Ford and Fordson enthusiasts marry!

Joseph Lewis reports on a match made in heaven for a couple of Ford and Fordson enthusiasts, who got married recently in Somerset.

Nick and Pat Bryne and their sons, Thomas and Matthew from Shepton Mallet, have been life-long members of the South Somerset Agricultural Preservation Club, and all share a keen interest in Ford and Fordson lorries and tractors. So it was fitting that Matthew and his bride-to-be, Veronica Stone, decided that classic vehicles should play an important role on their big day.

The bride expressly asked to arrive at the church in Barton St David, near Somerton, Somerset, in Nick’s 1956 Ford Thames 4D lorry and, of course, Nick and Pat were only too happy to oblige. Matthew and Veronica then drove together from the church – as husband and wife – to Babcary, where the Bryne family Fordson tractors and a special marquee were waiting to greet them and their guests. The reception field was provided courtesy of Matt’s best man, Rob Harrison.

The Ford Thames 4D lorry, fitted with a four-cylinder diesel engine and four-speed, non-synchro gearbox, was originally owned by Banbury’s of Yeovil, and used to deliver fruit and vegetables. Nick and Pat purchased the 4D from a farmer near Yeovil back in 1988, who’d been using it for general farm haulage. This much-loved lorry is now a familiar sight at local rallies, and was restored by Nick soon after he bought it, then re-sprayed again in 2003.

A special thank you to Norman Carpenter who arranged the Rover Mk III, Triumph Stag and Ford Granada Estate for Veronica’s bridesmaids, and the helpers that arranged the ‘M & V’ directional signs!

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