THE DERBYSHIRE WINTER OF 1953-54 WAS SUCH A HARSH ONE THAT IT CLAIMED SEVERAL LIVES. HERE PETER SEDDON RECALLS A REMARKABLE INCIDENT WHICH WAS REPORTED AROUND THE WORLD AND IS STILL COMMEMORATED TO THIS DAY.
There can be few more glorious places for a summer ramble than the majestic moorland landscape of North Derbyshire. But that same dramatic terrain in the depths of winter can be far less forgiving to those who stray off the beaten track.
This has seldom been more tragically illustrated than in the harsh winter of 1953-54, when the Derbyshire shepherd Joseph Tagg lost his life in heart-rending circumstances on Howden Moor, in the Upper Derwent Valley. Yet out of the tragedy there emerged the uplifting tale of his loyal dog Tip, whose memory is perpetuated by a poignant stone memorial on the banks of the Derwent Reservoir. Here is the story of ‘Old Joe’ and his faithful friend.
Joseph Tagg was born in North Derbyshire in 1868. Steeped in country tradition from an early age, he grew up to be a shepherd. And a renowned one at that – for many years he served the XVth Duke of Norfolk at Derwent Hall, a magnificent long-lost mansion which was demolished in 1943 to facilitate the construction of the massive Ladybower Reservoir.
There can be few more glorious places for a summer ramble than the majestic moorland landscape of North Derbyshire. But that same dramatic terrain in the depths of winter can be far less forgiving to those who stray off the beaten track.
This has seldom been more tragically illustrated than in the harsh winter of 1953-54, when the Derbyshire shepherd Joseph Tagg lost his life in heart-rending circumstances on Howden Moor, in the Upper Derwent Valley. Yet out of the tragedy there emerged the uplifting tale of his loyal dog Tip, whose memory is perpetuated by a poignant stone memorial on the banks of the Derwent Reservoir. Here is the story of ‘Old Joe’ and his faithful friend.
Joseph Tagg was born in North Derbyshire in 1868. Steeped in country tradition from an early age, he grew up to be a shepherd. And a renowned one at that – for many years he served the XVth Duke of Norfolk at Derwent Hall, a magnificent long-lost mansion which was demolished in 1943 to facilitate the construction of the massive Ladybower Reservoir.
Joe Tagg became a well-known Derbyshire character. In 1905 he was a founder member of the Hope Valley sheepdog trials held close to his home ...more...
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