大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Jabulani Chwaula from WM CSV Action Desk on behalf of Arthur Musson and has been added to the site with his permission. Arthur Musson fully understands the sites terms and conditions.

Before joining the land army, Mary worked in the wages office operating a Burroughs machine (An early mechanical calculator) at M.E.M Redding鈥檚 Lane, Tyseley.

Under the Essential Works Order she was not allowed to work in an office when she was 20 and had to join the forces or the Land army, she chose the latter.

On joining she was lodged at the Red House Hostel, Salford Priors, Havington near Evesham Worcestershire.
The Land girls usually worked with Italian prisoners of war, who were brought in daily from a local P.O.W camp, possibly Ettington Hall. Understandably there were not very keen workers.

Most of the time she was working in the field picking sugar beet or sprouts and loading them into Lorries. Much of this period was in the autumn and winter which in those days tended to be much colder than today. The ground and the vegetables were frequently frozen and covered in frost, an unpleasant change from office work.

Food at the hostel was very bad, lunch sandwiches were usually door step of bread and raspberry jam without any butter. When it was time to eat them, the syrup had soaked into the bread leaving it soggy, with only seeds left between the thick slices. Most unpalatable, after a hard mornings work.

Mary developed appendicitis and was transferred to Stratford on Avon hospital where she had an operation.
Operations were very much serious than today and involved a long stay in hospital most of the time in bed. On Sundays I used to do Home Guard training in the morning, and in the afternoon travelled by train from snow hill to Stratford to visit her.

On recovery she was not allowed to do heavy work and was discharged from the Land Army and was directed into industry where she worked in a factory at Briscoe鈥檚. Ltd. Wharfdale road Tyseley until after we were married in 1944.

Mary was on fire watch duty on the night that D-day landings took place, and although hearing all of the planes passing over did not appreciate the significance until the following day.

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