大象传媒

JOYCE TOWLER (nee Young)
WOMEN鈥橲 LAND ARMY

Joyce was brought up in Sunderland, then Newcastle. Her Dad worked on the railways and she had two sisters. At 14 she went to the 鈥楧ole School鈥� at Shotley Bridge to train for domestic service. Though trained in baking, she ended up making uniforms for 16s. 0d. a week and remembers there being 28 buttons to sew on a pair of trousers.

I volunteered in December and was called up to Consett on 14 February 1942. Mr Wellam came from Houghall for six volunteers for nursery work at Merrybent, Low Coniscliffe. We left in an air raid, some with him in one car and some with Lady Starmer, the Welfare Officer, and we were taken to 鈥楥raiglea鈥� hostel in Uplands Road in Darlington. Here I shared a bedroom with Joan Collinson who has been a friend every since (see P. ). I remember the lounge being 鈥榰nadulterated鈥� luxury having a red carpet, thought there were bare boards elsewhere. There were no showers, but two baths, one upstairs and one down and sometimes we would get in two at a time to save water. We would also sleep two to a bed when it was very cold, so we could have two lots of bedding on top. At these times water could be running down the walls. We were allowed boyfriends until 9.30 pm. The first year I was in the hostel, John Polworth from the 大象传媒, came to do a programme about the different forces and how they were coping. They broadcast us having Christmas lunch ~ we only went through the motions, as there was no meal until 6pm, when the crew stayed and ate with us.

At first I travelled by trolley bus to Edinburgh Drive, then walked to the nurserv, then I used to ride an ex Post Office bike with a cross bar, which took 20 minutes. There were 56 very long greenhouses growing tomatoes. There was one man and three girls to six greenhouses. The men stoked the boilers to heat the greenhouses. All the soil had to be steamed to sterilise it and we also would shovel it onto a sieve and the stones had to go in a barrow and be tipped out. Some of the men workers were 鈥榮avage鈥� and wanted to get the women down, but it just made us more determined ~ someone put a frog in a girl鈥檚 pocket; they would ask us to go for a bucket of steam and some gullible girls would go; and they would also asked for the 鈥榯artan鈥� hosepipe. We got blisters on our hands that burst and were bleeding and one of the men said 鈥楾hose are the only medals you鈥檒l get in this War鈥� ~ sadly, the Land Army girls didn鈥檛 receive a war medal.

We had to deal with bags of lime which had split and I was sneezing and wheezing so instead I was told to go in the propagating greenhouses, watering little plants, which was warm but boring. When the plants were moved, the men did double digging ~ a layer of muck, then one of soil. We had to care for the thousands of plants, removing side shoots. The plants were trained on a wire to go up to the top of the greenhouse and then we had to climb up to collect the tomatoes and we were humping steps around. We tied an old sack around our necks and put them in and I feel that鈥檚 why I have a bad neck now. There was a packaging shed and local woman with children would pack them into cardboard boxes. They were graded ~ 鈥榩inks鈥� were big, 鈥榩ink and white鈥� were average and the mishapes 鈥榖lue and white鈥� and 鈥榖lue鈥� were sold to cafes to make soup. The nursery belonged to the Co-op and their vans distributed them.

One group of girls had the job of rat catching. They put poison down and went to collect the dead ones. They didn鈥檛 like the term 鈥楻at Catchers鈥� and preferred 鈥楻odent Operators鈥�.

When we had free time, we would go to The Mayor鈥檚 Canteen in Skinnergate for a cup of tea and a chat with all the forces. Sometimes we weren鈥檛 allowed in, and at other times we were, but couldn鈥檛 have the nice cakes. We used to go to the Majestic Cinema where an organ came up out of the floor. We were all singing at the front one day and the organist came over and said 鈥榳ho鈥檚 the singer?鈥�. It was me and I was asked to go one Sunday morning for an audition and was told 鈥業 want to book you for a week鈥�. The boss said he would let me have an hour off a night, unpaid, and I ended up singing twice a night on stage, in between the films. I remember one night when a man climbed on stage and shouted 鈥楧own with Churchill, down with the King鈥�. He had escaped from Winterton Hospital and six soldiers removed him and I said 鈥楬ow do I follow that鈥�!.

Two weeks later I was at a dance at The Masonic Hall when Harry Parker鈥檚 band was playing and he asked me to sing with his band and I was with him for four years. I would sing on a Saturday night or when it fitted in with work ~ when it was what we called from 鈥榗an鈥檛, to can鈥檛 ~ can鈥檛 see in the morning, until can鈥檛 see at night鈥�! I would sing songs like 鈥淲e鈥檒l meet again鈥�, 鈥淪ilver Wings in the Moonlight鈥� and 鈥淗ow Sweet your Are鈥�. There were five or six in the band, or sometimes it was a full band of 12 or 13. I got paid 10s. a time and never wanted for a dress, as all the girls at the hostel had bridesmaid dresses I could use.

On VE Day we went to the nursery but were told we could go home and have the day off. On VJ Day I remember jiving on the roof of a shelter in Darlington market square and an army band playing.

Edith, my friend, had a boyfriend who was a pilot stationed at Middleton St. George. The pilots would take off and circle round over the nursery until they all got in the air, then do a 鈥榳ings鈥� roll鈥�. I can remember one time when her boyfriend was putting the gramophone on and Edith and I were dancing ~ it was 鈥楾he song of the rose鈥� with the words 鈥榞ather me, all though my slender stem you sever, you know I cannot live forever, so take me while you may鈥� ~ I could never sing the song after the night he didn鈥檛 return!

Joyce met her husband after the war and moved with him to York, Hereford, then Stockton where he worked in the Parks Department. She worked in Rembrant dressers after bringing up her family. She retired to Barnard Castle and has been known for her singing with Connie Sinclair and Stan Evans.

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