Jesse Gillin was a shepherd for NY Estates. In January 1980, Jesse was furious to be told by new Home Farm manager Richard Anstey that he planned to take away 200 acres of grazing land and cut down on the amount in the flock in order to erect pine trees. Jesse tried to get Richard to change his mind but Richard refused to Jesse resigned from the job. Despite this, Jesse and his wife Ruth were still allowed to live in their farmhouse. Ruth ended convincing Jesse to get his job back and Jesse reluctantly went back to Richard to discuss plans for the flock, to Richard's relief.
In September 1982, Joe Sugden told new manager Alan Turner that Jesse would be retiring by September 1983.