Joan Tiddiman

This page shares the memories of Joan Tiddiman who worked as a Land Girl in Fordingbridge in Hampshire during the Second World War. She worked for Hale Nurseries in Wood Green. Many thanks to Joan’s daughters Josephine Hamilton and Christine Henderson for sharing her accounts.

“When I joined the Land Army, I was based at Hale Nurseries in Wood Green, these are some of my memories. The Nurseries was owned by Captain Philip H Dodgson and his foreman was called Mr Jackson and he lived over the Barn. We girls gave Mr Jackson a nickname calling him Mr Jacko, he had a heavy horse and I once gave it some dried bread and from then on, each time I was near the horse it would come trotting over to meet me.

I made some good friends amongst the Land Army girls including Lucy, Edna Stride (who did portraits in pencil), and Bubbles. I think it was Lucy who married the cowman and consequently was given the nickname Cowgirl. Sadly, we did not keep in touch, but I do have a photo which I have posted on the messages site.

I used to get up about 6am and start work in the greenhouse almost immediately. There was another greenhouse where the German prisoners of war worked, and when we girls had finished our work we used to say auf wiedersehen. The prisoners were hard working and friendly and always replied to our greetings. 

I worked in the greenhouses looking after the tomatoes and flowers. Sometimes we had painful fingers and nails and the Tomatoes also turned our hands black resulting in us having to take time to scrub them clean. One greenhouse was allowed for growing flowers also one field for daffodils, these flowers were then sent off for sale I think to Covent Garden, we also planted out Potatoes.

We girls stayed in a hostel I think there were about six to a dormitory. The hostel had a cook called Honey, I remember one day she cooked fish pie for supper and unfortunately it resulted in all of us getting food poisoning, it cost us two and sixpence each to bring the doctor in.  

For an extra one and sixpence a week we could have bacon each morning but although we all paid, we never saw the bacon we did however see the mama pig have piglets. 

There was a cat called Glamour, and I remember watching her have kittens, they were so cute. 

We had a half day off weekly and sometimes went into Fordingbridge. One day Honey decided to go for a bike ride and asked us to go with her but as I did not have a bike an old one was found for me to use. Unfortunately, as we set off down the hill I realised the brakes were not working and had to slow myself down with my feet, much to my horror and the amusement of the other girls.

On more than one occasion a couple of friends and I were feeling so hot we put our swimsuits on and leaving our clothes on the ground we then climbed the ladder and went swimming in the water tank. One day when we climbed back down someone had stolen my laced working shoes so I had to be issued with another pair. I never found out who had taken them. Altogether good memories during difficult times.”