The Women's Land Army (WLA)

Mary's Story

Mary in 1943

Mary originally worked in a large department store; as a lift girl, in the millinery department selling dresses, coats and gowns, and as a window dresser. In March 1943 she enrolled in the Timber Corps and was taught to use axes, crosscut saws, and circular saws for tree work in saw mills, but got thrown out through being under age and was told to re-enlist when old enough.
Mary then joined WLA in July 1943, her training at the 'Kingsmead Hostel', Roydon, Hertfordshire was minimal, and the job was learned as one went along, being 'farmed' out to various farms in the area.
As a member of the WLA Mary was given a wide range of jobs both inside and outside, including stoking the boilers for the greenhouses, humping coal, caring for tomatoes and cucumbers in temperatures well over 100^oC. Outside the work was no less varied, there was always the back breaking work in the fields of picking and bagging potatoes, planting cabbage or brussel sprouts, cutting them when ready in freezing temperatures and of course hoeing. In the summer harvesting, stooking sheaves, threshing and building haystacks. At all times of the year digging ditches, tree felling and rat and mole catching.

Mary was at Sewardstone Hall Farm for about 18 months doing 'Dairy' work, milking, mucking out, caring for calves, feeding calves, and looking after poultry. Mary recalls,

The two of us on Milking would be up at 4am. wash in cold water with jug and basin, no bathroom facilities, (there was an outside loo!) tea in a thermos saved from the night before, a hunk of bread and dripping before Milking, starting at 4.30.

At Sewardstone Hall there were five Land Girls all in one bedroom with three double beds.

Late one November evening in 1944, a V2 rocket landed just 100 yds off, to the rear of the main farm buildings, it took most of the roof of the farm house off and the dairy which was close by, demolished a large barn where the tractors were parked and taking out all the windows every where else, the crater was big enough to put two buses in.
A farm workers bungalow was close by the edge of the crater, damaged of course but thankfully no serious casualties.
The five LA girls got covered with glass and plaster but no one was hurt, in fact three had to be woke up having slept through the explosion!!
When I looked up to the ceiling, having been awakened by our 'foster mother', all I saw was stars and clouds and rafters!
Getting the cows in from the fields early morning. It was not an uncommon sight to see and hear V1's pop-popping in the sky as they passed over, it became rather scary when the motor stopped for one never knew where it would come down.

A Land Girl was paid Ł2.15s.0d (Ł2.75) for something like 60 hours a week plus, out of that they had to pay money for their accommodation, in Mary's case Ł1. 8s .0d (Ł1.40) a week.

Mary served in the WLA until February 1946. On her discharge she received no gratuity from the government, but was 'permitted' to keep her overcoat, one shirt and one pair of shoes. Everything else was returned to the Ministry of Supply and sold off by them as surplus. Today, the WLA armbands - which the 'Land Girls' wore with pride - can be bought for between Ł40 - Ł50.

Many of those who subscribed to the 'War on the Home Front' still feel badly let down by Winston Churchill.