Birmingham reunion of Land Army girls

Mar 14 2009 by Jane Tyler, Birmingham Mail

Comrades in arms: Land girls during the Second World War

LAND Army girls caught up on 60 years’ worth of gossip when they had a massive reunion in Birmingham.

The women who kept the country running during World War Two met each other again for the first time since war ended during a reception at Birmingham Council House.

The Lord Mayor’s Parlour organised the event for the hundreds of local members of the Women’s Land Army and Women’s Timber Corps.

The organisations were formed to keep Britain supplied with food and timber during the war when the men were away fighting.

All the women at the reception had received badges from the Government for their contribution.

Lord Mayor Coun Chauhdry Rashid paid tribute to the women.

He said: “I am sure the work must have been hard and terribly demanding but when there’s war there’s a natural instinct to fight and contribute and that’s appreciated very much indeed.”

Among those at the reception was Barbara Vanhouse, aged 81, from Moseley, who went into the Land Army when she was 18 and worked on a dairy farm near Evesham.

Her job was looking after the cows.

“I had to make sure the cattle were clean and everything was kept spick and span,” she said.