1945
English ‘land girls’ of the Women’s Land Army in Bedfordshire planning a campaign to combat the infestation of crops by Colorado beetles in 1948
Source: Stuart Antrobus. Courtesy of Bedfordshire Times, England.
May: 60,600 Land Girls working on the land. Land Girls encouraged to look out for the Colorado beetle, report and send specimens to the Ministry of Agriculture. Mrs F.C (Inez) Jenkins becomes Chief Administration Officer of the Women’s Land Army.
June: A senior Resettlement Officer, Ministry of Labour, had been touring hostels, giving talks on careers after war.
July: Minister of Agriculture informs Women’s Land Army county secretaries that the organisation will be needed ‘at least until the harvest of 1948’.
September: Ministry of Agriculture regretted that it was not possible to grant an early release from the Women’s Land Army, despite end of war, since it was vital for the harvest to be secured.
Bedfordshire land girls march past Princess Elizabeth down Bedford High Street on 14 February 1946 in a Victory parade. Source: Stuart Antrobus
1946
March: 30,000 new members needed as the same amount of wartime volunteers are demobilised.
8th June: Land Army marches in the Victory Parade, London.
August: 54,000 Land Girls working on the land. 750 Land Girls march through City of London to receive armlets from the Queen.
31st August: Women’s Timber Corps disbanded.
1947
January: Two weeks paid holiday per year announced for Land Girls.
February: ‘One More Furrow’: Minister of Agriculture sent a letter to every Land Girl encouraging them to continue working in the Land Army.
March: ‘The Land Girl‘ ceases publication, with the free newsletter ‘Land Army News’ as its replacement.
June: ‘Land Army News‘ first published (initially delayed because of a fuel crisis).
August: Proposed increase in minimum wage for agricultural workers, including a maximum board and lodging deduction to be fixed for Land Girls billeted by their employees (no longer any county by county variation). The Women’s Employment Federation suggested future careers for Land Girls.
16th December: ‘Party at the Palace’ given by Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. The couple were presented with a breakfast table of inlaid mahogany and clock (chosen by the Princess).
1948
26th January: Minister of Agriculture says that the Women’s Land Army would go on for a further two or three years. Land Army County Committees are dissolved.
1950 Disbandment Parade London
Photo source: Museum of English Rural Life, University of Reading (Ref. P FW PH2/R72/1) Courtesy of Stuart Antrobus
1950
30th November: The Women’s Land Army was disbanded.
References