Ben Williams was two weeks short of his 16th birthday and about to sit GCSEs when his father died suddenly from a cardiac arrest. Taking his exams was such a blur that Ben, now 29, says he can’t remember much about them.
Although he got into sixth form Ben never went. Instead he took over running the family farm in Pentyrch aged 16. As his friends at Radyr Comprehensive were celebrating the end of GCSEs, Ben got stuck into caring for 54 cows and 600 breeding ewes at Garth Farm, which has been in his family more than 60 years.
Working the hill farm also made him feel closer to his father Ted, whose sudden death at the age of 43 left his wife Karen and four children reeling. Thirteen years on the dairy and sheep farm is thriving and Ben’s younger brother Ethan, who was only nine when their father died, is now working with him.
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Ben said the early days weren’t easy, but got invaluable support and advice from his mother, grandmother and the farming community.
“I was at Radyr Comprehensive when it happened. I did my GCSEs and pretty much started on the farm straight after that when I was 16," he said. “I made the decision even though I did not have a lot of experience. I just made the decision to work the farm and it seemed the right thing to do.
“There were a couple of people working on the farm for my mum and dad and my mother and grandmother was also around, but they were grieving. I can’t remember much about it all now. I grew up on the farm but didn’t have much knowledge about what to do and how to manage a farm. It was steep learning curve and there were a lot of trial and errors. I got stuck in and here was a lot of learning.”
Before leaving school in the first weeks after losing his father in April 2009, Ben would come home from lessons and work on the farm before taking over full time.
“There were a few things I did the hard way," he said. "I would go to school and come back and check and feed the livestock. I had learned to drive a tractor when I was still at school.”
The teenager was not alone as the farming community stepped in to help and he stayed in touch with friends.
“The farming community is like no other community and there are people you can call on to talk and ask questions. Farming as a community is quite unique. We had a couple of employees and I had advice and help from Farming Connect with the Welsh Government. I don’t think I could have done things differently. You learn and there are some mistakes.
“I think part of the reason I took over the farm was that I had been going to anyway. I had planned to go to agricultural college and start a bit later. The big thing, looking back is that my dad worked with his dad on the farm. It’s generational knowledge. Not to run the farm, for me, would be a loss.”
The work also helped Ben come to terms with what had happened. His mother and grandmother Susan, 79, who still lives on the farm, were always a good source of advice. Susan used to run the farm, which has been in the family since 1959, with Ted’s late father Elwyn. Today Ted and Ethan rear native breed Welsh Black cattle, Welsh Mountain sheep, which graze on the Garth, as well as Welsh pigs.
“Losing my father did impact on me,” said Ben, “But I was on the farm and there was always something going on so you didn’t have time to dwell. In some ways that’s a good thing. I believe my father would be proud of what I have done and what we have done - if he was here he would enjoy that me and my brother are working on the farm. That was one of his ambitions. It was worth not doing more exams for. I love the job. I just didn’t go down the traditional education route.”
Karen, 59, is proud of her son and the thriving farm he is now running with Ethan.
“It was such a traumatic time," she said. "The plans were that Ben was going on the sixth form and to agricultural college and then help run the farm. But at that age he just dropped everything and helped me and my mother in law and run the farm.
“There was no option. We had livestock. Ben was very close to his dad and he felt pressure to be that person and I think running the farm makes him feel close to his dad. He’s an old head on young shoulders. He’s my rock. It amazes me the way he runs the farm.”
Ben and Ethan's older sister Sophie, 32, is a nurse and their oldest brother Luke, 38, is an engineer, but are still very much part of the family farm. Karen worries that her youngest two children had to grow up very fast and it was “beyond tough” when her husband died.
“Ben and Ethan have grown to be beautiful young farmers in their father’s place. I am so proud that we have managed to keep the family farm running and of the men my boys have become.”
The proud mother, who met her late husband while they were both at school, started running seriously as a way to cope with grief. She is running the London Marathon in October to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation Cymru in his memory.
“Ted died 13 years ago at the age of 43 of a sudden cardiac arrest at home here on our beautiful family farm. He was a fit rugby player, farmer and father of four, and so we all thought, a picture of health and strength.
“It is time to do something in gratitude for Ted’s life, the legacy and beautiful home and farm he left with us, and for my boys, who have had to give up their youth and freedom to become men far too soon,” she said.
Karen is running the TCS London Marathon for the British Heart Foundation on October 2 in memory of her late husband Ted. Visit her fund raising page here.
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