Animal farming

A Land Girl looking after pigs as part of training, probably at Cannington Farm, England, 1940 Source: IWM D199
A Land Girl looking after pigs as part of training, probably at Cannington Farm, Somerset, England, 1940
Source: IWM D199

During the war, Land Girls spent a large part of their time looking after different farm animals.

Pigs were a valuable source of food for war-time Britain. Some Land Girls were responsible for their welfare, from birth to slaughter. Typical jobs surrounding the farming of pigs included:-

  • The mixing of ingredients for their food
  • Helping with the birth of piglets
  • Keeping records of the sows and each of their litters
  • Separating the different breeds. This was important because different pig breeds behave differently – and in some cases badly, if multiple breeds were mixed together.

In many cases Land Girls had to feed motherless lambs and sheer sheep. Land girls often grew attached to their animals and were sometimes upset when sending them to slaughter – and having them served up on their plate as the Sunday roast!

Lambing Women's Land Army Collage
Click on the above collage to be taken to the ‘March Farming Activity of the Month’, which provides details on each image.