Lumberjills: Britain’s Forgotten Army

During the two world wars, it is well known that women all over the country entered factories, armed services and farms, filling gaps left by the exodus of men. What is less well known is that one of the vital services women filled during these tumultuous times was in forestry, forming the Women’s Timber Corps. Timber was a vital resource, imported into the UK in vast quantities, but wartime meant the country had to be selfsufficient - and without the men that usually took on the work. Without it, mining, shipbuilding and a whole host of other industries would grind to a halt. In stepped the Lumberjills: the government reluctantly recruited thousands of women to carry out this ‘man’s job’; they were responsible for felling and crosscutting trees by hand, operating sawmills, driving tractors and hauling timber trucks. But despite their irreplaceable role in the wars, their role has been downsized to a footnote in books on the much celebrated Women’s Land Army. Here researcher Joanna Foat weaves the fascinating hidden history of the Women’s Timber Corps with voices of the Lumberjills themselves to air their stories for the first time and finally give them the recognition they so sorely deserve. AUTHOR: Joanna Foat discovered the story of the Lumberjills while she was a PR consultant for the Forestry Commission. After four years’ research, travelling the country to meet over sixty Lumberjills, she discovered many of these women were upset they had received no recognition for their war work. She has worked with the Daily Mail, BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour and BBC TV, and also does talks on the subject. She lives in Surrey. 70 b/w images