KEETCH URGES WOMEN'S LAND ARMY VETERANS TO REGISTER FOR THEIR BADGE OF RECOGNITION

12.22.00pm GMT Wed 6th Feb 2008

Local MP Paul Keetch is urging female war veterans to have their efforts recognised by applying for a new badge of recognition.

The badge will acknowledge those surviving members of the Women's Land Army and Women's Timber Corps who worked on the Home Front to provide food and timber for the nation during World War I and II.

Herefordshire MP, Paul Keetch said:

"It is absolutely right that at last we recognise the selfless efforts the Women's Land Army and Women's Timber Corps made to support the nation through the dark days of World War I and II.

"In recognition of their tremendous efforts surviving members are now entitled to a specially designed badge. It's a fitting way to pay tribute to their determination, courage and spirit in the face of adversity.

"The Women's Land Army, colloquially known as the Land Girls, worked on farms to feed the nation, as the male workers went to war. At its peak in 1943 there were some 80,000 women working on the land, and it was continued after the war, finally being disbanded in 1950.

"With their uniform of green ties and jumpers and brown felt slouch hats, they worked from dawn to dusk each day, milking cows, digging ditches, sowing seeds and harvesting crops. They supplied the nation with food, supporting the war effort and avoiding food shortages.

"The Women's Timber Corps, also known as the 'Lumber Jills' worked tirelessly in the forests to provide timber for the war effort felling trees, sawing timber and sharpening saws.

"I hope many of the Women's Land Army and Women's Timber Corps veterans apply for this important badge."

Notes:

Applicants should contact Women's Land Army Badges, department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, 5E Milbank, c/o Smith Square, London, SW1P 3RJ, phone 08459 33 55 77 or email: womenslandarmy@defra.gsi.gov.uk. Applicants will need to supply name, address, date of birth, national insurance number, approximate dates of service in the Women's Land Army or Women's Timber Corps and the location at which they were stationed. Badges will not be able to be awarded to spouses or families of deceased members except where death has occurred after 6 December 2007.