Over 70 tractors parade through Henley in aid of charity
TRACTORS of all colours, shapes and sizes made their way through Henley on Sunday for the annual Jack Connolly Memorial Tractor Run which saw 70 tractors take part much to the delight of cheering crowds on the pavements in High Street.
The occasion was made more memorable for all involved as Sunday 7th January marked five years since Jack, aged 31, died in a road accident on the first day of a skiing holiday in France with his wife Jodie and their two sons, Isaac and Archer aged three and one. Jodie and the boys were not with Jack when the accident happened.
The annual tractor run follows a route in the Henley area and raises money for charity in memory of Jack and this year £1,500 will be donated to Midlands Air Ambulance. Previous years charities like Widowed and Young, MIND, and Cancer Research have all been supported.
“We change the charity every year,” said Jodie, who lives near Mappleborough Green. “Jack’s very old, International tractor painted red took part in the run along with many other vintage tractors and modern machines and I’ve never seen so many people line the streets to cheers us on.”
Educated at Bromsgrove School, Jack loved playing rugby for Woodrush RFC and was also passionate about machinery of any kind.
“Jack worked on a farm when he was little and learnt how to drive a tractor. He studied and loved machinery and was on his way to building his own groundworks company empire. He was such a character,” Jodie said.
The couple both loved skiing from an early age and part of the reason for the holiday in France was to let Isaac and Archer become more familiar with the snow and skiing. But everything changed when Jack sadly lost his life just four days before his 32nd birthday.
“Sunday was emotional,” said Jodie. “Each year the number of tractors goes up and it’s Jack legacy to all of us and it means everything to my mother-in-law, brother and to me. Tractors turned up at the church for Jack’s funeral and he did a number of tractor runs with his close friends to raise money for charity whenever he had the chance. Would he have liked to have taken part in the annual tractor run on Sunday? He would absolutely have loved it.”
