Working the land

A portrait of a member of the Women's Forestry Corps, part of the Women's Land Army, as she uses an axe to "mark for cross cuts". IWM Non-Commercial Licence © IWM (Q 30695)

Local agricultural committees had been set up in order to increase food production. There were still not enough people engaged in this work, and in January 1917, the British Board of Agriculture established a women’s branch. From this, in the March, the Women’s Land Army was created, training women and then putting them to work.

At the beginning of 1917, Germany had declared open warfare on British shipping, meaning the country needed to be ever more reliant on home grown produce.

Women doing this agricultural work faced prejudice from their male counterparts, however, they did begin to come around. In the Auckland Chronicle of 24 May 1917, one is quoted as saying he ‘saw a comely lass ploughing as straight a furrow as could any man’.

Members of the Women's Land Army operating a three-furrow plough with a tractor. IWM Non-Commercial Licence © IWM (Q 54602) 

The following week, an article appeared in the same paper, about the dairy and poultry farm school, set up for women by Eliza Maidment at Sherburn Hall. You can read the article here: http://www.durhamatwar.org.uk/material/743/

On 31 May 1918, an article appeared in the Auckland Chronicle about the progress of the Women’s Land Army, and some changes:

‘At the first meeting of the Durham Women War Agricultural Committee, under the new constitution, Lady Anne Lambton was elected president, Lady Boyne chairman, and Mrs HG Stobart vice-chairman. The Secretary (Mr JAL Robson) reported that during April, 873 girls and women were recruited for the land army, and over 200 had been passed by the selection committee. 

Mrs Frank Stobart pointed out that there were now 1115 women’s institutes in the county, and two more were likely to be established at Coxhoe and Shincliffe’.

The committee goes on to bring up an issue that they hope discharged soldiers can help with:

‘It was decided to request the Men’s Executive to take up the question of training discharged soldiers for mole catching’. 

The Women’s Land Army was disbanded in 1919, but was restarted in 1939 for the Second World War. You can read more about the Land Army here: http://www.womenslandarmy.co.uk/world-war-one/