Land Girls Lunching in the Harvest Fields
When remembering war and sacrifice thoughts often centre on those who were named on the cenotaphs proudly displayed in public squares. The men who went away to war and never came back are top of mind at this time of year as we remember and honour the fallen. But there were many more people whose lives were altered by wars. There were civilians who lost their lives and those who answered their countries' calls for assistance in the war effort. In Britain women were also called up for the services or to work on the land during the Second World War.
My mother was living in England at the outbreak of WWII and joined the Land Army at the age of 19, leaving the service at the age of 23. Did she stand out as a Canadian among all the English land girls? I never asked that or many other questions when I had the chance. From the information she let fall, I know those years left an indelible impression on her.
Unfortunately, my mother was not honoured during her lifetime for the role she served in the war effort. The Land Girls were eventually honoured for their service in 2008, a significant length of time after their war service and the culmination of decades of lobbying for recognition. A badge commemorating their time in the Land Army was given to the surviving members - recognition at last, but only for the few who survived into their 80s and 90s.
Sources:
“At
last, Land Girls honoured”, International Express, Tuesday July 29,
2008, p 4.
Ministry of Food: Women's Land Army: Index to Service
Records of the Second World War, 1939-1945. The National Archives, Kew, MAF 421
microform
“The women of the Second World War”, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/the-women-of-the-second-world-war
Image:
By
Mona Moore - http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/19465, Public
Domain,
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