A farmer run organization, British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB) informed that Davy Dewar, who retired as a well respected Senior Head Grader from Stewart & Ramsden in Galashiels, is estimated to have graded around 30 million kilos of wool, since he started his training 50 years ago.
Born in Perth, Davy was 15 when he started work with livestock auctioneers MacDonald Fraser & Co Ltd, who also had a contract to grade wool for the Wool Board.
At that time there were 27 handling merchants, with 29 depots in Scotland grading between 6 - 7 million kilos of wool in a season. Clips over 750 kgs. were sold in clip form, with only smaller ones graded out, and when packed into bales of the same type and quality they would be valued on the spot by visiting appraisers.
When MacDonald Fraser stopped wool grading in 1971, Davy was offered a job in Edinburgh with Russell & Ramsden, later moving to Dunfermline when the company became Stewart & Ramsden. A huge fire gutted the mill in 1973 and the business was then moved to Kirkcaldy in 1974.
That depot closed in 1991 and Davy, then Head Grader, transferred to Galashiels and has travelled daily, whatever the weather, from his home in Edinburgh.
One of the noticeable changes in wool types over Davy's career has been the disappearance of the Greyface in favour of the Mule. Halfbreds, originally Border Leicester x Cheviot, have become softer and finer through the influence of the Texel, and tough, mattress-style Blackface has largely been replaced by shorter finer carpet style.
Speaking at his retirement presentation, Wool Board MD Ian Hartley and Bill Walton, Manager of Stewart & Ramsden, paid tribute to Davy's conscientious, exemplary work record. MD presented a lap to him as retirement gift.
BWMB was established in 1950 to operate a central marketing system for UK fleece wool, with the aim of achieving the best possible net return for producers.
British Wool Marketing Board
marketing@alchempro.com
