Aberdeen Journal 4 November 1932
HUNTLY INVENTOR
Mr George Gauld, Parkhaugh, Glass, Huntly has been granted patent rights for an invention designed for improvements in valve lifters for internal combustion engines.
Dundee Courier 28 March 1935
A NOVEL TRACTOR
A novel tractor has been constructed by an upland Aberdeenshire farmer, Mr Dick Gauld of Parkhaugh, Glass. It is of the caterpillar type and has been built entirely from scrap. It is yoked to an ordinary plough, with reins attached for levers.
The family are well known for inventions and parents and Mr Gauld has experimented with several tractors built by himself from scrap. He intends to build another of similar construction but lighter in weight. In the course of recent tests it has given great satisfaction.
HUNTLY EXPRESS 16TH APRIL 1954
INVENTOR OF NEW-TYPE TRACTOR – LATE MR “DICK” GAULD OF GLASS
By the death of Mr Dick Gauld, motor engineer, Parkhaugh, Glass, a promising career has been ended and a well-known and well-loved personality has passed on. To his many friends and acquaintances all over the North-East he was known by the familiar and affectionate name “Dick” , his proper name being George Brander Gauld.
From his earliest years Dick had a great interest in and love for machines and machinery and although in his early working life he was engaged in farm work at a time when the agricultural industry was not mechanical as it is now, he nevertheless always found time and opportunity to maintain and foster that interest.
STARTED IN A HUT
In 1926 he and his elder brother started a small spare-time business in a little hut at their home at Parkhaugh. New and second hand cycles and accessories were sold and repairs carried out. In addition to this, watches, melodians, gramophones and records, cigarettes and confectionary all formed part of the stock and very soon the “Depot” became a recognised meeting place where the young men of the district gathered almost nightly.
Some years later, Dick patented a new type of valve lifter which met a steady market practical all over the country. About 1935 he created something of a sensation by bringing out a new type of tractor which could do the work of a pair of horses at a very small cost. Built from an old motor car it was mounted on a small caterpillar-type tracks and when ploughing was guided by reins in the same way as horses. Since the ploughman had the throttle control and the clutch, he could drive at any speed to suit himself or stop when required. This ingenious device attracted much attention and a photo of Dick at the plough was featured in thirteen newspapers. With the sudden rise in popularity of the tractor in the years immediately before the war, Dick became an agent and soon his business expanded so that he had to employ a staff of mechanics. Early in 1953 he purchased the premises at Gordon Street and transferred his plant there.
NO JOB TOO TRIVIAL
The success of Dick in business was largely due to his genial kindly disposition. To him everybody was alike and no road was too long nor no job too trivial. His prime aim was to serve the community and he would cheerfully rise from his bed in the middle of the night and go to the assistance of some unfortunate motorist stranded by the wayside. His extensive clientele may well feel that in his passing they have lost not only a skilled craftsman and an honest courteous trader but also a sincere friend.
About thirteen months ago Dick became afflicted with a lingering disease which necessitated hospital treatment over a prolonged period. It was thought when he came home in the end of last year that his decided improvement might become a complete recovery, but about three weeks ago he suffered a relapse and the end came unexpectedly last week.
The funeral to Wallakirk Churchyard was the largest ever seen in the district there being well over a hundred motor cars.
The sympathy of a wide area goes out to his widow and a young son and daughter in their great loss.