大象传媒

55a - The Stratford upon Avon Society and Shakespeare Birthplace Trust

Transcription of an interview that took place on 11th July, 2005
Present:
Neville Usher
Mrs. Joan Copson

Neville Usher: I am with Mrs. Joan Copson of 15, Welsh Road, Southam, and today is the 11th of July 2005.
And this came about because of the chat we had when I came over to Age Concern, and you and you were saying you had quite an interesting civilian life in the war.

Joan Copson: Six years or seven. This is nothing to do with the war shall I say, that was going on all the time bombing and all this kind of thing. This is just a personal thing.
At 17 陆 I joined the WLA, Womens鈥� Land Army.

Neville Usher: Where were you born?

Joan Copson Lichfield. And spent some time in Oxford and from 15 (鈥榗os you left school then at 14) I mucked about, I couldn鈥檛 settle down, I couldn鈥檛 wait to join up and the Land Army would take you younger than the other forces.
So my first farm was at Piddington, this is between Arncote and Bicester, Arncote was a big arms depot for the army. And there were 3 of us land girls, we did most jobs, when we learned how to do them, but the one we liked most was delivering the village milk with Sam; we would do the jumping up and down and he would serve the ladies and we got to chat with them. We only got that once a week because with 3 of us, somebody had to stay and do the hard work.

Neville Usher: You delivered with a horse and cart of course?

Joan Copson: Oh yes of course with a horse and cart and the ladies came out with their jugs covered with their beaded things, and we served them and chatted and that, it was all very pleasant.
And then we seemed to get 鈥�, the food wasn鈥檛 that good there, we seemed to get an awful lot of fried bread and jam.

Neville Usher: Were you living in a hostel?

Joan Copson: No. We were living on the farm the three of us. So mum used to send us pork pies from Birmingham and we would sit in the bedroom and eat them and enjoy ourselves.
At the bottom field on the farm the train went by from Arncote to Bicester, I guess they were carrying weapons and goods for the army, and we could run down and wave to them, and if we wanted a lift they鈥檇 stop and take us into Bicester. So we would do that sometimes for an evening鈥檚 entertainment.
Now my younger sister Georgie, also joined the WLA, The Womens鈥� Land Army, and she lived on a farm at a village Blackthorne in Oxfordshire, not far from where we were, so we used to meet up at the weekends in Bicester, she鈥檇 come on her bike, and I don鈥檛 know I think we stopped the train I don鈥檛 know what we did but I always got there. And sometimes we would go to Oxford even, and we鈥檇 stay with a little lady for bed and breakfast, it was only about half a crown and she gave us a nice drink at night as well so that was fine. And then when we went to Oxford we could go to the town hall to the big dances and they were marvellous. I mean mostly the bands came from the Air Force or the Army but they were so smart, it was incredible to see them and to see them stand up in rotation to play their instruments. Do you know us girls used to swoon and scream just like teenagers have always done, it was marvellous, and that鈥檚 where I met my first love, but we won鈥檛 say much about that but he was a flyer and it was great.
After six months we all thought we鈥檇 had enough, and we applied to go to hostels and so I was transferred. These were usually big country houses that had been stripped of all their treasures and there was just bare boards and iron bedsteads for us you know. But we seemed to be very happy there, we could get a bath sometimes, we had some food it wasn鈥檛 that brilliant, but we were all together, all from different backgrounds and things. And we made great friends and usually there was about 30 or so in a hostel.

Neville Usher: It must have been a great culture shock to some of the girls.

Joan Copson: Oh it must have been to some that were really 鈥�, I mean I can remember one Peggie Appleton came, her father was something to do with racing at Epson. She was 鈥�, I was so friendly with her but she was such a laugh, she was really great. But you know as I say, we all came from different places, we went out in the morning with our little tin box with our bread and margarine in it or something. Somebody took tea and sugar wrapped in newspaper and we hoped that the farmer鈥檚 wife would make it for us, often she did, sometimes she didn鈥檛 so we didn鈥檛 get a drink all day, and that鈥檚 how it was.
And we did all the jobs, haymaking, harrowing, threshing (hard and dirty job), harvesting, potato picking, Brussels sprout picking (very cold). But anything the farmer needed us for. He would ring up the hostel and get the labour and we would go out.

Neville Usher: How did you go out, did you walk, or bikes, or 鈥�

Joan Copson No, no, that鈥檚 another story. We had a forewoman in most hostels, she would make out the list every night, you would look on the list to see where you were going and who you were with, and then she would drive out and she would drop people, and she had two or three drivers who would do the same, they would go out in the morning, they would drop at the farms they were going to, they would stay on the last farm and work all day, then they would start to pick up.
Now I had a friend Beryl, she used to drive a very big army truck and she would pick up the prisoners of war and take them; the Germans and Italians never mixed. And she always had a little Irishman always sat beside her, I think he was supposed to protect her in case there was any trouble. But that鈥檚 how we went, and then we came back at night you see, and we had our dinner which wasn鈥檛 very brilliant but there you go, and then we started to bath and enjoy ourselves you know, dancing and everything.
I told you the farmer would make us drinks, my sister鈥檚 farm she was on Mrs. Hodges I can remember her, she was very good to the land girls when we went there, she would make us beautiful hot drinks all with milk and everything.

I must mention the American ladies. I still haven鈥檛 found out what they were called, but if ever they saw us in the fields they all stopped, called us, and they would give us cigarettes, doughnuts, coffee, anything they had got they would give us.

