During the late 1930s to early ’50s advances in mechanisation brought better methods of harvesting the annual grain crop.

Previously done by the reaper, which only cut the standing crop, the introduction of the "binder" was a major step forward. This not only cut the crop, but bound it into sheaves which could be "stitched" (stacked) up to dry.

It was usually a pocket money job for the young boys to help with the stitching up after school. At times it was a very prickly job if the field contained a lot of "daishels" - thistles to the uninitiated.

My mother always used to bring out a harvest tea into the field, so it gave us boys time to extract the prickles from our fingers. But then we had to carry on again and have another extraction session later!

However, by then there might be a bit of cider if you were lucky.
One man had to drive the Standard Fordson tractor, and another ride the Albion binder which had a habit of blocking up at the slightest overload.

Belts and cutting knives continuously broke which brought everything to a halt many times.

A few days later all had to be loaded onto a wagon and taken to an appropriate place where a rick would be built, and where it would stay until later in the winter.