80th Anniversary of the Women’s Timber Corps
On this day, 80 years ago, the Women’s Timber Corps was formed.
To mark the event over on Twitter, I’ve shared a list of some of the different sources we can use to explore their incredible work, from photos to poems, interviews, to memoirs, film footage and more.
🌲Today marks the 80th Anniversary of the Women’s Timber Corps🌲
Women, known as Lumber Jills, worked in forests from 1942-1946, to help increase timber supplies for things such as telegraph poles, pit props in mines, & charcoal for explosives.
A 🧵 of research resources ⬇️
📖 First up, @jofoat’s excellent book, Lumberjills, published by @HistoryPress is a MUST read. 📖
The only definitive history of the WTC, both beautifully written and incredibly informative.
It’s your first stop for unearthing the history of this key wartime organisation.
🪓 If you want to whet your appetite before buying @jofoat’s book, then take a look at the WTC section of the website which looks at WHY their work was so critical, HOW they differed from the WLA, and crucially, WHAT their wartime work looked like.🪓
📸 Next up, photos of Lumber Jills are a FABULOUS research for researching their wartime work. 📸
Every month last year, I looked at a single photo of Lumber Jills, to see what it could tell us about their lives.
See a few here ⬇️
🗣The website also hosts a growing self-populated list of Second World War Lumber Jills, where women and their families share memories of forestry work.🗣
https://www.womenslandarmy.co.uk/lumber-jill-register/
If you want to add a former Lumber Jill to the list, then e-mail info@womenslandarmy.co.uk.
A particularly rich entry is one documenting the service of Joy Smith in #Gloucestershire.🌲
As well as some fab photos, her family shared some excellent interview clips where she reflects on joining the WTC, her training, uniform & work.
Listen here 🎧
Next up, we move to #Suffolk to take a look at the Soil Sisters project run by Nicky Reynolds & her team at @SuffolkArchives.
The project documents the work of the WTC & the WLA in #Suffolk.
Take a look at their exhibition on Suffolk’s Lumber Jills ⬇️
🎥 Looking for some rare film footage of Lumber Jills at work? 🎥
Then look no further than this interesting @BritishPathe footage playfully titled ‘Jolly Good Fellers’…. 🪓
Other books for your list
📚 Meet the Members (1946)
📚 Lumberjill: Her Story of Four Years in the WTC by Mavis Williams (1994)
📚 Timber!, edited by Uiga and John Robertson (1998)
📚 Lumber Jills by Alexandra Davis (2019)
And many WLA books contain good chapters on WTC.
And in terms of journal articles, then @DrEmmaVickers' excellent ‘The Forgotten Army of the Woods’: The Women’s Timber Corps during the Second World War is a MUST read ⬇️
And to end this 🧵, an evocative poem published in 'Meet the Members' called 'The Foresters' by J Melvin.
Originally tweeted by Women's Land Army (@WomensLandArmy) on April 13, 2022.
