The reach of the life of Charles Henry Plumb, Baron Plumb, was elucidated upon his recent passing at the age of 97 by the scale of the tributes paid to him from the heights of the British and European establishment.
As the numerous broadsheet obituaries made clear, he had been one of the great political figures of his generation, rising from the presidency of the NFU in the 1970s to become Britain’s only president of the European parliament between 1987-89.
A flick through the colour plates of his memoirs, The Plumb Line, shows him meeting with luminaries from US president Ronald Reagan, to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, to Pope John Paul II.
See also: Farming’s ‘greatest ever advocate’ Henry Plumb dies aged 97
Not bad for a farmer’s son from Warwickshire who left school in 1940, aged 15, to work his father’s fields.
In his later years, he worked tirelessly as an advocate for British agriculture as a member of the House of Lords, having had his arm twisted to accept the seat by Margaret Thatcher – a fact he managed to convey with disarming nonchalance.
I was lucky enough to get to know Lord Plumb towards the very end of this remarkable life, when he asked me to join the board of trustees of the Plumb Foundation, which he founded in 2012 to help people aged 18-35 get a “leg up” into the food and farming industry.
Henry knew only too well how difficult it can be to get on the first rung of the farming ladder if your circumstances are against you, and even at the age of 87 wanted to make a difference in the lives of young people to whom he looked only for the passion and enthusiasm to make their dreams a reality.
His foundation would provide them with a sum of money and – perhaps most importantly – a specially selected mentor to give them a helping hand and the confidence they needed.
Right up to his 97th year, Lord Plumb would take part in the interviews where we met with the candidates and question them personally, offering advice and wisdom (and, inevitably, a few anecdotes) from his long life; he had, after all, seen it all.
But it was the passion and enthusiasm of the young people his foundation attracts which, I think, sustained him.
I myself never cease to be amazed by the boundless energy of many of the young people who come to us for help with little more than a business plan and a dream of a career on the land.
The continuation of the Plumb Foundation’s work will be the most fitting tribute to the great man himself, and I’m sure it will go from strength to strength in the coming years.
Lord Plumb was a remarkable man who exceeded the achievements most of us can only dream of, yet he always remained completely down to earth.
Indeed, some of the most fulsome tributes to him came not from secretaries of state or industry leaders, but from the scores of young people he had helped to realise their dreams in recent years.
Our industry must do all it can to help and encourage the next generation of dreamers and leaders; we need Henry Plumbs now more than ever.
