Testimony — William “Billy” Buckler
Page type: Testimony · Person: William “Billy” Buckler · Version: 1.0.0 (19 Oct 2026) · Editing Protocol
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William “Billy” Buckler, son of Mary (Nancy) Williams and Frederick Buckler, was the defendant in BP Properties Ltd v Buckler and lived at Great House Farm until the eviction of 1988. This page lists only his own recorded words and the court and Commission records of his case.
Recorded statements (10)
| Date | Record | What it says | Source / ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Diary, inside cover (his handwriting) | “Daniel Thomas Receipts. 31st March 1910 31st Dec 1906 30 June 1903” | EV-0061 |
| 1983 | Diary: two handwritten sums | “361,467 + 4,644 = 366,111 366,111 + 3,895 = 370,006” | EV-0062 |
| 10 Jul 1986 (hearing); 24 Jul 1986 (judgment) | High Court, BP v Buckler: his defence of adverse possession (court record) | Defence based on adverse possession. The trial judgment itself is not yet held. | EV-0074 |
| 31 Jul 1987 | Court of Appeal, BP Properties Ltd v Buckler [1987] EWCA Civ 2: his appeal (court record) | His appeal, limited to the farmhouse and garden. The judgment records the case argued for him; it is not his own statement. | EV-0080 · GHF-E141 |
| c.30 Apr 1988 | South Wales Echo: “Chainsaw farmer vows to fight on” (press quote) | “I am here to stay and I will fight this to the death,” “They smashed the lock on the gate and walked round the tractor,” “Then they started smashing the doors with poleaxes. My children were right behind the door when the axe came through. That’s when I started my chainsaw and pushed it through the door. They backed off then.” | GHF-E090-N07 |
| 12 May 1988 | South Wales Echo (search extract): Alun Michael MP asks the Lord Chancellor to look at the case | The extract says Mr Buckler “has warned that someone would …”; the rest of his words are cut off. | EV-0092 |
| 13 Dec 1988 | South Wales Echo (search extract) | “All I’ve got left are the clothes [I] stand up in.” | EV-0110 |
| 1988 (application 14464/88); decision 14 Apr 1989 | European Commission of Human Rights: his application under Articles 6, 8, 13 and Article 1 of Protocol 1 | Declared inadmissible on 14 April 1989. | EV-0122 · GHF-E145 |
| 24 Mar 1989 | South Wales Echo (search extract): “farmer freed” | “I will fight on to the death.” | EV-0121 · GHF-E090-N15-16 |
| 1989 (exact date not identified) | South Wales Echo, “From farm to a bus” by Peter Collins (press quote) | “I have three children and my wife is expecting a baby. My sister cannot be expected to put up with that. I shall just have to start from scratch. They have taken everything from me and my family. I have lost my livelihood.” The report says he claimed £30,000 of possessions were taken from the site. | EV-0112 · GHF-E090-N13 |
Notes
- A probate calendar entry for a William Beverley Buckler of Penarth (died 29 April 1990) has been found by research but is NOT yet confirmed to be him.