Eileen Harper (née Single)

“In 1941, two years after World War Two started, Eileen joined the Women’s Land Army in Luton, Bedfordshire.

Her training began on a farm in Northampton, where for the first time in her life, she milked a cow. Eileen was then sent to another farm in Bedfordshire, where she was put in charge of a dairy herd. 

Up at 6 o’clock every morning in all weathers – in winter walking through snow, barely able to see the cows, she brought the cows in for milking.

One of Eileen’s other responsibilities was to deliver milk to the nearby village.  This was done by driving a pony and trap. If the pony got fed up waiting while Eileen stopped for a chat or a cup of tea, he went home on his own, and Eileen had to walk home alone. She was also taught how to repair thatched roofs by an old Bedfordshire thatcher.

Eileen met her future husband in Wardown Park and became engaged to Harry in 1941 just before he was sent abroad to the Middle East. They wrote to each other for four years and were married by special licence in Luton in 1945.

We would love to know which farms she worked at.”

If you have any information, please contact Maureen, Eileen’s daughter maureen.mckay@outlook.com