The WLA was disbanded in 1919 but was revived again in June 1939 under the same name to organise women to replace workers called up to the military during the Second World War. Women were initially asked to volunteer to serve in the Land Army but, from December 1941, could also be conscripted into land work. At its peak in 1944, there were more than 80,000 women in the WLA.
The following residents of Loughborough became members of the Women’s Land Army in the Second World War. Most were employed in Leicestershire and Rutland but a few were sent elsewhere in the UK.
Mrs. Irene Norah Bollen WLA134020
Mrs. Irene Norah Bollen (née Mowbray) joined the WLA on 5th August 1943 and left on 3rd March 1944. She was born on 25th August 1919 and was the daughter of Frank Mowbray, a fish and chip dealer, and his wife Florence Mabel (née Mayes-Bailey). She was aged 23 when she joined. She lived at 167 Park Road, Loughborough, and her previous occupation was coil winder. In 1942 she married Frederick J. Bollen in Loughborough.
Miss Joan May Brooks WLA92776
Miss Joan May Brooks joined the WLA on 4th August 1942 and left on 3rd May 1946. She was born on 28th March 1920 and was the daughter of John Brooks, a joiner and builder, and his wife Florence (née Underhill). She was aged 21 when she joined. She lived at 57 Outwoods Drive, Loughborough, and her previous occupation was shop manageress. She married Clifford S. Garner in 1947.
Miss Edith Mary Buckley WLA45674
Miss Edith Mary Buckley (born Mary Edith Buckley) joined the WLA on 30th May 1941 and left on 30th September 1941. She was born in 1917 and was aged 24 when she joined. She was the daughter of Arthur Buckley, a butcher, and his wife Catherine and she lived at 264 Forest Road, Loughborough. Her previous occupation was hosiery linker.
Miss Vera Buckley WLA41648
Miss Vera Buckley joined the WLA on 10th April 1941 and left on 3rd September 1942. She was born in 1919 and was aged 22 when she joined. She was the daughter of Arthur Buckley, a butcher, and his wife Catherine and she lived at 264 Forest Road, Loughborough. Her previous occupation was hosiery machinist.
Miss Pearl Mary Gorse WLA63613
Miss Pearl Mary Gorse joined the WLA on 28th January 1942 and left on 3rd March 1944. She was born on 27th September 1919 and was aged 22 when she joined. She was the daughter of William Gorse and his wife Derwinn (née Glover) and she lived at 19 Meadow Lane, Loughborough. She was transferred to Flintshire in 1943 and back to Leicestershire on 31st January 1944.
Miss Daisy Jean Valerie Hazlehurst WLA121045
Miss Daisy Jean Valerie Hazlehurst joined the WLA on 21st May 1943 and left on 1st May 1944. She was born on 26th September 1918 and was the daughter of Walter Evan Hazlehurst, a plumber and joiner and his wife Frances (née Haddock). She was aged 24 when she joined. She lived at Avondale, 280 Leicester Road, Loughborough, and her previous occupation was clerical officer.
Miss Donna Joan Gladys Hole WLA21410
Miss Donna Joan Gladys Hole joined the WLA on 22nd September 1939 and left on 17th February 1940. She was born on 27th March 1913 and was the daughter of Charles Harold Hole, of private means, and his wife Donna (née Grey). She was aged 26 when she joined. She lived at Shelthorpe House, Leicester Road, Loughborough.
Miss Donna Mary Betty Hole WLA21439
Miss Donna Mary Betty Hole joined the WLA on 22nd September 1939 and left on 20th October 1939. She was born on 14th September 1908 and was the daughter of Charles Harold Hole, of private means, and his wife Donna (née Grey). She was aged 30 when she joined. She lived at Shelthorpe House, Leicester Road, Loughborough.
Miss Kathleen Hull WLA64691
Miss Kathleen Hull joined the WLA on 6th February 1942 and resigned on 2nd December 1944. She was born on 20 August 1918 in Barrow on Soar and was the daughter of Samuel Hull, a police constable and his wife Florence (née Eaton). She was aged 23 when she joined. She lived at 5 Elms Grove, Loughborough, and her previous occupation was wages clerk.
Miss Yvonne Elaine Johnson WLA175463
Miss Yvonne Elaine Johnson joined the WLA on 15th August 1946 and left on 18th January 1947. She was born on 9th July 1919 in Loughborough and was the daughter of Arthur Johnson, an electrical engineer, and his wife Jessie (née Dormer). She was aged 26 and had just left the WAAF when she joined. She lived at 241 Park Road, Loughborough, and her previous occupation was in the wood moulding industry.
Mrs Doreen Lewings WLA44108
Mrs. Doreen Lewings (née Hardy) joined the WLA on 12th May 1941 and left on 31st December 1944. She was born in 1920 and was the daughter of William B. Hardy, engineer’s fitter and his wife Annie (née Main). She was aged 21 when she joined and had married Ralph F. Lewings in 1940. She lived at Wilann, Deane Street, Loughborough, and her previous occupation was bookkeeper.
Miss Grace Emilie Morgan WLA45599
Miss Grace Emilie Morgan joined the WLA on 20th August 1942 and left on 11th March 1944. She was born on 23rd October 1919 and was the daughter of Herbert J. Morgan, railway signalman, and his wife May (née Styles) of Strood, Kent. She was aged 21 when she joined. She lived at and 88 Station Street, Loughborough and her previous occupation was in domestic service at Stoneygate, Ashby Road, Loughborough. She was sent by the WLA to East Kent (20th August 1942) then to West Kent (5th May 1943) and finally to East Suffolk 11th November 1943).
