Lumberjills: britain’s forgotten army
Recognition at last for the women of the Timber Corps
Author Joanna Foat Publisher The History Press Price £14.99 Released Out now
Wartime deeds are not always appreciated when the fighting is over. One such group to have suffered the fate of being almost forgotten was the World War II Women’s Timber Corps, whose members were sidelined in the aftermath of the Allied victory. Joanna Foat has set out to rectify this injustice through Lumberjills, the first book to explore in depth the war contribution of these British women.
Originating as a forestry division of the Land Army, the corps was to play a significant role in tackling the country’s timber crisis. Timber was essential for building ships, making telegraph poles and creating types of explosives.
Thousands of women set to work in forests around Britain (including Scotland, which had its own corps), felling trees, stripping bark and branches, operating sawmill machines and preparing material for transport.
They embarked on their new lives with a great deal of enthusiasm in the face of much prejudice. Many experienced hardships such as terrible living conditions, accidents and illnesses, but the women could also enjoy a wonderful sense of liberation thanks to their connection with nature and their newly strengthened bodies.
We would have liked to have seen greater precision in how the book was structured, and the passages on technique and process shortened in favour of additional material exploring the women’s personal experiences and the fluctuations in both the gender roles they occupied and the attitudes others held towards them.
But this does not take away from the fact that Lumberjills is a moving, painstakingly gathered work of oral history for which Foat should be applauded.