Land Girls at Winacre Farm

In 1941, 60 acres of potatoes were ready to be picked at Winacre Farm in Lancashire. Traditionally the potatoes would be picked with the aid of seasonal travelling Irishmen, but they were no longer available because of the war.

Prompted by a letter received from the Agricultural Labour Board, John Sephton, tenant farmer at Winacre Farm, applied to the Women’s Land Army for potato pickers.

The Land Army secretary offered to provide 14 girls to stay at the farm provided each could have a single bed. John and Elizabeth combed the neighbourhood for beds and the girls duly arrived.

The Land Girls were from various backgrounds: office girls, shop workers, kennel maid and even a ladies maid, while others were straight from college.

The photos below come from an album, shared by Kathy Mills, whose grandparents, John and Elizabeth Sephton, lived on Winacre Farm.