大象传媒

The Second World War broke out on the 3rd September, 1939.
This interrupted my studies at Art School and I was intrigued when my friend Daphne Garrett heard rumours that they were enlisting girls to help fell trees at Culford St. Mary Forestry Camp, near Bury St. Edmunds. This was a grand opportunity to volunteer for the War effort.
Not knowing what we were letting ourselves in for, we applied at the local Women鈥檚 Land Army Office. We signed the necessary forms and then approached our parents for their approval. Needless to say, they were very surprised that we had volunteered for such a tough assignment.
So the following week, on a warm June day, we packed a few summer clothes and caught the train to Bury St. Edmunds. Two Army soldiers met us and we climbed aboard a big lorry and together with several other girls, were driven to the camp. After passing through t-he large gates, we saw our quarters, a vast array of Nissen huts.
We reported at the Office and were directed to Hut No. 4 It contained twelve iron bunk-beds, and Daphne, coming from a good home, her father being a doctor, was horrified at the thought of sleeping on top. In the end, I slept on top and she grabbed the lower bunk. The bedding was very Spartan, consisting of two grey blankets and a pillow, but we soon provided ourselves with sheets and pillow cases from home.
The next morning we were told about the work would be doing. Then we were issued with Corduroy Jodhpurs, long khaki socks, thick brown shoes, two Aertex shirts, and a green pullover. A pair of dungarees were also provided for working on the site.
Visiting another hut, we were handed an axe, a billyhook, a sickle, a tin plate, mug, knife, fork and spoon, and lastly, a very heavy penknife, which I have to this day.
Our day would start at 5.30am, when we would dress and then wash at the washrooms situated in the middle of the Camp. Breakfast consisted of porridge, bacon or scrambled egg, toast and tea. This was pretty general each day.
We would then line-up outside our hut, and a hut leader, who was about 40 years of age and a very pleasant lady, would march us in a column of two, out of the Camp and up the road to the forest areas.
We were told how to put a "fall" in a pine tree, which was the predominant species in the forest, and how to use a cross-cut saw. Daphne and I found sawing very hard work indeed, as we had to use it in a kneeling position.
Once the tree 'cracked' we shouted 鈥淭IMBER鈥�, and because of our skill, would crash down in a forward direction and not backward, into the forest.
The top of the pine was then sawn off, and using a billyhook, all the branches were lopped off, right down to the roots. They were then carried to a nearby bonfire for burning.
Our leader would then measure the tree into lengths of 3ft, 4ft and 5ft. for use as pit props. They would be then sawn up with the two-handled crosscut saw and then transported by lorry to wherever they were needed.
I was very proud, when at a later date, I was promoted to being a Pit-Prop Measurer at a wage of 13/6d. a week.
We had a break at 11:00am for a glass of orange or lemonade, and another one at 12:00pm, when we had two corned beef sandwiches and a mug of cocoa, the latter hardly the ideal drink on a hot summer鈥檚 day.
The day ended about 3.30pm, when we marched back to camp for a well-deserved shower and a rest. We had our main meal at 6:00pm and after that we could either stay in camp and amuse ourselves or go to Bury St. Edmunds and see what it had to offer.
This work pattern continued for several weeks and then one day we were told that we were going hedge trimming. We each packed a billyhook and a sickle, climbed aboard a large Bedford lorry and were driven off into the country. The hedges were mostly alongside the road, so we had to be very careful of passing traffic.
At the time, I hadn鈥檛 a clue how trimming hedges would aid the war effort, but on reflection, realised that with a German invasion quite a probability, the military needed an unhindered view of the countryside.
Hedgerows are very dirty to handle. They consisted mainly of briars and maythorn and were horrible things to trim or cut down. It was hard work, but we were issued with plenty of lemonade. We all made numerous visits to the Medical Officer with cuts and thorn problems.
After several weeks working on the roadside, we went back to the forest. By now the weather had become extremely sultry and the constant sawing and chopping made us very hot.
One day, we experienced a horrible fright. One of the men helpers, cutting trees in half with a large mechanical saw, caught his shirt-sleeve in the machine and lost the lower part of his arm. It a very salutary lesson for us all.
Later on we had tremendous fun welcoming a new draught of helpers from the North, mainly from Glasgow, Newcastle and mill workers from Lancashire. They arrived by coach and I had never seen such a cosmopolitan crowd in all my life. But they were a good crowd and we had wonderful sing-songs in the evenings. We were very near to Coltishall Aerodrome, a base for fighter pilots, and often went by lorry to the dances there.
I never realised how brave our fighter pilots were in their Spitfires and Hurricanes. Up one minute and missing the next or killed overnight. Many of our girls had dates galore with them, but not for long. We lost many good friends and many fine machines.
One day when we were piling the unwanted branches on the bonfire, somebody shouted 'FIRE鈥� and in the next line of trees everything was ablaze. One of the soldiers dashed off on his motorbike summoned help. The Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds Fire Stations were alerted but we were able to get the fire under control without their help. The roar and the heat of the flames was tremendous and made us feel so helpless. But it was a good story to tell over dinner that night.
The great event of the week was Friday payday. As accommodation, food and clothing were provided free, the 13/6d I received seemed a princely sum and as the camp was somewhat isolated there was little opportunity to spend money.
At lest, Daphne and I had a week-end leave, so we caught the train home to Ipswich.
That evening, she rang me to say that she was hoping to go into the WRNS. I just couldn鈥檛 believe it. I suddenly thought about joining the Army and perhaps driving an ambulance. That night as I tried to go to sleep, I realised that I'd had enough of pine tree forests and the thought of changing my uniform was an attractive one. I had enjoyed the out-door life, with all its fun, but had no regrets when after fifteen weeks I said goodbye to all my friends and was glad to let somebody else have my top bunk.......
Daphne's father drove down to the Camp to help us collect our personal belongings and we then handed in all our tools and jodhpurs and dungarees etc.
We said goodbye to our hut leader and as we drove through the gates, gave a farewell look at the Camp which had been our first step into a totally different world.
I have often wondered how long our many friends stayed on the Camp, or did they, like me, suddenly yearn for a world with wider horizons.

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