Although now established in the UK the Texel breed originated in the Netherlands and on the Friesian Islands.
Taking their name from the island of Texel, they were originally known as Pielsteert (pin-tail) because of their thin, short tails. With the island being quite flat and exposed, the native sheep had to be quite hardy.
This is most certainly the case of the modern Texel, which can thrive on the roughest of ground and excel on lush low-ground pastures.
Perhaps some of the hardiness the breed is blessed with evolves from the crossing with Lincoln, Leicester and Wensleydale breeds in the late 19th century.
Skilled selection resulted in the small Texels gaining in size and producing well-fleshed but lean carcases.
In 1909 the first Texel breed society was formed in north Holland.
Importations to France began around 1933, especially to the northern provinces.
It was to be 1970 before importations came to the UK, when the Animal Breeding Research Organisation (ABRO) brought in four rams for experimental purposes.
The following year four more were imported, and extensive trials compared the Texel with other popular native breed terminal sires.
The verdict was that the Texel excelled on carcase quality and lean meat yield.
It was on an April Monday in 1972 that Sandy Grant an agricultural adviser who had known the breed while working in the Republic of Ireland, and who was to become secretary of the British Texel Breed Society visited Lanark Market to gauge the trade.
At the dairy ring he was approached by Ian Johnstone of Boghouse, Crawfordjohn, who asked if he knew what sheep breed should be used to produce lambs that would compete against the continental breeds that held sway in the French market. Our Blackface cross lambs were too small and light to compete.
Sandy reckoned only the Dutch breed would produce the goods.
Further discussion around the ring with John McGregor of Boghill, Lesmahagow, sheep exporter Bill Jackson, Andrew Barr of Heatheryhall, Biggar, and Jim Lindsay of Carmacoup at Glespin resulted in the first formal meeting of a group determined to import Texel sheep from Holland.
The meeting was held in the Tinto Hotel, Symington, on April 24 1972.
A great deal of work was then undertaken to find out how to import sheep from mainland Europe.
Contact was made with the Ministry of Agriculture in London, and eventually import licences were granted. Sitting on the licensing panel was Morgan Milne of Turin at Forfar, who was sympathetic to the ambitions of the Lanarkshire men. The licence was for 60 sheep, with ABRO sharing in the import.
Arrangements were made to visit the Netherlands. With the help of a Dutch expert, selections were made, deals done and a Dutch quarantine station selected.
However, problems regarding quarantine and import regulations arose and the deal was aborted, with members still having to pay the original vendors for the sheep selected.
This major setback resulted in some of the members of the import group pulling out of the project.
But there was still a great deal of determination among those who were left. Options to get around the restrictions were looked at, including bringing in rams only to put to native ewes and grade up.
Three tups imported from Ireland were selected from the Animal Breeding Research Institute and these were put to ewes on the farms of members Andrew Barr (Greyface) John McGregor (half-bred) and Ian Johnstone (Blackface).
The resultant crop of cross lambs were shown at WK Jackson’s yard in September to highlight the merits of the Texel.
While the grading up project was being carried out, Sandy Grant received a brochure from France heralding the merits of the breed and the French stock available.
Could the importation problems be solved by importing from France? The group felt the French connection should be explored, with Sandy and Blair Hill to travel to Paris immediately.
This was to be a good course of action as the Paris Show was being held at that time.
A strike by French airport staff necessitated a flight from Glasgow to London for a flight to Brussels, then a road trip to Paris.
At the airport the two sheep men noticed a touring sports team and the familiar face of Scottish Football Association secretary Ernie Walker.
The duo approached the SFA officials and found the team was to fly to Brussels, from where a bus would take them to Paris. The sheep men related the important work they were doing for Scottish agriculture to an official from Brechin City (presumably David Will) and this led to an invitation to travel on the coach with the team to Paris.
The pair were added to the touring party list and a very hospitable journey to Paris ensued, so it could be argued the Scottish football team had a hand in the introduction of the Texel breed to the UK.
The pair made it to the show and were impressed by the whole event.
They were to make contact with Willie Hogg from Comsiehill at Galashiels, who was an expert in the French sheep industry and had a French partner in a sheep importation business. This Frenchman had one of the first French Texel flocks. Through him, contact was made with the breed secretary.
Agreement was reached between the group, calling themselves the British Texel Breed Society, and French secretary Bertrand Lambert to become the sole importers of the breed into the UK.
In June 1973 Sandy Grant, Ian Johnstone, John McGregor and Willie Hogg set off by car to France to select the sheep for the first importation allowed by MAFF.
Some 27 ewe hoggs and 13 rams were selected and imported alongside a number of cattle to a quarantine station at Dundee.
After a few weeks this first importation was dispersed to 13 farms all of which, bar one, were in Lanarkshire while ABRO also had a share of the import.
Further importations arrived from France up until 1977 as the breed slowly became established in Scotland before spreading throughout the UK.
Although there was a slight blip in the early 1980s the breed has developed into a powerhouse. It has taken awards at leading shows in live and carcase classes and has a significant number of market centres throughout the UK holding sales of breeding stock in volume.
One of the major sales, if not the most important for breeders, is at Lanark Mart in the county town where it had all begun more than 40 years ago.