John Gorton was born in 1943 and has lived in Little Witley since 1978. He has been in farming all his life since studying at Agricultural College in Shropshire. Starting out working with the Ballards at Abberley, over the years he has worked at Wulstan’s Farm, with the Colwills at Dingle Farm and the Harpers at Holt Heath. He had two trips supported by the Young Farmers’ Club to visit Denmark and Jamaica to meet local farmers and to disseminate knowledge on local practice and experience. One of his claims to fame is that when he was in Jamaica in 1963 he met Carole Crawford , Miss Jamaica, who had just been crowned Miss World. John talks about his life in farming.
Johns recording (32 mins 27 secs):
| Start | Topic | Period |
| 00:28 | Moving to Little Witley | 1970s |
| 01:07 | Going into farming after school | 1960s |
| 01:21 | Young Farmers’ scholarships to Jamaica and Denmark | 1960s |
| 02:25 | Working at Ballard’s Farm in Abberley : pig farming during Foot & Mouth outbreak | 1960s |
| 04:19 | Learning to ride and hunting with the Worcester Hunt | 1970s |
| 05:19 | Working at Wulstan’s Farm | 1980s |
| 07:06 | Working in horticulture; large scale machine fruit farming | 1980s |
| 08:30 | Changes in farming during his lifetime | 1940s-present |
| 10:30 | Memories of growing up in Little Witley | 1950s |
| 11:45 | Life in Little Witley today | Present |
| 12:22 | Little Witley in his youth – village shop; post office | 1960s |
| 12:53 | Miss Harper’s village shop at Rosemary Cottage | 19550s |
| 13:45 | Lack of crime in Little Witley; neighbourhood watch | Present |
| 14:45 | Playing games with friends as a child in Little Witley; interest in birdwatching | 1950s |
| 17:00 | Historic buildings in Little Witley : Rosemary Cottage, Church, School | 1940s-present |
| 18:24 | Little Witley Church architecture | Present |
| 19:01 | Witley Court Estate – raising of road levels | 1930s |
| 20:01 | Workers at Witley Court Estate | 1930s |
| 20:47 | Present day repair and maintenance programme at Little Witley Church | Present |
| 23:03 | Social life in Little Witley: past and present | 1950s-present |
| 25:04 | Harvest Festival and Womens’ Institute | Present |
| 25:54 | Community spirit in Little Witley: progressive suppers | 1970s-present |
| 27:08 | Beekeeping in Bulmer’s orchards | 1980s-present |
| 30:06 | Importance of apple growing in the area | 1940s-present |
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