Florence Fremantle (nee Crouch)

The Honorary Florence Fremantle belonged to a Buckinghamshire family with long standing army connections. Her father, Lord Cottesloe, was Colonel of the Bucks Battalion Territorial Army. Her brother Halford died in battle in 1915 and this had a profound effect on the 17-year-old girl.

His loss served to galvanise her determination to serve the war effort and as soon as the Board of Agriculture organised the Women’s Land Army she joined.

As one of 23,000 across the country who first signed up to fill the gaps left by men who had gone to war, Florence felt she was honouring Halford’s memory, as well as helping food production for her country.

She was sent to Hertfordshire where she wrote poems and songs and began sketching and painting. She was asked to write a girl’s Land Army song to encourage national recruitment, and one of her paintings focused on the place where her beloved brother was buried.

Information from article on Duty and Service: Bucks Lives in the Great War