Former Land Army girl from Birkenhead receives Badge of Honour

Aug 13 2008 by Carrie Catterall, Birkenhead News

Former Land Army girl from Birkenhead receives Badge of Honour

A FORMER Land Army girl from Birkenhead is one of the last of 30,000 proud women to receive her Badge Of Honour for her war efforts.

Some 80,000 women like Ellen Lane, 84, worked in fields across the country from dawn till dusk, milking cows, digging ditches, sowing seeds and harvesting crops to supply the nation with food while the men were fighting during World War II.

She was called to the West Midlands and Cumberland when she 18 to join the land girls and she worked for eight years in the fields and forests felling trees.

The great grandmother said: “They were wonderful years - don’t get me wrong it was hard work but we also had fun.

“Once the war was over though, all our hard work seemed to go unrecognised and we went back home without so much as a thank you.

“When I heard Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, announce that surviving members of the Women’s Land Army and Women’s Timber Corps would be presented with a specially designed badge of honour commemorating their service, I applied for mine immediately.

“I think most people have actually got theirs now but if there’s anybody out there who hasn’t then I think they should apply because it’s very important and well deserved.”

After the war Ellen lived with her three children and husband John Lane in Birkenhead.

She worked for Cammell Laird and Lever Brothers until she retired.

A spokesman for DEFRA said: “We expected to receive 20,000 applications for the badge but this summer we exceeded that by 10,000.

“Most people must have applied by now but if anybody hasn’t they should call DEFRA on 020 7238 6000.”