THE DAY OF THE DEXTA
Like many other rural heritage enthusiasts on the Isle of Anglesey, Wil Hughes has a soft spot for the island’s old tractors. In particular, those that arrived new on the island and have never left.
Golden age
These old tractors have served the island well, and they were key players during what we often think of as the golden age of farming in this part of the country. In this crop growing region of Wales, large numbers of families depended on farming for their income, and many children of the period grew up with powerful memories of their father or grandfather’s tractor.
Wil is fortunate in that he now owns the tractor that was on the farm when he was growing up. Wil’s father, the late Abraham Hughes, bought the Fordson Super Dexta new in 1963, and Wil’s memory is transported back to the day when the tractor first arrived on the farm.
“I can remember the day very well,” he says. “It was a Friday, and I came home from school so excited because I knew the tractor would have arrived. I charged home, threw my
