Land Girls

With fathers, husbands and sons away in the British Forces many women were left to hold the fort. For many women this was their first experience of work and for the 80,000 women who joined the Women’s Land Army to work on farms, the adjustment from urban to rural life would have been an additional challenge.

Young women form all walks of life volunteered to serve their country. The days were long, the work was hard, living conditions were basic and wages were low. Some women lived alone with farming families, some in hostels with other Land Girls working on different farms as needed. The arrival of the Americans provided a welcome distraction which had a lasting impact on the land girls stationed in the local area.

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