Martin Thatcher DL

Member since 2012

Martin Thatcher is a fourth generation cider maker at Myrtle Farm, the home of Thatchers Cider.

Having grown up on the family farm in Sandford, looking after the animals and crops, Martin aspired to continue the family tradition and become a farmer himself. After leaving school at 18, he became an apprentice farmer, working on his grandfather’s farm in Worcester, where he spent two years raising cattle and sheep, and growing crops.

When he returned to Sandford, he became the farm’s lorry driver, delivering cider to pubs across the South West region, also helping on the land with the animals and crops, alongside the all-important cider making.

When Martin took over the farm from his father, he focused the majority of production on cider making, a decision that has taken the business from strength to strength. With 250 employees and a thriving apprenticeship scheme, Thatchers is a homegrown success story that led to the family setting up a charitable trust, the Thatchers Foundation, which supports numerous causes in the local community.

Today, Martin’s wife and two children are also part of the Thatchers workforce, continuing the family tradition of growing apples and making cider.