A LOOKBACK reader has given a fascinating recollection of her time as a ‘lumberjill’ during the Second World War.
In 1940, Jean Lee from Southport became one of the 4,000 women who joined the Women’s Timber Corps and toiled on the Home Front to provide timber for the nation as the male workers went to war.
Often referred to as ‘the forgotten army’, they worked tirelessly in the forests felling, sawing timber, driving trucks and tractors and working with horses.
At 19, Jean was sent to forestry school for a month in Gloucestershire and was then based in the Welsh Marches in Herefordshire and Radnorshire throughout the war until 1945.
“It was hard work and long hours – we worked 12 hour shifts a day,” said Jean, who was a foreman in charge of 40 people.
“And of course it was work that was traditionally done by men, so it was a challenge.
“Not only did we have to learn how to drive tractors, but we had to learn how to fix them if they broke.”
The work was done in all kinds of weather.
“I remember the cold winters of the war, when the roads were blocked by snow, but the work had to be done,” said Jean.
“And we often had to walk or cycle several miles to and from work when petrol reserves ran low.”
The lumberjills wore the same uniform as the Land Girls, except for a green beret with a wooden tree badge to show the difference.
Jean, now 86, is amazed it was just last year that the British Government recognised the contributions of the Timber Corps and the Land Army to the war effort, by offering commemorative badges to their former members.
But despite the time it has taken, Jean said the greater reward was the friendships she made and the laughs she had.
She said: “I’m expecting my badge in July, which will be nice.
“But the real reward was that it taught me how to get on with different people.
“There were plenty of dances and parties and I made some good friends.
“There was a great spirit of all mucking in together, a ‘get on with it’ attitude.
Jean added: “It would be lovely to speak to anyone from the local area who was in the Women’s Land Army or the Women’s Timber Corps. I’m sure we’d have a lot in common.”
Wallasey-born Jean, who moved to Southport with her family during the Blitz, has been a member of Southport Soroptimists since 1965.
To contact Jean call 01704-514561.
For more information about the badge available to those who served in the Women’s Land Army and Women’s Timber Corps call 08459-335577 or email: firstname.lastname@example.org