WW2 Land Girl: Joycelyn Betty Theobald (née Mumford)
General Information
First Name(s): Joycelyn Betty
Unmarried Surname: Mumford
Married Surname: Theobald
Date of Birth: 22/6/1926
Place of Birth: West Ham, Canning Town
Date Joined WLA: 16/8/1943
Date Left WLA: 17/01/1948
WLA Number: 135722
Previous occupation: Shop Assistant
Reasons for joining: Not wanting to take side’s after parents separation.
Best and worst memories of time: Getting her own back on cheeky Italian prisoners of war. She would rev up the engine on the tractor to go faster when ploughing if the ground was hard. As the prisoners had to sit on the plough for extra weight, the plough would do its job at the correct depth.
Reasons for leaving: Pregnant and getting married.
Employment
Braxted Park, Great Braxted and also could have been Manifold Wick Farm, Rectory Road, Tolleshunt Knights, Essex.
Was living at Manifold Wick Cottages as a Tractor Driver when she got married.
General farm work and tractor driving
Accommodation
Littlewoods Billet near Braxted Park and Manifold Wick Cottages, Tolleshunt Knights.
Life after the war
Butter Maker and Domestic Cleaner. Later on just a Domestic Cleaner.
How did work in the WLA / WTC effect your/ their life? Became very good gardener.
Contributor Information
Name: Alan Charles Theobald
Relationship to Land Girl: Son
