This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site you agree to accept cookies.
If you enjoy this siteplease consider making a donation.
Site Home
WW2 Home
Add Stories
WW2 Search
Library
Help & FAQs
WW2 Features
Airfields
Allied Army
Allied Air Forces
Allied Navy
Axis Forces
Home Front
Battles
Prisoners of War
Allied Ships
Women at War
Those Who Served
Day-by-Day
Library
The Great War
Submissions
Add Stories
Time Capsule
TWMP on Facebook
Childrens Bookshop
FAQ's
Help & FAQs
Glossary
Volunteering
Contact us
News
Bookshop
About
1206530Rita Irene Day
Women's Land Army
from:64 Priory Estate, South Elmsall, West Yorkshire
My late wife, Rita Irene Day nee Summerscales, was in private service with Mr & Mrs David Brown of David Brown Tractors later Aston Martin cars. At Meltenham Nr. Huddersfield.Rita decided that she would like to join the Women's Royal Naval Service but after talking this over with her Dad he suggested it would be better joining The Womens Land Army. Rita joined the WLA and was based at the hostel in Shortbank Road Skipton, North Yorkshire. She trained as a tractor driver and was involved in the ploughing of meadowlands to plant food production in our country's desperate need for food.
Rita was also involved in all types of agricultural work, harvesting, threshing, etc etc. At times this was a very dirty and heavy work, even long hours for the sum of one shilling an hour (now 5p). The normal hours per week were forty eight, plus two hours free for the Country. Many hours were expected according to demand on harvesting, etc. etc. From the week's wages of £2.8 deduction for food and accommodation at the hostel was twenty shillings (£1) leaving the sum of £1.8 to live of.
Living in the hostel with about forty other girls, they were a very happy lot when they had time to relax. I was serving in the Royal Air Force as a motor driver mechanic, and started a pen friendship with Rita. Later on a week end off duty I hitched hiked from my camp at Freckleton Lancashire to Skipton for our first date. This happened again and we fell in love.
A year later we were married on 15th July 1947. Rita later left the WLA and moved to my home City of Edinbugh in 1949 I was demobbed from the RAF and we settled down here.
Later a former Land Girl from Skipton started a annual reunion in various districts in the Yorkshire Dales. We attended as many as we could over the years, and after 60 years it was decided to finish, due to the decline in numbers. Later when the Armed forces veterans badge was issued, I thought the Land Girls were in need of recognition and started a campaign for a form of medal or some type of award. After 60 years a special WLA badge was issued at last. God bless the WLA/WTC.
Related Content:
Can you help us to add to our records?
The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them
Did you or your relatives live through the Second World War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial? Were you or your relative evacuated? Did an air raid affect your area?
If so please let us know.
Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice.
Celebrate your own Family History
Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Secomd World War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc.
Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.
The free section of the Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers. We have been helping people find out more about their relatives wartime experiences since 1999 by recording and preserving recollections, documents, photographs and small items.
The website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions.
If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running.
Hosted by:
Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV
- All Rights Reserved
We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites.