The farming community gathered - to recognise 53 years commitment from one of Aberdeen & Northern Marts livestock auctioneers – as part of a celebratory event at Thainstone this week.
Family, friends, colleagues and long-standing customers attended the event on Wednesday 26 August in the Porterhouse Restaurant at Thainstone Centre to pay tribute to Allan Taylor by reminiscing on his time with the farming co-operative and present him with gifts from donations received for his retirement fund.
Mr Sandy Tulloch chaired the evening – on behalf of the organising committee - which included speeches from Mr Taylor himself and Mr Sandy Brown in addition to a poem, written by Harold Murray, recited by Mrs Margaret Emslie.
Mr Taylor said: “From the age of 13, I can remember going along to the auction mart in Aboyne with my father and being fascinated by the auctioneers. I would go back home and practice auctioneering in our stick shed and knew it was the career path for me. Even though I am retiring, I will still be around to teach the next generation the tricks of the trade.”
Mr Taylor, 68, began his career in 1962 at the Kittybrewster mart in Aberdeen as a trainee clerk before transferring to Aboyne in 1967 as Junior Auctioneer.
In those early days in the auction box, Allan was part of the Dee/Donside team selling at Aboyne, Alford and Torphins.
Mr Taylor’s ability as an auctioneer was evident early on and it was not long before he took over the selling at Aboyne including the infamous ‘Michael Fair Sales’ before being made manager in 1984.
At that time he also regularly sold at the Friday sales in Aberdeen.
With the closure of the Aboyne mart in 1989 and opening of Thainstone Centre in Inverurie in 1990, Mr Taylor then took over responsibility for the key store cattle sales and rose to the challenge of this fundamental role - contributing significantly to the development of the Centre into an agri-hub for the local community. As a member of the management team and a master auctioneer - with his own particular style adaptable to any occasion – Mr Taylor was key to making Thainstone the success it is today.
John Gregor, Executive Director of the ANM Group said: “Allan has been a well-respected and loyal long-serving member of staff with Aberdeen & Northern Marts for over five decades.
"He is well-known as one of Scotland’s top commercial cattle auctioneers with a tremendous knowledge of livestock and has contributed significantly to the development of Thainstone Centre.
"We wish him well in his retirement and are pleased that he will continue to be part of the Group by supporting our young auctioneers and retaining links with our customers in the Deeside area.”