George Wakeford with a crop of beeswax rendered from cappings. Note the Wakeford Wax Extractor (arrowed) in the centre.
george wakeford, born 1900
PROFESSIONAL BEEKEEPER
George Wakeford, son of a tenant farmer in Petworth, Sussex, who died when George was 18. He was brought up to turn his hand to many country skills and pursuits. When he was 25 years old George took up timber cutting, earning £2 10s in his first week. He took up beekeeping in his early teens, acquiring a colony of bees for a gold half sovereign. He became a professional beekeeper, looking after his own hives, and tending hives for customers, mainly within 10-15 miles of his home in West Sussex. He supplemented his beekeeping income with continued timber cutting, hedging and gardening.
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Contributed by the author of this life story and fellow beekeeper, Roger Patterson, in November 2020.