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| Women's Land Army, England, WW2 |
My photo this week is one I purchased several years ago. It was in an album of family snapshots taken in England in the 1940s and some of a family living near Perth in Western Australia. As there were no surnames in the album I have no idea who the people were but I have uploaded them to my Flickr page so maybe someone one day will recognise a friend or relative.
There were about ten interesting photos of Women's Land Army activities in the album, including this one. The women appear to be wearing the land army uniform and would have been employed in using the horses to prepare the fields. As the same women are in several of the photos I assume the land army was organised so that the same women worked together over time.
The smiles seem to indicate genuine enjoyment, the women having fun together on a summer's day and enjoying each other's company as well as the hard work. Hopefully the horses were happy on their food break as well.
To see more working horses I suggest you trot on over to Sepia Saturday's webpage and follow the blog links.
Love the feed bags -- and everybody does look cheerful, indeed!
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming the Women's Land Army in England was somewhat akin to the U.S.'s "Rosie the Riveter" movement - eg: women taking over traditional men's jobs when the men had to go off to war? The Women's Land Army tended the fields to produce the food the country would need - yes?
ReplyDeleteWhat a great photo...I love the composition. It's a wonder horses could breathe with those bags on. I guess they don't have allergies or asthma. Wouldn't one of these be perfect on a fast-growing teenager?
ReplyDeleteThat is the first time I have heard of the Woman's Land Army. The woman all look like they are enjoying themselves.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photo, Lorraine, thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteHappy workers indeed! I think my father -in law's sister Jean was in the Land Army here.
ReplyDeleteThat's a fun photo to study. I hope their descendants find your Flickr page.
ReplyDeleteA lovely happy photograph taken in difficult times. I am sure the reality of life for the Land Girls was not quite so sunny as it appears here. Here in Britain many of us will have had ancestors, such as my husband's great aunt, who served in the Land Army.
ReplyDeleteA charming photo; the girls look so happy and relaxed. It would be nice if someone spotted a family member - I don’t think anyone willl recognise the horses with those nosebags on though :)
ReplyDeleteLuckily they weren't on their way to a coal mine.
ReplyDeleteMy mother made me a pair of overalls like those to wear when holidaying on my grandfather;s farm. I wonder if she was inspired by the land girls.
ReplyDeleteA super photo that must have delighted the women when they saw it. The horses maybe not so much.
ReplyDeleteGreat smiles for the camera! There was a PBS series a couple of years ago about fictional Land Army folks, wish I could remember what it was called. I did enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteVery nice, happy group!
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