Miss Winifred Ellen Mound WLA10353
Miss Winifred Ellen Mound joined the WLA on 20th September 1939 and left on 20 th June 1940. She was born in 1902 and was the daughter of John Mound, tinsmith, and his wife Emma.(née Hutt). She was aged 37 when she joined. She lived at 50 Broad Street, Loughborough, and her previous occupation was chiropodist.
Mrs Netta Beatrice Ogilvie WLA136953
Mrs. Netta Beatrice Ogilvie (née Heffer) joined the WLA on 25th August 1943 and resigned on 1st September 1945. She was born on 5th March 1919 and was the daughter of Alfred Heffer and his wife Ethel (née Taylor). She was aged 24 when she joined. She lived at 16 Morley Street, Loughborough, and her previous occupation was hosiery linker.
Miss Winifred Orton WLA39750
Miss Winifred Orton joined the WLA on 22nd March 1941 and left on 22nd July 1942. She was born on 6th May 1915 and was the daughter of William Dalby Orton, bricklayer, and his wife Clara (née Freeman). She was aged 25 when she joined. She lived at 89 Ratcliffe Road, Loughborough, and her previous occupation was painter in a model factory. She married Walter Weston in Loughborough in the early summer of 1942.
Miss Marjorie Ruth Oxbrough WLA41643
Miss Marjorie Ruth Oxbrough joined the WLA on 10th April 1941 and left on 2nd January 1946. She was born on 6th December 1919 and was the daughter of Walter S. Oxbrough, haulage contractor, and his wife Minnie (née Turner). She was aged 21 when she joined. She lived at 5 Cumberland Road, Loughborough, and her previous occupation was a chemist’s packer. She transferred from Leicestershire to Nottinghamshire on 28th September 1946. She married Norman C. Phillips in the Basford registration area in 1948.
Miss Norah Parker WLA37444
Miss Norah Parker joined the WLA on 31st January 1941 and left on 1st May 1944. She was born on 23rd January 1918 and was the daughter of Walter Ernest Parker and his wife Gertrude Parker (née Haines). She was aged 23 when she joined. She lived at 45 Ratcliffe Road, Loughborough and her previous occupation was hosiery flat locker. She married Walter Burton in Loughborough in 1950.
Miss Marjorie Florence Rabone WLA44558
Miss Marjorie Florence Rabone joined the WLA on 16th May 1941 and left on Sh2nd August 1944. She was born in 1916 and was the daughter of John A. Rabone, a telecommunication linesman, and his wife Florence (née Durrad). She was aged 25 when she joined. She lived at 1 Pantain Road, Loughborough, and her previous occupation was shorthand typist.
Miss Beatrice May Simmonds WLA12134
The date on which Miss Beatrice May Simmonds joined the WLA and is unrecorded. She resigned on 17th February 1940. She was born on 9th April 1889 and was the daughter of John Simmonds and his wife Ann (née Riley). She was aged 46 when she joined. She lived at 40 Leicester Road, Loughborough, and her previous occupation was housekeeper to Thomas H. Simpson, master plumber, and family.
Miss Rita Vernon Soar WLA16548
Miss Rita Vernon Soar joined the WLA in 1939 or 1940, aged 18. She left on 20th June 1940 as she was going to the Midland Agricultural College as a dairy student. She was born on 10th March 1921 and was the daughter of Joseph Fitzwalter Soar, a sanitary engineer, and his wife Elizabeth Ellen (née Bodell). She lived at the Nurses’ Home, the Public Assistance Institution, Regent Street, Loughborough, with her mother who was Matron in the Institution. Her previous occupation was Farm Pupil and she had experience with milking machines, poultry and sheep.
Miss Muriel B. Uttley WLA43485
Miss Muriel Uttley joined the WLA on 2nd May 1941, aged 24, and transferred to the Reserve List on 2nd November 1942. She was born in 1917 and was the daughter of William Uttley, a joiner, and his wife Amy Beatrice (née Abbot). She lived at Mullions, Forest Road, Loughborough, and her previous occupation was domestic servant. She married Norman R. W. Wheldon in Hull in 1943.
Miss Joan Eileen Webster WLA113605
Miss Joan Eileen Webster joined the WLA on 2nd April 1943 and left in January 1944. She was born on 23rd September 1918 and was the daughter of Ernest A. Webster, a joiner, and his wife Gertrude E. (née Hague). She was aged 24 when she joined. She lived at 1 Forest Road, Loughborough, and her previous occupation was typist and clerk. She married Taylor G. Deacon in Loughborough in 1965.
Mrs. Rose Lilian Williams WLA23629
Mrs. Rose Lilian Williams joined the WLA on 5th October 1939 and left on 6th May 1940. She was born on 20th March 1898 and was aged 41 when she joined. She was married to Bert Williams, a hosiery trimmer, and lived at 46 Meadow Avenue, Loughborough.
Miss Gwendoline Wootton WLA63871
Miss Gwendoline Wootton joined the WLA on 31st January 1942 and left on 18 th March 1947. She was born on 4th December 1920 and was the daughter of William Wootton, a labourer, and his wife Nellie (née Edwards). She was aged 21 when she joined. She lived at 21 Leopold Street, Loughborough and her previous occupation was a machinist. She married Frederick C. Hawkins in 1944.
MLC
Statue at the National
Memorial Arboretum,
Alrewas, Staffordshire.
Memorial Arboretum,
Alrewas, Staffordshire.