大象传媒

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The day I was called up to go in the Land Army there was panic in our house - I couldn't find my ration book! You couldn't go anywhere without your Ration Book so we had the whole family searching for it.

I was seventeen and living in Salcott when I was called up. I had to go to Coggleshall to sign on and the only way to get there was by bike - my Brother came with me. Then I had to go to Writtle to get my uniform.

The uniform wasn't very dainty. We had crduroy breeches, thick wollen socks, leather shoes and a nice brown wollen coat, and special hats and a green jersey. I was stationed in Rayleigh, near Southend - I was billeted with people in a bungalow in the village and each day we were collected and taken to work on farms around the village.

I didn't have to milk the cows and mainly worked in the fields and threshing machines - there were no combine harvesters in those days and when we gathered the bales of corn and piled them up, we put a flag on the top.

On the day that I particularly remember we were working near Southend sewage works. A plane came over and we thought we saw puffs of white smoke coming from it. As they got bigger we realised that they were Parachutes. We had no idea as to whether they were British or Germans. We watched as they tried to manipulate their 'chutes to avoid landing in the sewerage.

One got caught in a tree and we ran over to him. I was the first one there and he looked down at me and said "Hello Blondie" - they were Americans. We helped untangle his parachute and get him safely to the ground. A few words of thanks and he was off to the road where he was picked up by a jeep. It was the day in the War that I remember more than any other.

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