大象传媒

When war began in 1939, Joan was in her early teens. She lived with her mother in a cottage in the grounds of a private residential hotel, midway between Beckenham and Bromley. The hotel belonged to her grandmother.

Joan said there were almost constant air raids but fortunately they had 鈥済ot away with it鈥� and so far both hotel and cottage had escaped.

Her mother worked as an air raid warden.

But tragedy struck the family in 1940. In January of that year, Joan鈥檚 brother died from meningitis and in December her mother was killed whilst she was on duty. Joan was devastated.

Shortly after that she signed up for the Land Army.

Joan had always felt at home working with animals so this was something she wanted to do.

She spent the next years working all over the country, learning how to farm. Although she could drive a tractor she preferred to work with horses.

Joan remembered she was looking after five Jersey cows on a farm near Tetbury in Gloucestershire on VE Day. She was working with another land girl called Margaret for a family called St George. T

he news came over the wireless, announced by Mr Churchill and Joan said she felt pleased the killing was to stop but for her it was a bittersweet victory.

She had entered the Land Army straight from school; she had no other training and no real home to return to.

Joan went to her room, shut the door and burst into tears.

A little while later, Margaret knocked at the door. Finding Joan in tears she comforted her saying she thought there鈥檇 be plenty of work for the land girls for some time to come.

Joan says: 鈥淥n the following day, VE Day - everyone was very light-hearted. Although everyone was celebrating all over the country work went on as usual on our farm, just as on hundreds of others鈥�.

Image: Land girls

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