This is partly Peggy’s story but, as well, the story of the organisation to which she belonged. During the last two world wars fought in Europe men and women, but mostly men, from all walks of life joined the military services to assist in defeating the oppressive forces on the continent who threatened freedom.
By the end of the Great War almost one quarter of all British men had served in the armed forces. They were the first to join the battle but were followed quickly by others from countries around the world, most notably countries that would eventually form the British Commonwealth of Nations.
Conscription was part of the process starting in January 1916 (Military Service Act). There were categories of workers who were exempt from military service in World War I (WWI), of course: clergymen, farmers, doctors, teachers, conscientious objectors, and certain industrial workers such as coal miners, dock workers, train drivers and iron and steel workers.
Farm workers were not initially exempted from military service and they enlisted in large numbers. This led to significant problems in food production. Women could and did replace men in the urban areas – in factories, retail stores and service jobs. But on farms, special resources were needed to encourage and recruit women to take over agricultural positions.
The Women’s Land Army
The first formal program to find women to work on farms was established by the British Ministry of Agriculture, with input and assistance from the Women’s Farm and Garden Union. In 1916 a grant was given to establish a Women’s National Land Service Corps that would be focused on recruiting women for emergency agricultural work. By the end of the year, 2,000 women had volunteered their time and services.
In 1917 the Women’s Land Army (WLA) was launched. During the next two years, over 23,000 volunteers worked for the WLA (16,000 being the largest number employed at any one time), replacing many of the over 100,000 men from rural areas who had joined the military.
The WLA initially appealed to women in all walks of life through posters and rallies, tapping into the same military propaganda used to enlist soldiers and proclaiming ‘Women of England! Wake up and answer your country’s urgent call for help.’ They suggested that the British people could starve without assistance in the agriculture sector.
Women’s War Agricultural Committees (WWAC) were established in each county to promote the idea of women working on farms and find women to take on the jobs. Women from all walks of life and from
