A memorial service will be held next month in honour of former NFU President Sir Ben Gill who died in May aged 64.

Sir Ben used to own the 360-acre Hawkhills Estate, near Easingwold, which was in his family for two generations, and received a knighthood in the Queen’s 2004 birthday honours for services to agriculture.

The memorial service to celebrate his life will be held on Friday July 18 at 12.30pm in Hereford Cathedral, his family has announced.

Born in York, Sir Ben was the only son of a farmer, and studied agriculture at St John’s College, Cambridge.

After teaching in Uganda for three years, Sir Ben ran a pig farm in East Yorkshire, before taking over the family farm in 1978.

Sir Ben led the National Farmers' Union between 1998 and 2004, in the aftermath of the BSE scandal and bans on British beef throughout Europe, and the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

He died in May, following a long illness. He is survived by his wife Carolyn, who he married in 1973, and their four sons.