Frequently asked questions

This page shares some answers to frequently asked questions by website visitors. If this page doesn’t answer your question, then please get in touch with me, Cherish Watton, directly at info@womenslandarmy.co.uk. Please note that I run this website in my free time, alongside a full-time job, so there may be some delay in getting back to you.

How do I find out more about my female relative who was in the Women’s Land Army?

If you’d like to find out about your female relative who worked in the Women’s Land Army, your first step is to find her record card.

An example of a WLA record card.

Search the online database of index cards

In September 2022, Ancestry, in partnership with The National Archives, digitised the record cards of Land Girls who worked in the Second World War. You can now browse the database here. You can read a blog about the record cards on The National Archives’ blog.

If your female relative worked in Scotland, you’ll need to get in touch with the National Records Office in Edinburgh. The catalogue reference for the Scottish WLA record cards can be seen here.

Interpret the card

If you are able to find a record card, then this page gives some information on how to interpret it, as well as the information you can expect to find on a card. Record cards do not give information on the individual farms where Land Girls worked. There is no central list of farms where Land Girls worked during the Second World War.

Add your question to the messageboard

I’m very happy to add requests for more information on specific Land Girls to the messageboard of my site, encouraging people to respond with information. I also share this on my corresponding Facebook and Twitter pages.

If you’d like me to do this, please e-mail Cherish Watton at info@womenslandarmy.co.uk.

Please include as much information as possible on your female relative; first name, maiden surname, married surname, date of birth, places worked, and any photographs.

Contact local archives and/or history societies

It might also be worth asking local history and archive societies if they have any networks they might be able to distribute your research enquiry around. They may be familiar with local activities carried out by Land Girls in a specific area.

Read this article

Stuart Antrobus, WLA historian and author of ‘We Wouldn’t Have Missed it for the World: the Women’s Land Army in Bedfordshire 1939-1950’, has helpfully written an article on the different sources of information available to those researching the work of the Women’s Land Army. You can read Stuart’s article, originally in the Local History Magazine, here.

How do I request the WLA Veterans Badge?

You could apply to Defra for the WLA badge if you are the spouse or family member of a deceased veteran, but only if they died after 6 December 2007 (when the badge was issued).

However, applications for the WLA and WTC veterans badge have been closed since 31 December 2019. No further information has been issued on when the application will be re-opened.