From Living Woods issue 52

Combining war studies and woodlands,
this book focuses on a forgotten army
of the Second World War.

LUMBERJILLS: BRITAIN’S FORGOTTEN ARMY
JOANNA FOAT
The History Press
Paperback: 272 pages
RRP: £14.99
ISBN: 978-0750990905

In 1939, when conscription sucked up most
able-bodied men, and at a time when
Britain was almost entirely dependent
on imported timber, the forestry
profession and trade were in trouble.
British forestry was depleted by
the demands of World War One
and subsequent planting was not yet
mature. Timber was required by many
areas critical to the war effort, from
aircraft manufacture and shipbuilding to
collieries and communications.

The government was forced to open
up forestry work to women and the
Women’s Timber Corps emerged. This
body of young women faced hardship
and discrimination, but proved they
could work as well as men in every role
of forestry, felling trees, operating mills
and managing forestry sites.

Joanna Foat has interviewed surviving
veterans and their families to produce
a fascinating book full of first-hand
accounts of wartime forestry.