FARMER William Pearson despatched a hefty half-ton of apples and pears from his Herefordshire farm to the city markets, assured of his just desserts.

A haul of 28 boxes, each weighing 40 pounds, were carefully placed on the Birmingham train, and Mr Pearson duly received a cheque for a measly one pound and 30 pence – the market had deducted a third of his payment for “expenses”. To make matters worse, the cheque bounced, and the farmer never did receive payment for his fruit.

The cheque, from a fruit, flower and rabbit salesman at Smithfield Market, has survived for almost 90 years, a sharp reminder of how times have changed. These days, a pack of five eating apples will set customers back at least £1.50.

The year was 1927, the period of the Great Depression, and Mr Pearson, who farmed at Little Cowarne Court, had his fruit handpicked, packed and transported to the train at Bromyard.

“It was a little bit too bad,” said his daughter, Anne Ogee who lives in Hereford. She still has the famous cheque and receipt detailing the payments.

“The harvested apples were stored carefully,” she said. “When I was growing up, the apples were wrapped in straw and laid on a board floor.” She can still remember the lovely waft of apples.

“We were hop farmers too, and after the hops had been harvested, there would be a mixture of smells of apples and hops.”

When she went off to school at Ludlow, Anne’s father would send a box of apples and pears on the train at the start of the autumn term. “They’d be delivered to the school for everyone to enjoy,” she said. “We were brought up not to waste anything, so we would eat the apples, peel and all, right down to the core.”