Women's Land Army
Ranked #11,261 in Culture & Society, #224,151 overall
What was it?
The Women's Land Army was a British organisation pulled together during the First and Second World Wars to support agriculture and food production back home while the troops battled out on the front lines. The women were, and still are, commonly referred to as "Land Girls", an affectionate term for the hard-working women who proved themselves to be just as strong and determined as the men they were replacing.
In the United States, the name Women's Land Army was also applied to the organisation formerly known as Woman's Land Army of America.
In the United States, the name Women's Land Army was also applied to the organisation formerly known as Woman's Land Army of America.
Videos about the Women's Land Army
Places to Visit
Want to learn more about the Land Girls, but prefer to do it in person? Check out the following places next time you're in the area:
- Women's Land Army Society, in Cheshire, UK
- The Womens Land Army Museum, in Dover, UK
- Women's Land Army exhibition to open at Gressenhall in Norfolk, UK
My Land Girl Years, 1939-1948
by Veronica Rattray
"We were a lively and energetic bunch of girls from all over Lancashire, and while some of us had a farming background, the majority did not... We were to get on well together."
From 1939 to 1948, Veronica Rattray worked on farms in Lancashire as a land girl, and she has faithfully recorded these crucial years of her life in this revealing memoir.
The war years - a period of hardship for people in a nation under threat - was a time, for these land girls, of effort, self-sacrifice and hard work for low wages. They got on with their tasks, milking cows, herding sheep in the Pennines, and tending the huge shire horses that worked on the farms, and they got on well with each other.
Veronica's reward was to make new friends and to meet Queen Elizabeth in London, a moment she treasured until her death in the spring of 2009. Here are her recollections of a happier time, when people had fewer choices and made the best of what they had.
Find out more about this historic memoir by Veronica Rattray.
From 1939 to 1948, Veronica Rattray worked on farms in Lancashire as a land girl, and she has faithfully recorded these crucial years of her life in this revealing memoir.
The war years - a period of hardship for people in a nation under threat - was a time, for these land girls, of effort, self-sacrifice and hard work for low wages. They got on with their tasks, milking cows, herding sheep in the Pennines, and tending the huge shire horses that worked on the farms, and they got on well with each other.
Veronica's reward was to make new friends and to meet Queen Elizabeth in London, a moment she treasured until her death in the spring of 2009. Here are her recollections of a happier time, when people had fewer choices and made the best of what they had.
Find out more about this historic memoir by Veronica Rattray.
My Land Girl Years: 1939-1948
Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 02/13/2012)
Women's Land Army Resources
The Women's Land Army, and Land Girls everywhere, are mentioned in various articles available online. Read on to find out more about these women.
- My Land Girl Years, 1939-1948, Veronica Rattray's memoirs of her time in the Women's Land Army
- Wartime Land Girls awarded for their work 60 years on
- BBC's The Women's Land Army in Britain
- Women's Land Army Image Library at The Museum of English Rural Life
- World War II Survivors: The Women's Land Army and Timber Corps
- The Forgotten Army
- Women at War: The role of women at work during World War II
- Women's Land Army Facebook Page
- The Land Girls: An excellent historical-fiction 1998 British film production by director David Leland
- Women's Land Army Amazon.ca Listmania listing of books
- Land Girls, a programme by BBC One in the UK
- Women Under Fire in World War Two, BBC History in-depth
- Land Girls receive WWII honours, BBC News
- Women's History Timeline, BBC Radio 4
- How to apply for the badge of recognition from Her Majesty the queen for service in the Women's Land Army and the Women's Timber Corps
- Guide to Researching Women's Land Army documents
- Womens Land Army and Timber Corps in Bures, UK
- Lilies on the Land
- The Land Army
- How the Women's Land Army Fed America
- Women's Land Army Honoured in Chelmsford
- St. Barbe Museum Hosts The Women's Land Army - A Portrait
- Kathleen Maud Bailey in the Land Army
- Australian Women's Land Army
- Bedfordshire Women's Land Army
- Corsetra's Women's Land Army Breeches
- The National Archives: Women's Land Army
Your stories
Are you related to anyone who was a Land Girl, or do you know one now? Tell us your story, and spread the word about what these brave, proactive and strong women did for their countries during the wars.
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Peter Mills pemills@shaw.ca
Jul 19, 2011 @ 12:30 pm | delete
- First British Land Army Women to sign on in 1915.
Any ideas on how I can find the name of the Agricultural College my mother attended in 1915.
She was very proud of being the very first to sign on as a Land Army Women.
I thought it was "Moulton College"
Her name was "Olive Janet Sharp"
Thanks in advance for any ideas.
Peter Mills (son)
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Land Girls Books and Movies
by tinuviel
tinuviel
My name is Christina, and I'm the granddaughter of Veronica Rattray (wed Vera Ormerod), author of My Land Girl Years, 1939-1948, a memoir.
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