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I volunteered for the Women鈥檚 Land Army June 1st 1942 as I thought I would be stationed in Nottinghamshire, but no! Being one of the first to go out of the country. I arrived in Aylesbury Monday 鈥� sent out on Tuesday with a hoe, there was about 30 girls, in the blistering hot sun, and told to strike out these little green shoots and leave one. Every day we did this until Thursday, where we all suffered sun burn because of the hot sun, we were sent home and told to return Monday. If we did not return we would all be in trouble. I returned and was sent to a Miss Griffin in a private house, she was very strict, eventually I went to Mr and Mrs Fern and stayed three years. I worked for the war agricultural, going to different farms, thrashing, and pot hoe picking, stone picking, ditching and general farm work. But the evenings we were free, no like the girls in hostels. We all went dancing without any restrictions, happy days. I came to Nottingham in 1945, Hodsock Priory then Tuxford for one year and left June 1st 1946.

Even though it was hard work I remember going to Silverston (now the famous grand Prix circuit) picking sprouts on a frosty morning, within minutes out hands were frozen, Silverston was a R.A.F. station, and quite a few airmen brought us cans of hot cocoa and remarked how sorry they felt for us. Whenever they had a dance we were invited, sometimes we had transport but other times we had to cycle.

There was a mixed bunch of girls in our group 鈥� Londoners, Essex, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, north east, all super lasses 鈥� we had a wonderful time together, food was rationed and in short supply 鈥� however farm workers got extra cheese.

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