Mary Bailey

General Information

First Name(s): Mary

Unmarried Surname: Bailey

Date of Birth: 26.4.1928

Place of Birth: Hulme, Manchester

Date joined WLA: 1949, in Manchester Lancashire

Date left: June 1950

Previous occupation: Mary worked as an usherette as teenager, she performed as a chorus line dancer at the Hippodrome and later worked in a munitions factory at Trafford Park, Manchester.

Reasons for joining: She and her colleagues wanted to get away from the Ammuntion factory. They saw a poster asking for WLA and applied.

Family’s reaction to joining: Mary’s parents were both deceased in 1939, she was living with family in overcrowded accommodation so it was a relief when she left to join the WLA. They were very supportive of her choice of work.

Reactions of local people: Most of the local people were very welcoming.

Treatment by farmers: Mary said most farmers were okay but they got the odd one who worked the girls hard and saved some grubby jobs for them to do.

Reasons for leaving: The war had finished and the WLA was winding up. All the girls were going home back to their old jobs.

Employment

Pre-work training: Local training at Home Farm, Dinefwr, Llandeilo

Employed by: Private farmer and County War Agricultural Committee

Worked on Dinefwr Estate and Local Farms, Llandeilo, Carmarthen. Worked on the Dinefwr Estate farms Llandeilo and ministry farms at nearby Boncath and Crosshands.

Type of work undertaken: Harvesting vegetable crops, potato picking and sorting, tractor driving, rat and mouse control, hedge cutting, mucking out byres and stables.

Work liked most and least: She liked harvest work when a lot of girls worked together, and driving a tractor in the summer. She hated sorting rotting or frosted potatoes in the winter and anything to do with rats.

Any accidents: Nothing serious, She said the odd tractor got away but we all laughed about it when we caught up with it.

Best and worst memories of time: Best memories were living with a bunch of girls from all walks of life. She said they all got on well for most of the time, enjoyed chatting about the different work the girls did when they got back in the evening. Enjoyed singing and dancing at the pub and drill hall. At weekends girls from distant towns had to stay local.

Opportunities to meet others: Mary said she attended several marches and group meetings at Swansea but couldn’t remember specific events.

Accommodation

Mary was posted to the WLA Hostel at Llandeilo, Carmarthen, Wales. The hostel was next to the White Hart Inn on Carmarthen Road on the west side of the town. The Forewoman at the time was Mrs Lewis.

Mary said she was friendly with all the girls but fondly remembers close friends Betty Burridge, sisters Dorothy and Olwyn Rees/Reece and Emma Lowther who was a maid at her wedding in 1952.

Life after the war

Did they return back to their pre-war occupation? Mary Bailey became engaged to an RAF airman, Arnold Hall, they met on the train while travelling on leave from Wales. They married in 1952 and moved to RAF Acklington near Morpeth. They had seven children.

What was their occupation after the war? Mary worked as a full time housewife after getting married.

Did they stay on the land? Mary carried out seasonal work whenever possible, potato strawberry and raspberry picking whenever possible.

Any outstanding events or achievements in WLA or in later life? Mary said that her work with the WLA gave her independence, confidence to travel the world and tackle anything that came her way.

Any other comments on time in the WLA: Mary said it had been the best time of her life. She loved the variety of work, she loved the friendship and free spirit of the girls she worked with and she even liked having the uniform, even if the shirts itch a bit. She was proud to do her bit. Nothing has been recorded elsewhere, a brief memory was posted in “The Wartime Memories” project.

Contributor Information

Name: Peter Hall

Relationship to Land Girl: Son