Tea party held in honour of county's land girls

Organised by the Newbury and District Agricultural Society, 13 land girls were in attendance, among them Betty Hall from Wash Water, Eileen Hannington from Burghfield Village, June Abbott and Pam Perry from Lambourn, June Thompson from Newbury, Norma Wellman from Thatcham and Meg Stone (pictured, with show chairwoman Ali Brown) from Compton.
Around 100,000 land girls took to Britain’s farms during the two World Wars, and those from Berkshire, Oxfordshire and north Hampshire will have a starring role at this years’ Royal County of Berkshire Show in September.
Following an appeal from the show’s organisers, more than 30 former land girls got in touch to tell of their memories and experiences, and those who were able travelled to meet for the first time at the event on Sunday, held at the home of show president Sally Stockings, near Wallingford.
In an address to the former land girls she said: “You changed things for women in agriculture, and for that we will be eternally grateful.”
The chairwoman of the Berkshire Show, Ali Brown, added: “It is only in the past few years that the nation has given proper recognition to the women’s land army from both world wars in growing food at a time when men were fighting.
“As the modern face of farming in Berkshire, we were keen to those who are still alive and make a bit of a fuss of them.”
Tickets for the show are now on sale at www.berkshireshow.co.uk