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World War II

WOMENS LAND ARMY

A land army girls life 1943 — 1948 Doreen Molloy

I was just 13 years old when World War II started. We lived near the city centre and I can remember being very frightened. Our school had closed due to the evacuation of children to safer areas, but I did not go. I started work at 14 years old and it wasn’t long before we were bombed out in a heavy air raid. We, my mother, brother and myself, were buried alive in our air raid shelter. This made me very determined to join up to serve my country as soon as I was 17½ years.

Women and men were called up for military service or to do vital war work, so I joined the women’s land army. We had to replace all the young men who used to work on the farms, sent of to war.

The WLA was founded in 1939 and only disbanded in 1950. Most of us were housed in hostels, which could be hutments or large country houses and private farms. A middle-aged warden and her assistant looked after us and some were quite strict. We had to be in the hostel by 10pm wintertime 10:30 summertime. We sometimes got a late night pass 11pm but woe betides any of us if we were late in, some were caught climbing through windows after lights out or caught half way up a fire escape ladder. I was caught once and had to report to Head Quarters the next day to explain why. Following a good ticking off we lost one days pay. We earned about 25 shillings a week plus our keep. Our laundry cost 1/6d for our cowgowns and overalls. We wore a uniform of poplin and aertex shirts, a green pullover, brown corduroy britches, brown socks, ¾ length overcoat and felt hat which we had to bash into shape, something like a cowboys’ hat.

Many of us were city girls who had never seen a cow or sheep or even the countryside. We all got stuck in, however, doing manual work. My first job was fruit picking, later on came harvesting, a very busy time — no combine harvesters then! The corn was cut and tied into sheaves by a machine and we had to ‘stook’ the corn up into bundles of six so that it would dry out in the sun, it was then collected and stored into ricks, ready for winter threshing. We did many jobs, including planting and picking spuds, market gardening, greenhouse work, milking cows and often mucking out the cowsheds, some girls were tractor drivers, some were rat catchers armed with poles and sticks and our Timber Corps felled trees. Some jobs were unpleasant, picking sprouts covered in ice and muck spreading — oh did we smell! Come wintertime we did the threshing on a steam driven engine, which operated the drum which extracted the corn. The straw was then baled and another rick was laid. On windy days the chaff made our eyes smart. I was often on a threshing team as gang leader. I served in Worcestershire, Warwickshire and finally in Lincolnshire. Hard work, yes, but it was a good life and I have many happy memories.

For several years our WLA chairman Jean Procter MBE organised national reunions at Birminghams’ Grand Hotel. To mark the 60 years D-Day anniversary she organised a last get-together at the Britannia Hotel, New Street, where we all met up on July 17th. Our membership has fallen due to age and many ladies have died, however those remaining have many happy memories which we will always treasure. Nobody had much in those days, food and clothing were rationed but us girls kept Great Britain fed.

Doreen Molloy

Land Army Chairman

Mrs E. M. Jean Proctor
150 Church Lane
Marple
Stockport
Chesire
SK6 7LA

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