大象传媒

Women鈥檚 War Work
My war work actually began in early 1939 before the outbreak of hostilities, in the Civil Defense Office of Bournemouth, first with the ARP and later organising the Woman鈥檚 Voluntary Services in the town i.e. housewife groups, canteens, fire watching etc. But with 鈥淭he Back to the Land鈥� call I volunteered for the Women鈥檚 Land Army.

The interview and medical left few illusions of glamour 鈥� all the stress being on hard work and long hours, which was certainly justified later. Many girls were sent direct to farms, but fortunately I was drafted onto a course at the Sparsholt Farm Institute, Hampshire. What a motley assortment of girls assembled at Winchester Station, mostly 鈥渢ownies鈥� mainly from the Midlands and North and few with any knowledge of the countryside or farm animals. I vividly remember one pretty ballet dancer and often wondered how she coped with our heavy black boots and all weather conditions.

To my horror I was selected for a dairy course 鈥� thankful for the alarm clock my mother had packed as our day started at 5am and few of us had ever risen at such an hour. Cows can appear very large, frightening creatures on first acquaintance, but the instructors were patient and most of us emerged as reasonable, competent hand and machine milkers and with a knowledge of dairy management.

I worked on four different farms with dairies ranging from primitive to sophisticated, one with particularly beautiful Ayrshire cows. The days were long, working during one long hot summer from milking at 5am to helping with hay and corn harvest till 10pm, double summer time. Sexual harassment? Stress? Never heard of them and hadn鈥檛 Churchill asked for blood, toil, tears and sweat?

Land girls were awarded no war gratuities (Lady Denman WLA Director, resigned over this issue) we were not welcome NAAFI or British Legion Canteens, although the Salvation Army doors were always open, and the American Army were happy to send trucks to collect girls for their dances! The life was hard (plenty of kicks and bruises) but healthy, sustained by the weekly issue of Woolton Pies for agricultural workers, with a great deal of fund and comradeship. I came out after five years with a first class certificate in Milking and Cattle Management and a satisfaction of having helped to produce thousands of gallons of milk for the war effort 鈥� and didn鈥檛 I meet my future husband on one farm!

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