Gwyneth Mary Jones (née Edwards)

General Information

First Name(s): Gwyneth Mary

Unmarried Surname: Edwards

Married Surname: Jones

Date of Birth:  25/04/1925

Place of Birth: Manchester

Date Joined WLA: c.1943

Pre-war occupation: Sent to Bury St Edmunds for domestic /housework training. She had previously worked in Tootal Broadhurst in Manchester after leaving school.

Reasons for joining: Mum had relations living in Deiniolen and they told her Vaynol Estate wanted land girls so she applied there and was billeted with her aunt and uncle in Deniolen. She joined because it was compulsory to do war work and she wanted to work in the countryside. No problems with her family-probably because they knew she was staying with relatives.

Worked with:

• Betty Butcher
• Megan Edwards
• Charlotte Fellowes
• Ida Bradshaw.

Mum and Megan remained friends until Megan passed away some years ago and last time I spoke to mum Charlotte is still alive and living in Bangor.

Best and work memories: She loved all aspects of her job except the poor wages!

Opportunities to meet other Land Girls: There were opportunities to meet the other land girls based on the Vaynol Estate and sometimes parties etc held for the girls in Caernarfon.

Employment

Vaynol Estate was between Bangor and Caernarfon and was owned by the Asheton family. At the time of the Second World War, its owner was Sir Michael Duff.

Mum worked felling trees on Jubilee Mountain Rhwlas(near Llanberis)

• Felling trees
• Planting replacements
• Making fencing
• Lorryloading

Accommodation

She lodged with her aunt and uncle at 99 Pentre Helen Deiniolen, Caernarfonshire (now Gwynedd)

Life after the war

After the war mum stayed on at Vaynol working in the office and in 1951 she married my father-who lived in Deiniolen. I was born December 1952 and we moved to Liverpool where dad managed a pharmacy.

Contributor Information

Name: Dorothy Hollingworth

Relationship to Land Girl: Daughter

Note: Though Gwyneth worked in the forests at Vaynol Estate, the photographs show her in a Land Girl uniform, as opposed to the uniform of the Women’s Timber Corps (which included the iconic beret). Gwyneth also has a WLA record card in the Imperial War Museum, hence why I have labelled Gwyneth as a Second World War Land Girl.