MAJOR John Shaw, of Ryedale, has died at the age of 81.

He ran the family estate at Welburn, Kirkbymoorside, for many years after an army career which saw him awarded the Military Cross during the Second World War.

He began his career at Sandhurst and joined the Royal Horseguards Regiment two days before the outbreak of the war in 1939, serving in Palestine, Iraq, North Africa, Italy and North-West Europe. He later served in the Korean War and left the army in 1953.

He farmed the Welburn estate which has been in the Shaw family for more than a century, and covers 1,800 acres from Kirkdale in the north to Wombleton and Muscotes in the south.

He was Master of the Sinnington Hunt, from 1956 to 1961, and again from 1965 to 1974. He later became chairman of both the Sinnington and Farndale hunts.

In public life, he served as a district councillor for the Kirkbymoorside area, was president of the Royal British Legion in the town, as well as the Conservative Association.

Major Shaw was also president of Ryedale Show which is held on the estate each year, and was chairman of Russells, the Kirkbymoorside agricultural machinery company.

His eldest son, Johnny, who now runs the estate said "He created and farmed a wonderful landscape on the estate. After his army career, the estate became his life's work and he has left a great legacy by transforming the landscape."