Neville Usher: Were they military or what I wonder?

Joan Copson: They were the kind of equivalent to our NAAFI. They were just with these vans and they travelled.

Neville Usher: Looking after the American troops?

Joan Copson: Looking after the troops, but they never seemed to mind, they always seemed to have plenty to give to the Land Army if they passed by they were really good, they really made our day they were so generous to us.
The first hostel was at Stratton Alderley Hall, that is about 2 陆 miles from Bicester, it鈥檚 a big house. The owner was our warden, because she said the only way she would have us there was if she was the warden, so she kept an eye on us. She called us 鈥渉er girls鈥� and she was quite kind and she did try to educate us a bit, she used to get people in to give us talks about local government and all that but we weren鈥檛 really interested, but we used to go just to please her, keep her sweet like really.
My sister and I still met up in Bicester because that wasn鈥檛 far away, she worked very hard on her farm but she was paid very well and she was fed well and she had her own room - nothing like we had.

Neville Usher: How much money did you get?

Joan Copson: Ah, I was going to come to that. We got 拢1.30 a week, so that was 拢5 a month we were paid, but my sister got about, oh, 拢5 a week I think, she got so much more than us so of course when we met up in Bicester, she always insisted on paying, because she said I have got it Joan, let me pay. So we would decide which caf茅 we were going to, so in Bicester there were three cafes, there was the one that was always crowded with troops and all you could get was spam, chips and beans, bread and butter and a mug of tea, but I think that was about 1/6d, it was very little. But then there was the posh one, because Mary (it was called Mary鈥檚), she was married to a flying officer so she was elite in a way, and she ran her caf茅 with silver service, very nice, but you didn鈥檛 get much different, you got 鈥�, Georgina always had sardines on toast every time and I had beans on toast - you can tell the difference in us can鈥檛 you, and we had tea out of china cups and tiny cakes and that was half a crown. And then there was the little ladies鈥� caf茅 I call it, because that was the bus stop as well in the square and for 2 陆 d. you could get a buttered scone and a cup of tea, so if we were really in a hurry and we didn鈥檛 have much money, it was the little ladies caf茅 - there were two little ladies.

Neville Usher: Amazing when you think that鈥檚 the equivalent of 1p. now.

Joan Copson: One penny, and a buttered scone and a cup of tea.
When Georgina and I were paid at the end of the month, me 拢5 Georgina a lot, lot more, off we would go to Oxford as soon as we could and there was a little lady, I don鈥檛 know where it was but it was in the town, and we would go and get her to make
us a dress and it was always 鈥�, we always had the same, and I don鈥檛 know where the coupons came from, I mean it doesn鈥檛 matter now they won鈥檛 have me up, I think it was black market I know, and we always had a new dress, so you know that鈥檚 how it went.

Neville Usher: When you went to work on the farms, did you have any hostility from the men that were still there?

Joan Copson: Yes, one or two farms I can remember when we went we went and it belonged to the Huntley and Palmer family and the men just didn鈥檛 like us. And when it was threshing time, if we had to go on top of the rick which was an awful job, I don鈥檛 know if you know, they would throw the rats at us to frighten us! Looking back I realize how dangerous it was because the person that was standing feeding could have easily fallen in. But there were one or two farms but on the whole they weren鈥檛 too bad to us really. Perhaps they were thinking of their own wives or their own daughters.
Of course along with these dresses we had made, we all wore these 鈥渃ami knicks鈥�, I don鈥檛 know if you have heard of those, made out of parachute silk, very, very uncomfortable but we thought they were glamorous.
And then when I had done my six months there, I moved on to Glympton Park, that鈥檚 outside Woodstock; I think there鈥檚 an American millionaire lives there now. There isn鈥檛 a lot to say about that because it was so much off the beaten track that the landgirls didn鈥檛 really care for it, and so you know we were glad when our time was up and we could move on. You could apply you see and move on.

Neville Usher: What sort of work were you doing there, the same?

Joan Copson: No, no. Yes all the work was done the same, whatever was in season and they needed you for, but I must say that they did have a gang of what they called hedgers and ditchers that did work at certain times of the year, always the same girls went out, and they also had a gang of thatchers, the girls went out and did the thatching. And at one time, and I was in that gang once, we went out for the agricultural committee, and sprayed army huts with DDT of all things, and I don鈥檛 know really if it would have been allowed today.

Neville Usher: Probably not, possibly an infestation of some sort.

Joan Copson: Yes. We wore goggles and tied our hair up and everything else and we shut these army windows in these Nissan huts; and the only good thing about that was we had plenty of tea to drink from the canteen.
But anyway I moved on from Glympton and went to Woodstock; these were huts for the WLA. It wasn鈥檛 bad, we did the same work, most of the work was done at the big place, Blenheim Palace because they had a huge farming thing going on there they had so much land you see. And the highlight of that is when Henry Ford visited, something to do with tractors and he gave us all a pound, which was 鈥�, well it was an absolute fortune to get that on top of your wages. So what did we do? As soon as Georgie and I could, off we went, and got ourselves another dress from the lady in Oxford. But as I say it wasn鈥檛 bad there, but there was nothing exciting really about it, we just went to work, did our work, came home.

Neville Usher: Very tired I should think, especially at threshing time.

Joan Copson: Yes, but we always managed to wash and go out somewhere.

[continued in Part Two]

漏 Copyright of content contributed to this Archive rests with the author. Find out how you can use this.