TRIBUTES have been paid to a man whose life took him into the army, around the world, and to the frontiers of the farming industry.

Peter John Treeby grew up in Essex, and served in the army in the aftermath of World War II.

He took part in the 'Berlin Airlift' - the crisis of the late 1940s which saw the Allied forces carry in supplies to the people of West Berlin.

Following his national service, Peter studied agriculture, having developed an interest in farming when he was younger, helping out on a friend’s farm. He studied at Writtle Agriculture College in Essex, and successfully completed a National Certificate in Agriculture.

After college, as a keen, enthusiastic young man wanting to make his way in life, Peter placed an advert in a national newspaper, "selling himself to the world".

He received an immediate response from the Scottish sheep dip manufacturer Robert Young & Co Ltd.

Peter clearly made a good impression on Mr Young himself, and the latter decided to take the young man under his wing and show him the ropes.

After a short period of training, Peter was sent out to Australia, on a mission to open up the vast continent for Robert Young. He was given a company car and sent out to sell sheep and cattle products to an untapped market.

During this time, Peter met and fell in love with Joy, a young trainee accountant who worked in the same office as a family friend.

They married in Brisbane, and their daughter, Carolyn, was born in 1955.

Peter and Joy returned to England in 1956 after Peter got a new job as a sales rep for Robert Young in the north of England.

The family settled in Brampton, and their son John was born in 1958.

During his early days in Cumbria, Peter became very interested in research into diseases of sheep and cattle, and initiated the building of a small research laboratory in the village of Talkin.

Peter moved up the career ladder in Robert Young & Co Ltd and became chairman.

Peter’s work had taken him all over the world to nearly every continent on Earth, he once flew to America on Concorde.

He became a keen dingy sailor, regularly sailing on Talkin Tarn with his best mates, and participating in regattas on Ullswater.

After his retirement, Peter spent many years helping out in his son John’s garden centre in Brampton where he won the admiration of many customers, especially the older farming community who still remembered him from his sales rep days.

Peter passed away peacefully in Leighton Hospital near Crewe on Friday December 3, 2021 at the age of 92.