Unsung heroes

 

                                                                       Information for knitters during WWII

In 2008, after more than 50 years of campaigning, the British government at last officially recognized the members of the Women's Land Army and the Women's Timber Corps for their contributions to the war effort. A badge was issued in recognition of their services. But there was a catch, the women had to still be alive to receive the award. Many had died between the time of their service and the government's official recognition.

I can remember my aunt being upset as that meant my mother wouldn't be recognized even though her time in the Land Army was one of the defining experiences of her life. Was it there that she received the injury that required her to have skin grafts on the back of her hands? Why didn't I ask when I had the chance?

Actually knowing that she was a Land Girl was a step in the right direction because that's the thing with non-military war service; it's hard to know what you should be looking for unless there is a whisper of what they got up to during the war period. I don't know if either of my grandmothers volunteered for any wartime duties. That's also the case for my uncle's wives. Perhaps they didn't take on an actual volunteer job but took on extra tasks such as knitting for the troops. But there is no way to know unless a family story was handed down.

There were a variety of tasks in which those left at home could take part. For example, the Home Guard performed many harrowing tasks to help keep those at home safe. A trawl of information about WWII records shows that it is possible to access limited records for the Home Guard, the service which provided local defense. Generally the personnel were men who were too old or young for the regular forces. But I have not found a database of the names of the people involved in that service. According to the blog post whose link is given below, it might be possible to find minimal information on your ancestor's time in the Home Guard if the record survives but there is a cost involved that doesn't guarantee that they will find anything for the person you are looking for. So finding out what your ancestor did during the war is not an easy task.

Sources:

https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/search-british-war-records-ww2/

International Express, Tuesday July 29, 2008, "At last, Land Girls honoured" 

Image:

By Storye book - Photo of object in my possession. Linda Spashett Own work, CC BY 3.0,  https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11832744