Fifty Land Girls from across the country, including six from the South West region, have also been invited to represent their former colleagues at a ceremony at Downing Street today, where they will meet the Prime Minister and be presented with their badges of honour by Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Hilary Benn announced in December 2007 that the Land Girls would receive formal recognition for the first time. At its peak in 1943 there were 80,000 Land Girls working on the land from dawn till dusk to provide food for the nation during the war. Over 30,000 women will receive a badge of honour this summer. 2,859 Land Girls in the South West region will receive a badge of honour. This includes:
- 485 in Cornwall
- 706 in Devon
- 516 in Dorset
- 293 in Gloucestershire
- 534 in Somerset
- 325 in Wiltshire
