Land Girl - The Happiest Years of My Early Life

A Memoir of Service in the Women's Land Army 1939-46

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Joining Up – The Women’s Land Army

February 1, 2014 By LG-Admin 2 Comments

Issued the WLA Uniform

The uniforms were well designed and practical and also flattered my figure. I felt very smart in it, and with my trim build it suited me. It comprised a trilby like hat made of fur felt crowned with a WLA badge, khaki shirt and tie, a beautiful green wool sweater, twill riding breeches, leggings and stout brown shoes with a very smart tailored three quarter length top coat. I soon found the regulation breeches did not suit me, and as fast as I could had tailored ones made, a great improvement. This uniform was for “best”, on the job I was to wear less glamorous attire. I quickly learnt the benefits of practical working clothes, heavy coveralls and boots or clogs. Even in these, however, there was always the opportunity for some feminine touch. A nice head scarf was one thing I found that served that purpose, but was practical too, it kept straw, hay, insects and many other things out of my hair.

Farming – Learning at Lancashire College of Agriculture

Now all I had to do was to learn something about farming, and be assigned a farm to work on. I was impatient to get started on that as soon as I could. Our farming eduction was carried out at the long established and well regarded Lancashire College of Agriculture at Hutton, about six miles to the west of Preston. Here apart from the experimental work, courses of training in sound agricultural methods of all aspects of farming were taught to pupils intending to make a career in farming. The College’s mandate was now broadened to include training WLA members. My delight with this assignment was heightened by the Institute’s distance from Liverpool.

Famous Land Girl Picture, used a lot when we finally received the recognition due us. I am pictured at the training college at Hutton in 1939.

I am the girl in the front row, fourth from left, Veronica is in the row behind, third from left.
The enthusiasm and energy of us all just jumps off the page. As does the background deserve study. That was the kind of farming we were heading to. This photograph first appeared in the local press and since has featured in several books about the WLA and its wartime work. I don’t recall who took it.

Pages: 1 2 3 4

Filed Under: Chapter 2 - Joining Up - The Women's Land Army, Part One Tagged With: join up, Land Girls, Medical Exam, Uniform, Women's Land Army

Comments

  1. Julie Summers says

    May 19, 2014 at 4:39 AM

    What a wonderful and happy story of your life as a land girl. I am more than delighted to have read it and I hope you have had much popular feedback. Congratulations, especially, that you were presented to the Queen. What a proud moment that must have been. Julie

    Reply
    • LandGirls-Admin says

      June 6, 2014 at 8:41 AM

      Hello Julie,

      Happy to hear from you and thank you for your kind comments. They were wonderful years for me and I look back on them with much pleasure and pride. And yes, being presented to the Queen was a great honour.

      Regards,

      Jeanne.

      Reply

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About Me

Proud member of the Women's Land Army, Jeanne Flann, nee Harlow, here. Happily retired in Utah after a full and satisfying life that got off to a great start working as a Land Girl in the Trough of Bowland, you can read more about me.

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Book Outline

  • Introduction
  • Part One
    • Chapter 1 – Prologue, the Sullivans, the Harlows and My Childhood
    • Chapter 2 – Joining Up – The Women’s Land Army
    • Chapter 3 – Lancashire College of Agriculture at Hutton
  • Part Two
    • Chapter 4 – Lower Greenbank Farm Over Wyresdale
    • Chapter 5 – Holt Farm Gateacre – Tragedy & Deliverance
    • Chapter 6 – Marshaw, The Trough of Bowland Fells
  • Part Three
    • Chapter 7 – Epilogue
    • Chapter 8 – Recognition at Last
  • Appendix

All Sections

  • Finished for Now – Land Girls.Me a Memoir
  • Welcome to Land Girls
  • Appendix – The Bowland Fells
  • Recognition at Last For Land Girls
  • Epilogue – Life After Being a Land Girl in the WLA
  • Last and Best Assignment as a Land Girl: Marshaw – The Trough of Bowland
  • Second Assignment as a Land Girl: Holt Hall Farm, Liverpool – Tragedy and Deliverance
  • First Assignment as a Land Girl: Lower Greenbank Farm, Over Wyresdale

Land Girls Memoirs and Other Memoirs

In the two step process of creating a paper memoir and now converting it into a web based one, it is my hope that my memoir, Land Girl - The Happiest Years of Early Childhood joins other Land Girl memoirs as a member of that genre, and contributes to it.

My husband has his own memoir through the same process as mine, paper memoir first, then website GunnerFlann.com. He too hopes his memoir contributes to the National Service Memoirs genre.

Please let us know if you agree contact me.

Recent Posts From the Blog

  • Finished for Now – Land Girls.Me a Memoir
  • Welcome to Land Girls
  • Appendix – The Bowland Fells

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