Lumberjills: Britain's Forgotten Army

by Joanna Foat

Overview

During the two world wars, it is well known that women all over the country entered factories, armed services and farms, filling gaps left by the exodus of men. What is less well known is that one of the vital services women filled during these tumultuous times was in forestry, forming the Women's Timber Corps. Timber was a vital resource, imported into the UK in vast quantities, but wartime meant the country had to be self-sufficient - and without the men that usually took on the work. Without it, mining, shipbuilding and a whole host of other industries would grind to a halt. In stepped the Lumberjills: the government reluctantly recruited thousands of women to carry out this 'man's job'; they were responsible for felling and crosscutting trees by hand, operating sawmills, driving tractors and hauling timber trucks. But despite their irreplaceable role in the wars, their role has been downsized to a footnote in books on the much celebrated Women's Land Army.Here researcher Joanna Foat weaves the fascinating hidden history of the Women's Timber Corps with voices of the Lumberjills themselves to air their stories for the first time and finally give them the recognition they so sorely deserve.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780750990905
Publisher:	The History Press
Publication date:	07/01/2019
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

JOANNA FOAT discovered the story of the Lumberjills while she was a PR consultant for the Forestry Commission. After four years' research, travelling the country to meet over sixty Lumberjills, she discovered many of these women were upset they had received no recognition for their war work. She has worked with the Daily Mail, BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour and BBC TV, and also does talks on the subject. She lives in Surrey.

Table of Contents

Foreword 7

Acknowledgements 9

Introduction 14

1 Women Didn't Wear the Trousers 19

2 Domestic Servants, Shop Assistants and Hairdressers 24

3 Promise of 'A Healthy, Happy Job' 30

4 Green Beret, Tacketty Boots and Special Issue Undies 40

5 It Felt Like Prison on Training Camp 45

6 She Fells with Ease 10-Ton Trees 57

7 Danger, Dust and Noise in Sawmills 64

8 Heave Ho, Haulage, Tractors and Transport 69

9 Notebook, Measuring Tape and Mathematics 95

10 Bonfires, Charcoal Burning and Planting 108

11 Thirty-Two Shillings a Week or Less 118

12 Freezing Cold Camps and Nowhere to Stay 123

13 How We Survived All Day on Jam Sandwiches, I'll Never Know 136

14 Prejudice: The Female 'Forestry Handicap' 144

15 A Nomadic Life Through All Seasons 158

16 Lifelong Friendship, Love and Romance 185

17 Three-Quarters Off Sick for a Month 205

18 Praise and Jubilation at the End of the War 217

19 We Hate to Think We're Forgotten 233

20 First World War: Pioneering Women in Forestry 245

Timeline 253

Notes 261

Bibliography 266

Index 268