Timberjills - doing the work of lumberjacks

Tweet

You’ve heard of lumberjacks, I’m sure and you might have heard of the Women’s Land Army which helped keep Britain going during World Wars I and II. However, you may not have heard of the ‘Timberjills’; women who served in the Land Army Timber Corps during World War II. The Corps was formed in 1942 so that vital timber production could be continued despite so many men being called to serve in the military. Timber was needed for railways, mining and aircraft production, together with charcoal for gas mask filters. Over the period, up to 1,800 women aged 17-24 took on the challenge of felling trees by hand using axes and crosscut saws. They hauled timber with horses, tractors and timber trucks and operated sawmills. They were often faced with prejudice, were always on the move, were given very little pay and had to find their own accommodation wherever they were sent. Nowadays, 45% of the Forestry England workforce are female. On 3rd July this year, an exhibition will open at the New Forest Heritage Centre, Lyndhurst, in Hampshire, England, spotlighting the contribution these women made to the war effort. The exhibition runs till 17th August. There must be many similar enterprises that slip under the radar and don’t get the recognition they deserve. The photo is mine. Horses like these would have been used in forestry work.