THE BATTLE FOR WHEAT

In January 1942 the Government declared that women would be drafted into war work, and huge numbers continued opting for the open-air life. By June the WLA numbered 40,000 individuals, a year later this had grown to a staggering 87,000, by which time women were joining up at a rate of 4000 a month.

Targets

Food production targets for 1943 meant that 600,000 more acres were to be dedicated to growing wheat and an additional one million acres of grassland to be ploughed up. While this was underway, land reclamation in estuaries and alongside rivers gained momentum, all of which generated a need for even more people. Because of this, it was estimated that 100,000 Land Girls would be needed, and they almost reached that target, but in September 1943 all recruitment into both the WLA and The Women’s Timber Corps (WTC) was stopped. The government had banned further enrolment to force more women into other less popular types of war work in factories, shipyards and munitions. Just as the Land Girls were proving their worth and farmers and