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On Tuesday 6th September, Stafford Sampson, our friend and colleague, sadly passed away with his close family by his side; he was 76. Stafford joined Stags in 1975 as part of the machinery and livestock team, initially to assist setting up sales. Within a short space of time, Stafford was given his first opportunity to sell at a sale near Crediton; from there, he never looked back. Totally self-taught, Stafford was the most naturally gifted auctioneer, soon rising to become Stags’ main machinery auctioneer and quickly increasing the firm’s farm machinery sales business. For so many years, Stafford has been the public face of Stags, conducting sales with great skill and humour right across the whole of the South West. He was in his element on ‘sale day’; always well dressed, knowing everybody and full of quick ripostes to potential purchasers looking to point out problems or start the bidding too low.
Stafford will be remembered for his ability to sell ‘anything’ well and in a manner that kept everyone in the crowd constantly interested and amused. Though his greatest skill lay in dealing with his clients, so often the invitation to conduct a sale is the result of an unhappy or difficult situation that a family or individual has found themselves in. Stafford had an empathy which, combined with his professionalism and knowledge, put the client at ease to ensure their sale was a success. As a vendor once said following a sale “Stafford makes a difficult job look very easy.”
Outside of Stags, Stafford still enjoyed being on the end of a microphone. He loved point-to point racing and could be heard announcing at over 20 meetings each season. He was always happy to give time to conduct numerous charity and gift auctions each year, and was even well known for his bingo calling in aid of the local young farmers and other charities.
Stafford was clerk of the course at Chipley Park point-to-point for nearly 20 years, which is always held at the end of January. He and his loyal band of helpers would start work on the course in November and would have the course at it’s best come race day, regardless of the worst winter weather, and over the years saw more and more of the top trainers keen to run horses at the course. Stafford’s voice could also be heard at Mid Devon Show, where he commentated on the machinery demonstrations and in the main ring for the vintage tractor show. He was also a driving force behind the annual Culmstock Gymkhana, again an event that raised money for charity.
Stafford owned a few point-to-point horses with some successes, getting the most enjoyment from buying a horse out of a field whilst on holiday or in one of his sales for little money and watching them run and sometimes beat the expensive better bred horses at his favourite point-to-point courses. In 2016 his son, Stuart, started training point-to-point horses at the long-time family home, Fry’s Farm, and has enjoyed considerable success, which made Stafford very proud.
Our thoughts are with his immediate family, wife Delia, children Stuart and Jennifer, and grandchildren William, Holly, Edward and Henry. The passing of Stafford is a great loss to Stags and our sales will miss his engaging presence and colourful character.
