Windmill Farm & Richard (Dick) McCabe

by Liz Beard

Richard McCabe (Dick) met Deborah in South Africa when she went there for a short time.  Her visit was to change their lives. 
They married and after a few years in South Africa, decided to emigrate to UK, firstly staying in Milford Haven with Deb’s mother, till they found a suitable Farm.  Deb fell in love with Windmill Farm and as she had family living in Wantage and Purton, the location was also ideal.  Maurice Papps was still farming and although the sale was agreed, the arrangement was that Maurice would harvest his crops and Dick would help him, and, at the same time, learn something about farming in UK.  Dick took up temporary residence at The Sawyers until such time that he could take over the Farm.  His transport was a moped.  He even went by moped to Milford Haven now and then to see Deb and the children who stayed there till it was time to move into Windmill.

Dick and Deb moved into Windmill Farm around 1959 which was to become their home for many years.  Deb loved her house and garden and enjoyed having visitors.  There were very few mornings without someone popping in for coffee and cake.  Not to mention a constant stream of South African cousins and children of cousins and friends of cousins.

While Dick originally bought Windmill with 100 acres with the intention of farming.  The farming didn’t go so well and most of the land had to be sold.  Therefore, he started selling fresh eggs, some from his chickens and some from local suppliers.  The egg business went much better than farming.  He enjoyed delivering eggs and the friendly contact with his customers.

Sadly, Deb died in 1980 but Dick continued to live and work at the farm.  He was often seen around the village distributing the fresh eggs and was always affectionately known as ‘the egg man’.  Mention the ‘egg man’ and everyone knew who that was. 
Dick was a quiet, polite, and charming man, still with a hint of the warm South African accent, and greatly respected throughout the Lambourn Valley.  He stopped with the egg business when he was 70.  His family and friends had no idea how much he was struggling financially, and it was a shock when he announced he had a job as a cleaner at Shrivenham Military College. however, he was incredibly proud of himself and thoroughly enjoyed his short time working there until he got his affairs in order.

Dick loved his life at Windmill and a constant flow of visitors.  Nobody seemed to mind how cold the house was, or the huge spiders, or the duct tape holding up the wallpaper. The welcome was warm, and they could do whatever they wanted.  His grandchildren adored their Opa Dick and going to Windmill, even when they were teenagers!

As the years passed the farm became too much for Dick, the house didn’t have all the ‘mod cons’ which houses have these days, so he made the difficult decision to sell his home and move into the village which he did in 2009. He was very happy in his new home and enjoyed living in modern comfort for the last year and a half of his life.  While he was becoming very frail, his general health was good.  In November 2011 his health suddenly deteriorated, and he died a few days later aged 89.
What a very sad day for the village, his home for over 50 years, it was the end of an era, but he will always be remembered with great affection.

Dick had sold Windmill Farm to Fiona and the late Christian Marner, the farmhouse no longer stands but has been replaced by a magnificent house and stud on Windmill Hill and now known as Windmill Stud.

Let’s hope that Dick is looking down and approves of his legacy, he will always be part of it.

Our sincere thanks to Sally de Waal nee McCabe for sharing information, personal photos and allowing the website to share it.

Liz Beard 2021

If you have recollections of Windmill farm or of Dick “the egg man’ please leave a comment below.