One of Britain’s Rarest John Deere Loaders: The 644E-H

The Remarkable Story of Doubleday Group’s 644E-H

Every machine has a story, but few can match the remarkable history of our John Deere 644E-H Loader.

Built in 1988, and believed to be possibly the only 644E-H loader in the UK, this unique machine has enjoyed an extraordinary working life spanning a United States Air Force base, a Lincolnshire farm, Burghley Horse Trials and, today, the busy yard of the Doubleday Group.

Unlike most John Deere construction equipment found in Britain, the 644E-H was never intended for the UK or European market. Built to American specification, it began its working life on a US Air Force base in the UK. The 644E-H was powered by a 185 hp John Deere turbocharged diesel engine and was designed as a heavy-duty wheel loader for demanding material handling tasks. This machine was fitted with an unusual factory option—a cold start package featuring an ether injection system.

An Unfortunate Press of a Button
During its military service, this loader was being used to move concrete on a runway when an operator reportedly decided to find out what would happen if the large red cold start button was pressed while the machine was working under full load.

The answer came quickly. The ether injection system delivered starting fluid directly into the running engine, causing catastrophic engine failure and bringing the loader’s military career to an abrupt end.

A Second Chance
Fortunately, that wasn’t the end of the story. The damaged loader was later purchased at auction by Will Aldwinckle, a tenant farmer on the Burghley Estate. Although the machine had never been sold in the European market, Will saw its potential and took on the challenge of rebuilding it.

Sourcing parts for an American-market machine was no easy task, but through persistence—and no small amount of persuasion—Will managed to convince the US Army to procure a replacement engine. Once installed, the 644E-H returned to work and went on to provide many years of dependable service around the farm.

A Brush with Fame at Burghley
Like many hardworking farm machines, the loader occasionally found itself lending a hand beyond the farm gate. One memorable outing came at the 2009 Burghley Horse Trials, where it was assisting with event preparations. Unfortunately, after being parked on a hill without the handbrake applied, the loader made an unsupervised journey downhill before eventually coming to rest after colliding with several parked vehicles. Thankfully, nobody was injured, but the incident attracted national media attention and added another memorable chapter to the machine’s colourful history.

Tractor crashes into parked cars at Burghley Horse Trials

Still Earning Its Keep
When Will retired from farming in 2024, the loader was acquired from his farm dispersal auction by Ben Burgess, ensuring that this rare piece of John Deere history would be preserved. However, retirement isn’t on the agenda for the 644E-H. Today, the loader remains a vital working machine and is relied upon in the Doubleday Group yard for those more demanding lifting jobs, continuing to do exactly what it was built for almost four decades ago. Its continued service is a testament to the durability and engineering that John Deere built into these American-specification machines.

At Doubleday Group & Ben Burgess we are proud to preserve machines that have shaped our industry’s history. The story of this 644E-H proves that sometimes the most valuable machines aren’t the ones that have spent their lives in museums—they’re the ones that have never stopped working.