My Diary entry for Friday 13 July, 1961, part of which can be seen below, states that surgeons fought for several hours to save at least one of Ed's eyes, and, as we were to discover, it would be many months before the healing process would begin to take place.

Diary extract from Summer 1961. Very unlucky date.

Meanwhile, renaissance and recovery was under way at Oswestry School under the stewardship of Mr DGW Felton who had agreed to step into the breech until the arrival of Richard Sale in January of 1962, and with the aid of stalwarts 'Stoker' Lewis and JF Tilley, he managed to steady the ship and restore calm to troubled waters.

By the time my brother Bernard and myself arrived back at school in December 1961 to play football for The Old Boys and attend Founder's Dinner, everyone was talking very positively about the changes that had taken place since the summer but, sadly, when we bumped into Goffy he told us that he was now blind.

Diary entry for 8 December, 1961, the weekend during which a group of OOs threw a party in The Wynnstay that spiralled out of control!

Having myself experienced complete sight loss in my right eye following an operation last October, although now slowly recovering, I feel that I have just a small inkling of a few of the problems faced by Edward, although for this to happen to a sixteen year-old boy must have been devastating, and I find his dogged resilience and indomitable spirit at once both heartwarming and inspirational.

Far from sitting back and feeling sorry for himself he began his recovery by immersing himself into as many activities as his disability would allow when back at school, and his record of achievements, which can be seen below, is testament to Ed Goff's relentless determination to succeed.

Ed Goff's Valete School Record of Achievements.

But, after all, this should come as no surprise, since Edward had been elected Captain of Burnaby, and with credentials such as that there would be no stopping him as he progressed along life's journey.

Examining Ed's achievements in sport alone prior to his accident is indicative of a natural ability across a wide range of sporting disciplines, the progress in which was severely curtailed during his period of recovery, and he was forced to adapt and apply his talents in other areas of interest.

But before I touch on those matters, my eye has been drawn to excerpts from my diary dated 15 May, and 20 July 1962, which indicate improvements in Edward Goff's vision. See below:

Diary entry for 15 May, 1962.

Diary entry for 20 July, 1962.

It would seem that by the middle of 1962 Goffy's vision was slowly returning, at least in one eye, and by dint of steely determination he had managed to weather the storm, and had discovered new fields of interest with which to fill the gaps left by an inability to pursue many of his treasured sporting activities.

Having been brought up on a farm his natural instincts drew him towards farming topics, and in the summer of 1962 he founded Oswestry School Young Farmers' Club, and by 1963 it had become officially affiliated to the National Federation and was benefitting from a wide range of talks and outings, including instructive and enjoyable visits to The West Midlands Show and the School YFC Rally at Walford, where Ed's club gained eight certificates from a small entry.

Showing a remarkable ability to adapt to his new situation, Goffy forced his way into the school golfing squad, and in the summer of 1963 he was a member of the successful team that beat Ellesmere College comfortably over an eleven hole course.

In 1963/64 he became Head Prefect, and by Lent Term of 1964 Edward was Chief Editor of The Oswestrian Magazine. Leaving Oswestry School in the summer of 1964 with 10 O Levels and 3 A Levels, he gained further qualifications at Keele University, Walford Agricultural College, and Lusaka University in Zambia, where he spent time volunteering as a teacher in agricultural science.

Edward on his farm circa 1976.

In 1976 Ed Goff took over the 150-acre family farm, working with his herd of friesian cows, and just six years later stood at the forefront of the organic production revolution in the UK. It was in 1983 that Edward set about converting his farm over to organic production, demonstrating that farming could be done in a better way and still remain profitable.

In conjunction with several local farmers he established an organic milk marketing company, Organic Matters, which was subsequently bought by Horizon.

Over the ensuing years I lost contact with Edward David Goff until meeting him again in November 2017 at the Golden Wedding Anniversary party of George and Carolin Roberts-Jones, and my enduring memory of him is contained in this photograph taken during the celebrations where he appeared in fancy dress as mad King George. The photograph contains the last image in my posession of Goffy, second from the left, amongst a group of contemporary Old Oswestrians who were at school during the 1950s.

Back row (L-R): Ken Mottershead, Ed Goff, Bruce Morgan, John Gittins, Brian Tomley
Front row: David Pickup, Billy Griffiths, George Roberts-Jones, Bernard Pickup

After a couple of brief appearances at our bi-annual gatherings of contemporary OOs, Edward passed away in the Severn Hospice, Shrewsbury on Saturday 20 October, 2018, aged 73 years at the end of a successful life in farming.