Women's Land Army

Nancy Israel, Leroy Petersen, Pat Smith, Rene Cullen (top) - Kay Conner (Kneeling)

The Women's Land Army (WLA) recruited and trained women to work on farms left untended in England during World War II. When war broke out, it was necessary to grow more food at home and increase the amount of land in cultivation. With many male agricultural workers joining the armed forces, women were needed to provide a new rural workforce.

By 1941 more than 20,000 women had volunteered to serve. Hostels were set up to house land girls, by 1944 more than 22,000 women were living in hostels.

The Land Army women wore green jerseys, brown breeches and brown felt hats. They did a wide range of jobs from milking and general farm work to cutting down trees and working in sawmills as well as controlling pests such as rats.

The video below portrays Pat Fox as she describes her life and times in the WLA during World War II.

Pat Fox lived in Lubenham, Market Harborough, UK, and in 1944 met an American soldier named Leroy Petersen. He was an anti-aircraft machine gunner with the HQ-Battery, 319th Glider Field Artillery of the 82nd Airborne, stationed at Papillon Hall in Market Harborough.

Pat and Leroy became a couple and occasionally took photos with friends (see above photo) at the front gate of Papillon Hall and the Foxton Locks. Sadly, Leroy Petersen was killed in action during the D-Day glider landings on June 6, 1944.