TO lose a good friend and contemporary is always a telling blow. So it was as his family, many friends and colleagues gathered at Emly church to say their final farewell to Philip Purcell. Always known as Phil, he was well known and highly respected in the auctioneering profession.

Born in Emly 73 years ago to a strong hunting and farming family, the love of all things equestrian passed on to him by his father is something that never left him and he hunted well past his 70th birthday.