大象传媒

Interview with Gertrude St Pierre

Born 17/8/1920

19 when war broke out. Born in Walkden, lived there during the war.

Gertrude went on to read her written war memories:

Sat on a settee with mother, father away at church and without warning a salvo of fire bombs falling in the direction of our house. Never before had we moved so quickly, up from our seat to a position of safety, on the floor behind the settee. A lucky escape but a fright in the real sense of the word.

Early war days, when the men, some called up, some volunteered away doing their bit for England. Many away from home for the first time and many cold days and nights with the minimum of uniform ahead of them. The Ladies鈥� Fellowship held each Monday evening in the warmth and comfort of a church hall. How to help our soldiers in their need. Knit: scarves, socks, balaclavas. Today 60 years on that fellowship exists. Not many of the original ladies there but it still goes on. What friendships that fellowship has created in a lifetime, almost unbelievable.

I was 21 years old in 1941 when the government announced that women born in 1920 were to be called up to do their duty to God and the King, just as the men were doing. As I worked in an office I knew that call up for me would probably mean office work in the armed forces and having always enjoyed the open air I volunteered for the land army. My family must have been concerned and surprised at this because at that time I weighed barely 6 陆 stone and was only 4 feet and 11 陆 inches in height and had no experience of farm work. I was duly interviewed by a land army official 鈥� a rather large forbidding woman. The interview went something like this: 鈥渘ame, address, occupation鈥� etc etc. 鈥淵ou are rather small you know鈥�, sniggered the woman, 鈥渄o you think you are suitable for the heavy work you expected to do?鈥� I was rather taken aback by this comment but my hackles rose to my defence and I quickly retorted, well you know, when the flesh is weak, the spirit is willing, and I am very willing indeed to give my body and mind to work on the land. I was immediately accepted and in July 1942 complete with uniform, I was on my way to Penrith to work on a farm. I found myself in a hostel in Appleby with other land girls totalling about 30. The hostel was an old army hut used in the First World War where constantly we saw our working shoes, one pair only, stuffed with newspaper drying out in front of the one stove in the middle of the room, a stove whose chimney went up to the roof. Unlike me, some of the other land girls in the hostel were, it seemed, very worldly wise. One named Gladys, I remember well. She was a real tough manly built girl. After lights were out and the stern matron had wished us a firm good night we talked amongst ourselves and on one such occasion the subject of love came up. 鈥淲hat is love?鈥� asked one girl. 鈥淟ove鈥� replied Gladys, without hesitation, 鈥渓ove is a funny pain that goes up your back and knocks your hat off鈥�. One felt she knew all about it, it was said with such authority. At least I came out of the land army somewhat more worldly wise, and bigger following the hefty meals we were offered by the farmer鈥檚 wives; always suet roly poly first, followed by potato pie, in that order, a Cumbrian custom. I didn鈥檛 grow in height however, just width, and also by the end of my time in the land army I did at least know what a duck egg looked like as opposed to a hen egg, as my mother, during the war kept hens and each day I collected them for her to add to our meagre egg ration.

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