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Detachments of Pioneers were detailed to work on farms during the summer months. This was a real bonus. It was hard work, long hours but lovely to have the sun on your back and of course, a pint or two or more at the end of the day.

Helping with haymaking and bringing in the harvest was a real revelation to a townie like me. Some of the smells of the farm I found quite revolting, but the aroma from haymaking was so intoxicating. I could imagine people becoming addicted to the powerful properties. Often, I would steel away with a book and lay in a hayrick for several hours. This could be a dangerous pastime. Several times, I became sleepy and woke up to find myself almost overcome by the fumes.

Working on the farms set me thinking about the farming industry for the first time. Farming was an exempt category from military service. The UK just had to be self supporting in the supply of adequate foodstuffs. We couldn’t afford to be reliant on the import of food from abroad. German U-Boats and Battleships were a consistent threat and we couldn’t afford to be held to ransom.

The Government ordered a massive programme of food production. Lord Woolton, a giant in the retail trade was appointed as our first Food Minister, with a seat in the War Cabinet. This decision catapulted farming into one of the elite industries on the home front. This resulted in many thousands of women joining the Land Army, who viewed the prospect as a pleasant alternative to factory work. It has to be said that the farmers played up this option to their own advantage. And so it came to pass that thousands of young, sometimes immature women found themselves in strange surroundings, very uncomfortable billets, enduring bleak weather conditions. Some farmers were kind and tried to create a homely atmosphere. Others were indifferent and ruthless in their exploitation of these hard working army girls. The truth is the industry and farmers in particular were not equipped to handle the vast influx of additional workers. With no command structure or supervising inspectorate, the girls were often at the mercy of unscrupulous farmers. My own wife stayed with several other girls in a large farm in the Cotswolds. The owners made their position quite clear — most of the premises were out of bounds. This would have been acceptable, provided the girls’ accommodation was reasonable. But it was not. Bleak, cold and over-crowded, not a bit like the homes they had left to ‘serve their country’. Meals were delayed in the evening to ensure the girls worked until dusk arrived. The inside toilets were unavailable and the girls had to use the outdoor toilet at all times. In the pitch dark, this entailed a hazardous journey picking their way through and around various pieces of farming equipment in all kinds of weather. Stories abounded of similar cases. And always there was the threat that they could leave the Land Army and go and work in a factory. Of course, where they were several girls on a farm, they could ‘pack up’ and go the nearest town for shopping and entertainment or take park in village activities. The girls also joined together in fighting for their rights. Some farmers were so mean-minded with regard to giving their them time off or leave to which they were entitled. Urgent work which could not be delayed had to come first. No doubt official reports of the Women’s Land Army painted a glowing picture of their achievements and work. I doubt whether they would be any reference to the exploitation of some of the Land Army girls and the wealth generated for the farmer by this exploitation. Even in those days, presentation was everything.

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