The Massey-Harris No. 21 was the
world’s first commercially successful self-propelled combine
harvester – a real landmark in the history of farm
mechanisation. This 66-minute programme is dedicated to the 21
in the UK, and looks at a unique and exclusive gathering of four
combines working together.
Four 21’s brought in the harvest at the Kemball family’s
Wantisden Hall Farms in Suffolk from 1947 to 1962, and Bill
Kemball set out to recreate their harvest scene from 1953
complete with period tractors carting and a Massey-Harris 701
baler picking up the straw. We follow the preparations and
maintenance through to cutting in earnest on the day, and Bill
talks us through the farm’s involvement with the model.
Archive footage is used to tell the story of the 21’s
development and how it played an important part in wartime food
production in Britain, as well as in the 1944 Harvest Brigade
carried out in the United States. We also focus on its design
features in detail, including the Chrysler six-cylinder petrol
engine, and how these influenced its successors. Other later
models shown include the 722, 726, 780, 788, 400 and 565.
The 21 established the basic layout of modern combines, making
this DVD a must for anyone with an interest in harvesting
machinery or Massey Ferguson history.
Special winter offer: Now just £12.95,
usually
£16.95. The
British Harvest Brigade DVD