大象传媒

I had been working in the offices of a Swedish ball bearing company in Luton and had wanted to join the ATS, but I was too short and so opted for the Women鈥檚 Land Army and joined up in July 1942 at the age of 21.

I commenced six weeks basic training on the Luton Hoo Estate in Bedfordshire. Most of the intake of girls were from the east end of London. We learned about the land, how to milk cows and how to drive tractors. One of the main jobs for eight months of the year was threshing the corn with threshing machines. Some of the worst jobs were picking brussels on cold frosty mornings where you would get finger ache and potato picking which was back breaking work!

One morning, whilst at Luton Hoo, I was late for work and had to run from the bothy into the farmyard and as I ran I felt something touch me. Out in the farmyard I noticed that the strap of my overalls had been torn off my shoulder. I mentioned this to the Head Cowman and all he said was 鈥淗e鈥檚 about then鈥� and it seems I was not the only one to feel such a presence.

After my training I was sent to a farm in a small village outside Bedford. I was met by the farmer, driving a tractor and trailer, and taken from the station to his farm. I am afraid I took an instant dislike to the farmer and his wife. On the second day I was working in the field and some RAF boys came by and invited me to their dance in the village hall that evening. At nine o鈥檆lock the farmer walked into the hall to take me home and said that I had to be in every night at nine o鈥檆lock. At the age of 21 I did not want to be spoken to like that so I packed my bags and at 5.30 next morning I walked across the fields to Bedford Station.

I was then sent to live in the Women鈥檚 Land Army Hostel at Leighton Buzzard and stayed there for quite a while. We lived in huts housing 40 girls with two tier bunks. We had a mixture of lady wardens running the hostel at Leighton Buzzard 鈥� some good some bad!! The best warden we had was the daughter of Colonel Buckmaster who lived nearby in Leighton Buzzard.

Working in groups of four to six girls we were sent out to various farms and estates, including Whipsnade Zoo, where we did general farming work.

All the animals at Whipsnade Zoo had been taken away for safety and the land was ploughed up for crops. The only inmates were some chimpanzees, grey wolves and specially bred horses from abroad. Every morning we were greeted at the entrance gates by the chimps who were waiting for us and they would walk with us into the fields. They were soon adept at opening our tin luncheon boxes and many a time the Head Keeper鈥檚 wife had to supply us with lunch. They would also accompany us to the toilet jumping from cubicle to cubicle pulling the chains as they went. When we left in the evening they would cry and put their hands over their eyes.

As a 鈥渢hank you鈥� for our time spent at Whipsnade we were taken to lunch in Luton and we were then treated to see the picture 鈥淕one with the Wind鈥� which had just been released.

On one autumn day we were sitting by the roadside waiting to be collected. It soon became obvious that we had been forgotten and so we continued to wait until someone came by. A gentleman stopped and he said he would phone the hostel for us. That gentleman was Lloyd George who was living in a country house nearby.

I threshed corn at Cranfield Aerodrome, worked at Woburn Abbey alongside German and Italian Prisoners of War and remembering my years in the Land Army, we were well looked after in the hostel in regard to recreation; there was always something going on such as dances at the various army and air force camps based in the Bedfordshire countryside.

I can honestly say I had a great time in the Women鈥檚 Land Army and met and made friends with some lovely people.

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