大象传媒

(FRANCES) DOREEN RHODES (nee Wright)
WOMEN鈥橲 LAND ARMY

Doreen was brought up in Barnard Castle with her three sisters and two brothers. A visiting authoress picked her out for being good at writing when at infant school and she has written ever since, hence the following are Doreen鈥檚 own words ~

鈥業t was never my intention to join the WLA, I wanted to join the WAAFS or the WRENS only because I liked the uniforms, but my dad had other ideas for me and I had to go in the WLA ~ so be it! I hated cows in the first place and the day before my interview I forced myself to walk through a field of cows on the Demesnes because previously when taking my little dog for a walk through a field of cows, they charged me, I was terrified and have been a bit nervous of cows ever since. Next day at my interview I was told by the WLA officer that I would be working for Mr Watson at Park House Farm, Marwood and lodging with a Mrs Simpson of the Black Bull Pub (I think they called it ~ demolished in 1947) at Stainton Village. Other WLA girls were there at the time. 鈥淏ut I have just come from near there鈥� I protested 鈥淚 put down on the form I wanted to work in Wales鈥�. I knew nothing whatsoever about Wales, I had only seen photos. taken in Wales. I just wanted to get away and do my bit for King and Country, but not near Barnard Castle. But Park House Farm it was to be.

I remember clearly the first night I spent at Mrs Simpson鈥檚. I dreamt I was in a cow stall securing the cows chain when she tried to gore my face with her horns and I found myself on the bedroom floor with my camp bed on top of me. I only stayed there a few days because when the WLA representative called with a bicycle for me and to see how I was settling down, she asked me if I would like to sleep at home and travel to and fro from the farm every day. Mam would receive a cheque from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries for my board and lodgings, which was a good help at the time. So I was able to meet up as usual with my friend who worked in munitions and go regularly to the pictures and elsewhere as we used to.

Glaxo factory was being built as I cycled past the men working every day and often got a few 鈥榳olf whistles鈥�. Ha! So began my life as a Land Girl. I came to like my uniform ~ corduroys, brown coat, green sweater and tie, Aertex blouse, fawny brown hat, brown shoes, dungarees and Wellingtons ~ and felt quite smart. I started work at 7.30 am until about 5 pm and soon got used to the hard graft of farming. I didn鈥檛 milk any cows, I only put the milking machines onto the cows and Mr Watson stripped them and sang all the time he was doing it. He was quite musical and I was amazed to see his 鈥榖aby grand鈥� piano in the front room. I did almost everything else on the farm, muck spreading, threshing, feeding the animals, swilling byres and washing down the cows, haymaking, leading corn, with little memorable incidents happening in between ~

1. Once when threshing at Mr Stubbs farm, I took off my 鈥榃ellies鈥� to go inside for a meal only to find when putting them back on one of the lads had put a dead rat in one. Through time I got to be wary of the pranks ~ a good laugh for all at my expense.

2. Another time I was left in charge of one of the children, he would be under a year I think, and because he was a bit fretful I brought him into the byre in his low pram. I was busy feeding all the cows their quota of turnips, then noticed the first cow had finished, so I decided to give all the cows a second helping. In the meantime the little boy found if he bounced up and down in his pram it would move so when the cows all began lifting up their tails one by one ~ well there was cow muck all over, even the pram got splashed, so I had to swill the byre and the pram. I鈥檝e often wondered what the milk tasted like that day. The same baby is now 60 years old and I understand he once built an organ. His sister, who lives in the town, is musical too and plays accordion and hand-bells. Hard working, happy days, bar one ~

3. The day we were going to lead corn and Mr Watson chose to put Dinah in the shafts, against his wife鈥檚 wishes. She told him that 鈥淒inah is not ready to be put into the shafts, she is too young and too nervous鈥� but Dinah was put in the shafts. All went well and I was on the cart packing the sheaves of corn when something upset Dinah and away she galloped with Mr Watson and helpers with their forks in their hands, running after the cart. 鈥淛ump, Doreen, jump鈥� they yelled ~ and I did, as poor Dinah missed the gap she had gone through many times that day, knocking part of the wall down and falling with the cart on her and she had to be shot. It took a long time for me to forget that episode. Mind you I was a bit nervous of Dinah because every time I had to put her 鈥榖elly board鈥� on she would kick her back legs out so she had to have a nose bag of hay before I attempted it, to quiet her.

4. We had some lovely little calves ~ four black and white and two Rowan coloured. Mr Watson told me where each one had to go into their little outside stalls for their meal. I could distinguish the black and white ones and always got them back into their correct stalls, but not the Rowan ones. Twice I got it wrong, so the next time after Mr Watson put them in the correct stall, as one came out I tied my hair ribbon on the top of the tail where it wouldn鈥檛 swish off and when Mr Watson came again, he was pleased to see I had got it right at last. When he asked 鈥渨hy the ribbon鈥� and I told him, he said 鈥淟ass, you just needed to look under their bellies and you would have soon known the difference鈥�.

What I loved doing on the farm was driving the battered old 1926 Standard ~ no mudguards, no roof ~ I drove it to the gate by the road with the milk churns for the milk lorry and for taking the cow muck down to the fields to spread and for other little jobs. Sometime one of the children would have a ride with me. The lever on the steering wheel was the gear lever. I also enjoyed riding General, the huge cart horse, as Mr Watson walked behind harrowing. A bus load of German Prisoners of War came to the farm to pick potatoes, but I wasn鈥檛 allowed to pick potatoes near them.

One morning when I reached the farm, the bull was at the gate pacing back and forth, so I had no option but to throw my bicycle and myself over the adjoining wall and go through the small coppice while the bull walked alongside me all the time. I was glad when Mr Walson came into view. A gander took a dislike to me whilst the goose was sitting and every night on my way home passing the gate he was patrolling, he would fly at my bicycle and cling onto my mudguards until I managed to kick him off. One day I had been turnip snagging and my fingers got so frozen I ran into the farmhouse to get warm, the helper was busy doing the washing and told me to roll up my sleeves and put my hands and arms in the hot water ~ the pain was terrible ~ I felt my arms were coming out of my sockets. I developed a severe type of flu after that and even lost my hearing for two days. I was quite ill and the doctor said 鈥淚 think you鈥檝e done your share in the Land Army鈥� and discharged me. Mr Watson came down to visit me once or twice and thank me for all I had done when the date came for me to leave and said he was sorry to see me go鈥�.

Doreen returned to Woolworths where she had worked before, until she got married in 1947. After bringing up her family she worked at Glaxo for 15 years. Her 鈥楲ittle Book of Poems鈥� has been printed and she is also writing a children鈥檚 story about a little white dove called 鈥楾he Royal Mission鈥� and has two more in the pipeline about her time at Woolworths.

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