大象传媒

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Bill Ross of the 鈥楢ction Desk 鈥� Sheffield鈥� Team on behalf of Mary Cooper, and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

Part Two is at:

A4431638

Oh Happy Days

By

Mary Cooper (nee Bell)

The year was 1942, everywhere was uneasy and we were already at war. Naturally, in the unease, we were wondering what would be happening from day to day. All able men and women were called upon to do their duty. We had a choice: army, navy, air force, land army or munitions. Even housewives with children were asked to help their country in various ways, one of which was to take in evacuees from London and other cities.

I elected to join the Land Army; first, I had a medical, then my uniform was posted to me, and I was told to report to Slough in Buckinghamshire. There was to be a team of us who were required to live in tents and do fruit picking. However, a last minute telegram arrived, instructing me to report to Oxford where I was to be met by a Land Army representative.

At Oxford station, I met the lady who was in charge of the Women鈥檚 Land Army. She informed me that I had to go to Waterferry Horticultural College, in a small village not far from Thame in Oxfordshire. She put me onto a coach and told the driver where to drop me off.

When I got off the bus, I felt like weeping. I was in the middle of nowhere; there were just trees and fields. I looked around and spotted a chimney smoking, so I walked towards it and there, amidst all the trees, was a bungalow. As you can imagine, it was quite a relief. A maid answered the door and I explained everything to her, and asked her if she knew where the cottage was. Suddenly, Arthur Askey was standing there. He said, 鈥淚鈥檓 sorry, but I鈥檓 on my way to London to do some recording, but our maid will take you to where you need to go.鈥� I was extremely grateful. I wonder if you remember Arthur Askey; his 鈥淏usy, Busy, Bee鈥� song that he used to sing. He was a great entertainer (Playmates). During my stay at the college, at weekends, we would see Arthur, his wife and daughter strolling though the grounds.

After the stint at college and having been trained to do all the jobs on a farm, plus market gardening, I was sent on my way to Oxford once more. There, I was met, along with another W.L.A. girl, by the agent and his wife. They took us by car to a little village called Swalcliffe, and showed us around a very large estate, where we were to be working. This was a very large house that had been given over to the Red Cross, by the owners, for the duration of the war. It was to be used for the benefit of wounded soldiers, R.A.F. and navy personnel. Our job was to cultivate the land and the garden, and to produce fruit and vegetables etc. for the wounded and convalescing people.

We were billeted with a farmer and his wife in the village; they were a couple of old miseries. All we got to eat was bread and jam and fatty old mutton. Being farmers, they had plenty of everything, but we never received any of what they had. We had been picking sprouts with frost on them, and our hands were blue with the cold all day. We would have welcomed a nice hot meal of some kind, but it never happened.

We did get a bit of social life however; we were invited once in a while, to a dance at the big house. Matron was very strict; the ladies had to sit at one side of the room and the lads at the other. We could dance with them, but then it was back to our places. There was the Village Hall, where the locals held dances and we could have a few laughs and make friends with them. I once won the Spot Waltz; my partner and I were given five Woodbines each, but as I didn鈥檛 smoke, he claimed them all.

Continued..........

Pr-BR

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