大象传媒

"This story was submitted to the people's War site by CSV/大象传媒 Radio Nottingham on behalf of Ella MacLeod with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions".

I joined the W.L.A. in 1941 and on November 5th I joined 39 other girls at Nottingham Victoria Station, a chaperone took us to Bingham and we walked from the station to the hostel, I was the 3rd youngest (19) and it was my first time away from my family. The hostel was built in an orchard, a single-storey divided into 2, with bunkbeds which had your name and uniform upon it upon arrival except for footwear and these were issued, there was not a size 4 I was given 6's, so when I went home at the week-end I brought my own wellies! Miss Rushden was the warden and Miss Lockhart her deputy, they had their own rooms but there was a communal kitchen and leisure area and 2 baths.
The WARAG decided where we would work, the hours were 7.30am-5pm and we were given a bike to use. My partner was Clarice and we worked on several farms until I was sent to Papa Kirk's farm (200 acre), at Car-Colston, where only 1 girl was needed. I learn't to drive a tractor, plough fields with 'Colty' the shire horse, herd cows, dig ditches, plant potatoes, sugar-beet, mangles and brussels. Summer involved hay-making and corn threshing - waiting fot the threshing machine to visit. On Sunday's the farmers would wander round and compare their fields etc.
In the evenings we were sometimes invited to Watton Camp and RAF Langar, for dances and ENSA concerts. There was a village hop on Mondays, where we and the villagers danced to gramaphone records (wind up gramaphone played by Mr. Hitchcock the jeweller), curfew was at 10pm.
Each week we would pay 6d to buy a record for the hostel gramaphone, my name was pulled out and I chose 'You are my Sunshine'.
I left the W.L.A. in 1944 to marry a civillian. Betty Booth and Ada Janner (W.L.A. girls) were my bridesmaids. I remained in contact with Papa Kirk and his wife, when he died I was asked to drive the cart with the coffin with another farm worker over his fields to the church.

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