Land Girls celebrated

David O'Leary - David O'Leary • Published 13 Mar 2009 12:30 Comments 1 Comment

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TWEEDDALE"S 14 former Land Girls reunited for tea and cake this week - 64 years after their efforts saw Britain through World War II.

Recently a significant, albeit late, thank you was made to the ladies of the Women"s Land Army and Timber Corps, in the form of a commemorative badge.

As more and more young men were called to active service from the farms and forests so these gallant ladies took their places, thus earning themselves a place in history.

In December 2007, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announced that the efforts of the surviving members of the Women"s Land Army and the Women"s Timber Corps would be formally recognized with the presentation of a specially designed commemorative badge.

This badge of honour was awarded in July 2008 to over 30,000 former Land Girls.

On Tuesday the Fourteen remaining members of the very large number of Land Girls from Tweeddale who took over the duties on the farms and in the forests between 1940 and 1945, were entertained to a Reunion Tea Party in the Tontine Hotel.

Hosted by Lord Lieutenant of Tweeddale Captain David Younger the party saw the ladies treated to a cake baked using a wartime recipe, a film clip from the Imperial War Museum, and of course, the opportunity to swap memories and tales of their efforts during the war.

There was also a surprise in store for former Timber Corps Lassie, Dot Walker.

Dot, 83, was unlucky enough to lose her commemorative badge on Rememberance Day however she was delighted to receive a replacement in front of her old comrades.

She said: 'It"s come as a real surprise to get a new badge. I"m delighted to have gotten it back because it meant so much to me.

'I made some really good friends in the Timber Corps and enjoyed the time immensely.'

Captain Younger said: 'It is a great honour for me to be here to commemorate these ladies. These women played a vital role during the war as the backbone of the nation and are most deserving of the recognition they receive.

Scottish Borders Council Older People"s Champion, Willie Archibald said: 'It"s fantastic that these ladies are being honoured. It"s wonderful to see after all these years these women still united together which is a tribute to their stoicism, determination and energy.

'Their contribution was unmatcheable in terms of feeding the population of Britain when it needed it most.'

With their uniform of green ties and jumpers and brown felt slouch hats, Land Girls worked from dawn to dusk each day, milking cows, digging ditches, sowing seeds and harvesting crops to supply the nation with food.

Meanwhile the Women"s Timber Corps, also known as the 'Lumber Jills" or 'Timber Lassies" worked tirelessly in the forests to provide wood for the war effort.

Margaret Chisholm, 88, of Peebles, joined the Land Girls in 1941 with her friend Peggy Scott, after first working in a munitions factory In Ayrshire.

She said: 'First we worked on McGilvray"s fruit farm picking strawberries and potatoes. Then we were moved over to Richardson"s farm where we tended the cattle. It was hard work and long hours from 7am-6pm in all seasons.

'We had a great time there was fantastic camararderie between all us girls. It"s a real pity though that so many of the girls are not here to have received their honour because without us the country would have collapsed.'

Inez Albert, 83, from Peebles, was also a member of the Land Girls.

Originally from London, she worked on farms in Newport Pagnell and Ivor in Buckinghamshire.

She said: ' We"d be picked up at 8am and driven to different farms to work for the day, planting and picking fruit and vegetables. We"d have to work until 11pm during the harvesting season, threshing the wheat, which was real hard work.

'I remember once walking through a field and the ground opened up before me and these three airmen jumped out. They had built a little house below ground level and it was rather lovely inside, I wouldn"t have minded living in it!"

Inez joined the Land Girls in 1941 at only 16, two years below the required age limit.

She said: 'I lied about my age to join because all my brothers and sisters were in the armed services. However, I wanted to be different to them so that"s why I joined the Land Army.

'At the time I was also suffering from rheumatic fever and the doctor told me it would toughen me up.'

Agnes Robertson McDonald, 80, originally from Stranraer but now living in Peebles was a former Timber Lassie.

She said: 'We were based in a camp at Strathyre and each day we had to cycle to the side of Loch Lubnaig. We"d then have to row across all before we"d even started working.

'Me and my friend Sheila would then work each end of a bandsaw for the day cutting wood.

'There was a camp at the end of the Loch that housed Italian prisoners and conscientious objectors but we"d never get to see much of them of course.'

Agnes" effort during the war is praiseworthy indeed but her family"s heroics are even more significant.

Her father Herbert served in both WWI and WWII, in WWII he was present at both Dunkirk and the Normandy Landings.

Her brother David fought as an artilleryman at battles as ferocious as El Alamein and Anzio, while her mother, Ann, kept up the family tradition working in a munitions factory.

This article appeared in Peeblesshire News 13 Mar 09

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linda crane
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Oct 23, 21:11
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my mother who died 1989 served with the land army she told me many of the stories and i would like to know if anyone remembered her ivy vernon

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