To mark the first day of every month in 2018, we will be looking at a range of illustrations which Land Girls themselves drew and sent in for The Land Girl magazine. Not only were Land Girls and Lumber Jills working hard on the land and in the forests, but some also found the time to put pen to paper and draw!
In 1942, the front page of The Land Girl contained the following about the rotation of illustrations for The Land Girl covers:
New Departures from the front page of the April 1942 edition of The Land Girl.
Not only are these illustrations interesting to look at, but they are are useful for considering how Land Girls came to represent their experiences – sometimes humorously, sometimes seriously. As you can see from the selection of images below, some were simple sketches such as the one used for January 1942. Others were more detailed, as seen with the effective use of shading by Audrey Wakeford and Anthea Shelmerdine for January 1946 and 1947 respectively. These illustrations portray Land Girls undertaking several jobs such as feeding lambs, milking cows, delivering milk, clearing, and picking potatoes.
January 1942 by Miss Barbara Hey.
January 1943, by Miss J Salisbury (72819), Warwickshire.
January 1944 by Miss Audrey Wakeford (40839), Berkshire
January 1945 by E.Wright (73902), who won first prize in a WLA Handicrafts Exhibition in West Suffolk.
January 1946 by Audrey Wakeford (40839), Berkshire, whose work makes another appearance.
January 1947 by Anthea Shelmerdine (36469), Salop
