Logo for the Government Office for Yorkshire and The Humber Sheffield Peace Gardens at night
Home
News
About Us
Publications
Contact Us
A-Z Index
Help
[ Events Diary ] [ What's New on the Site ] [ News Archive ]
Home > News > 1,700 land girls in Yorkshire and the Humber receive badge of honour for war efforts

1,700 land girls in Yorkshire and the Humber receive badge of honour for war efforts

Published: Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:58:22

Over 1,700 former members of the Women's Land Army and Timber Corps from Yorkshire and the Humber will receive a special badge of honour this summer in recognition of their efforts to provide for the nation during World War II.

Fifty Land Girls from across the country, including five from Yorkshire, 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.

Hilda Gibson from Crosland Moor, Huddersfield, is among the Land Girls from the Yorkshire and Humber region attending today's ceremony. The 83-year-old served with the Women's Land Army between 1944 and 1946, working on farms in Lincolnshire and East Anglia.


  Text Only  |  Print View
  
    
  Advanced Search
  Feedback on this page
  Go to another region
Go to another region
  Go to National homepage

WAI AAA conformance logo, link opens in a new window