Numero oggetto
2007/55
Descrizione
This dark green armband is part of the uniform of the Women's Land Army. It belonged to Barbara Whitaker, who joined the WLA in 1939 at the age of 16. Barbara worked at Manor Farm, in Southam, Gloucestershire, and also spent her evenings as an ARP 'Fire Watcher' and collecting money for the 'Penny a Week Red Cross Fund'. She left the WLA when it disbanded, and received the gold armband from the Queen in person. This dark green armband with a red line at the top and bottom, has a crown motif, 'WLA' and two diamond shapes in red stitching, plus three triangles stitched on. This armband represents 3 years and six months service.
Descrizione fisica
1 armband: material
<DIV STYLE="text-align:Justify;font-family:Georgia;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;font-size:16;color:#000000;"><P><SPAN><SPAN><P>Women's Land Army Armband</P><P>These armbands formed part of the uniform for the Women's Land Army. They were a way of recognising the commitment and achievement showed by the members. Each diamond on the armband represents 1 year of service. Members were also awarded triangular badges which they would sew onto their armbands. Each triangle represented 6 months of satisfactory service.</P><P>2007/55; 2007/54; 96/76/1; 96/78/1-10</P></SPAN></SPAN></P></DIV>
Storico archivio
Letter, J. H. M. Whitaker to W. Phillips, 29 August 2007 – ‘Barbara Whitaker was born June 19th 1923… When war was imminent in 1939 she was keen to leave school and join the W.L.A. at just 16 years of age. // There was a W.L.A. hostel in our village of Southam Nr Cheltenham Glos. at an old house called the Pigeon House (also known as the Priory) // I believe she was taken into the Land Army at a very young age because she was a farmer’s daughter and was already experienced in most farm work. It could have been her age which caused her to live at home with the family and not at the hostel very near by. // … Barbara worked for Mr Tom Brassington at Manor Farm Southam. The farm was rented from Barbara’s grandfather Tom Whitaker. A mixed farm of about 480 acres with a mainly shorthorn with a few Guernsey milking herd, pigs, poultry, potatoes and cereals. She milked by hand starting at 5.30 am (getting up at 5.00 am to walk to work, from the Old School House to Manor Farm) finishing work at 5.30 p.m. except during haymaking and harvesting when 10.00 p.m. was quite usual to finish the days work. She had one half day per week (working 6 ½ days a week) with one week holiday per year, always in October. I believe her pay was 10 shillings (50p.) a week for 48 hours (£26 per year) with overtime about the 48 hours but I do not recall a figure probably ‘time and a half’. // … The farm had 6 or 8 heavy draft horses and a milk float pony, and a cob. All the milk was bottled and delivered over a wide area consisting of many scattered houses as well as streets. Barbara was involved in the milking, bottling, washing up, steam sterilising of churns bottles etc. Mucked out milking sheds, fed calves, cows, bulls, chickens, geese. Cut hay from ricks with a hay knife and carried it to the livestock, often by hand. Chopped mangles, ground dredge corn in a hammer mill belt driven, and mixed feed for stock. The farm had one Fordson tractor with spade lugs, started on petrol and turned over to paraffin. Later another tractor was purchased. Most work was done on horses. Barbara was mostly involved with horse work but also on occasions drove the tractor. The farm had some 160 acres of hill grounds, to the right of the road B4632 on the plan enclosed. These fields were mainly used for sheep and young beef stock. Barbara was also sent to check up on these stock on horse-back. Winter threshing of ricks of what and other cereals took days with threshing drum, tractor, for the power, and other kid for binding and saving the straw. Hired from Birts of Prestpury. All the staff were required for this work. // … Cider making was carried on by the Pockett family in the cider barn (shown on the plan) It was an evening pursuit which involved young boys and girls volunteers picking up pears and apples shaken from the tall trees. Pay was fresh fruit juice. Or less fresh if you could wangle it. // In spite of the long hours of work Barbara did her stints as an ARP ‘Fire Watcher’ at night. On one occasion when the sirens had wailed their warning before dark she saw a plane very low banking toward the village, German black crosses clearly visible on its wings. She thought it was on fire, but it was flashes from its guns, the village was being machine-gunned. As it passed by at roof-top height she could see the pilot’s face. It banked away keeping low towards Cheltenham. She and her mother both had shaky knees after this experience. // Another wartime experience was being sent out in the early morning winter darkness to find a missing cow that had not come in with the others at milking time. In the half-light she discovered in the field a bomb crater 30 ft across and 20 ft deep with enormous ‘boulders’ of blue clay heaved out over the field. The missing cow was found cowering far away from the crater and still shaken. It was amazing no cow was killed just one in shock! At 17 Barbara was shocked too by the sight of such a crater. Position of crater shown at the bottom of the plan just into the field called Ploughed Trinlass. It had been a noisy night of bombing in the area of Cheltenham. // As you will see from the enclosed copy of the letter from Mrs Clementine Churchill Barbara also raised money for war aids. In this case for the Russians. She also went on Friday evenings every week, winter dark and cold or Summer more pleasant but late in the evening after work in the hay field, round the village collecting for the ‘Penny a Week Red Cross Fund.’ // As you will see from the enclosed she joined the RSPCA in 1937 at age 14 and was always a supported, and greatly concerned for animal welfare. I think the field called ‘Cruelty to Animals Field’ was her own name for it. I know all the other field names but not heard this one before I saw the plan. It was a small fenced area to catch livestock more easily for veterinary purposes. // She often recalled walking a young Shorthorn bull from the railway station in Cheltenham to the farm, over 3 miles. She was amused at the reactions of people in the town when the saw she was leading a bull by his nose ring. They hid in shop doorways, or crossed over the road or turned and walked away in the opposite direction. She certainly had no fear of bulls and looked after the two kept on the farm. // You will see from the record she was one of the first to join the WLA and left when it was disbanded. Thus the Gold Arm Band presented by the Queen in person.’
Data
1939 - 1939
Nome oggetto
Materiale
Tecnica
