John Campbell (farmer)
Sir John Park Campbell, OBE (1 April 1934 – 10 September 2024) was a Scottish farmer and businessman.
Early life
[edit]Born on 1 April 1934,[1] Campbell and his brother began farming at the age of 15 as tenants on a hill farm in Argyll; having met with success, they were eventually able to buy the land.[2]
Glenrath Farms
[edit]In 1957, Campbell married Catherine Kent,[1] the daughter of poultry farmers.[3] That year, he started rearing poultry (with 113 hens) from his wife's farm.[3] At the age of 27, he and his wife moved to Glenrath Farm near Peebles.[2] It was not an immediate success, and he had to sell part of the farm but his fortunes reversed and in 1970 he acquired another poultry farm.[3] He eventually secured a contract with a Scottish supermarket, which later merged into Tesco.[3] By 2010, Glenrath Farms (of which Campbell was chairman[1]) operated on 12,000 acres of land and produced 1.4 million eggs a day; 75% of these are sold to Tesco and 25% to Asda.[3]
Public service
[edit]Alongside his business work, Campbell sat on Tweeddale District Council between 1975 and 1993.[1]
Death
[edit]Campbell died at his farm on 10 September 2024, at the age of 90.[4]
Honours and awards
[edit]Campbell was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2000 New Year Honours "for services to the Poultry Industry".[5] He was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for "services to farming and charitable service to entrepreneurship".[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Campbell, Sir John Park", Who's Who (online ed., Oxford University Press, December 2020). Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ a b c Callum Hodgson, "Arise Sir John: Farm Owner Awarded Knighthood", Peeblesshire News, 6 January 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Scott Casey, "Interview with John Campbell", Farmers Weekly, 10 December 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ "Sir John Campbell KB, OBE, NSCH, Frags". The Herald. 24 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ Supplement to the London Gazette, 30 December 1999 (issue no. 55710), p. 12.