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This story was submitted to the Peoples War site by Anne Wareing on behalf of Lilian Bentham and has been added to the site with her permission…

Lilian came to Clapham at the age of 15. She worked as a mother’s help and did absolutely everything. The mother and children were evacuees and the father was working in Whitehall.

At 17 she joined the land army, working on a farm, digging turnips, milking and doing various farm work. She recalls wearing corduroy knee breeches in the winter and dungarees in summer. She also remembers silk nightdresses made out of parachute silk

In the summer they had double summertime and worked until it was dark, which was very late sometimes until 12am. She remembers always being hungry and ready for her lunch. Food of course was rationed, but the farms had their own eggs and a quite bit of black marketing went on there.

Things were still on the ration when Lilian got married in 1949

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