919, p.73; Western Gazette, 4 July 1919, p.2.
[9] Western Gazette, 10 October 1919, p.4; Bristol Times and Mirror, 11 October 1919, p.12; Western Gazette, 6 September 1946, p.1; RG15, Stalbridge, ED14, schedule 99.
[10] British Army World War I Service Records, 1914-1920.
[11] Stalbridge marriage register.
[12] Civil Registration Birth Index.
[13] RG15, Stalbridge, ED14, schedule 96.
[14] RG15, Stalbridge, ED14, schedule 99; Civil Registration Marriage Index.
[15] Mrs Hinks is listed as the occupier and Viscount Portman the owner in the rate book for December 1923.
[16] Civil Registration Birth index; Civil Registration Death index.
[17] Birmingham Daily Post, 11 December 1924, p.3.
[18] Western Daily Press 23 May 1929 p. 4; Western Mail 6 July 1927 p. 12; Nottingham Journal 11 July 1928 p. 13; Western Gazette 31 May 1929 p. 15.
[19] Western Daily Press 6 December 1927; Sussex Agricultural Express 23 December 1927 p. 2.
[20] Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer 11 December 1928 p. 5.
[21] Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser 3 April 1929 p. 7.
[22] Taunton Courier and Western Advertiser 4 December 1929 p. 11.
[23] Western Gazette, 22 August 1930, p.10; Langport & Somerton Herald, 13 September 1930p.8; Western Gazette, 12 December 1930, p.15.
[24] Kent Messenger & Gravesend Telegraph, 29 March 1930, p.11; Western Morning News, 6 December 1932, p.9
[25] Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, 29 May 1937, p.26.
[26] Western Gazette, 24 March 1933, p.8.
[27] Western Gazette, 14 April 1933, p.1; 28 April 1933, p.15.
[28] Western Gazette, 21 September 1934, p.2.
[29] Civil Registration Birth Index.
[30] Western Gazette, 2 September 1938, p.9.
[31] Civil Registration Birth Index.
[32] Western Gazette, 26 April 1946, p.8.
[33] Western Gazette, 2 March 1945, p.2.
[34] 1939 Register, Navy Lists 1888-1970.
[35] National Probate Calendar.