Timber Jills and Land Girls
The Women’s Timber Corps (WTC) was set up in 1942. The ‘Lumberjills’ felled trees, made pit props (necessary for the mines), sharpened saws, tended horses for hauling logs, and prepared wood for telegraph poles, road blocks and crosses for soldiers’ graves.
The Women’s Land Army (WLA) was established during World War I. During the first six months of World War II, over 30,000 men previously working in agriculture had joined the forces. So the WLA was re-formed and by 1943 there were 80,000 volunteers across the UK working on the land.
The ‘Land Girls’ wore green jerseys, brown breeches and brown hats. They had to do some hefty labour: ploughing (often horse-drawn), digging up potatoes, driving tractors, harvesting crops, tending livestock and killing rats were all part of their 50-hour working week. It was their task to make sure the country had enough food to survive.
The work of the WLA and WTC was not recognised officially until the 21st century, when the surviving few received a badge of honour from the Government.
-
Let Rosalind Elder tell you about her time as a Lumberjill with this BBC archive of World War Two Memories. -
A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs scheme acknowledging surviving members of Women's Land Army and Women's Timber Corps for their tremendous effort during the war. -
As the Timber Corps was a section of the Women's Land Army, there was no official recognition of its efforts during the war. Discover more about the “Forgotten Corps” and how a sculpture was finally created to give a lasting memorial to the women of the WTC. -
%20-%20%27The%20Forgotten%20Army%27_tcm4-567779.jpg "Logo and image for the Women's Land Army section of the Home sweet home front website.")
Find out what the Women's Land Army had to wear, see photos of them hard at work and learn the official Women's Land Army Song as they kept up the Home Front. -
Understand more about why women joined the Land Army and how their contribution help to win the war. -
By 1944, there were 80,000 women volunteers working on the land. Read real Land Girl stories and discover more about the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) in Scotland. -
Discover what life was really like as a Timber Jill with Margaret Lynch. Read about her daily routine, the back breaking work they did and the camaraderie that developed from working on the land during wartime.