Florence Chapman (née Bonehill)

Florence Chapman (née Bonehill) in her WLA uniform.

General Information

First Name(s): Florence

Unmarried Surname: Bonehill

Married Surname: Chapman

Date of Birth: 15.1.1924

Place of Birth: Rotherham, South Yorkshire

Date joined WLA: 23.4.1942

Date left: 1946 (exact date unknown)

WLA number: 73649

Previous occupation: Dress making

Family’s reaction to joining: Mum signed forms for Florence to go. Dad didn’t want her to go.

Reasons for leaving: Got married to a Scottish soldier stationed nearby then got pregnant so had to leave.

Florence (far left) with fellow Land Girls and a male farm worker.

Employment

Employed by: Private farmer on Nackington Farm, Birchington-on-Sea, Canterbury, Kent.

Worked with Betty Foot (Birchington), Ruby Turner (Birchington), Ann Arnett (Birchington), G Layton, Carol Hayes, Joan Graham, Ann Whacker, and Daphne Fuller.

Type of work undertaken: Crop picking (carrots, beans), threshing, hop picking.

Work liked most and least: Hop picking

Any accidents: No accidents but one young lady had her leg ripped off in thresher when ‘larking about.

Opportunities to meet other Land Girls: Tea dances, local villages, hostels

Betty Foot and Ann Arnett in Birchington, Kent, 1944.
Ann Arnett in her WLA uniform, holding a cigarette.
G Layton, Carol Hayes, and Ann Whacker.
Joan Graham pictured in front of a tractor with male farm workers.
Land Girl Joan Graham in 1944.
Joan Graham and US soldier in 1943.
Land Girls at Court Mount, Birchington.
Ruby Turner, a fellow Land Girl at Birchington.
Irene Cotton.
Sheila and Daphne Fuller
Jean, Miss Stephens, and Betty Foot.

Accommodation

Court Mount, Birchington-on-Sea. Florence worked on many farms and lodge on farm but she also stayed in the Brenzett hostel.

Betty Foot driving a tractor.
Land Girls in the field.

Life after the war

Did they return back to their pre-war occupation? No.

What was their occupation after the war? Housewife then after children were older caterer.

Did they stay on the land? No.

How did work in the WLA affect their life? After an interview in May 2025 between myself (her niece) and a local historian my Aunt said it was the best four years of her life.

Any other comments on time in the WLA: Quote from Florence ‘It was the best four years of my life’ — and she’s had 101 of them so far, so that’s quite a statement!

Local historian, Richard Godley, and myself interviewed Aunty Flo on the 15th of May 2025. With her permission we recorded the interview. She also had a book of photographs dedicated to her time in the WLA, of which we took some photos.

Contributor Information

Name: Sandra Fretwell-Smith

Relationship to Land Girl: Niece

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