What an enjoyable birthday meeting we had this week.
Joanna Foat gave us a real treat with her fascinating illustrated talk.
She brought the Lumberjills to life with her replica costume, interesting slides, video clips, photographs and so much enthusiasm for the subject.
Joanna was incredibly knowledgeable, having undertaken four years of research on the subject, interviewed over 60 Lumberjills and to date written two books. She has appeared on Woman's Hour and made numerable other appearances talking on this subject.
We learnt a lot about this often forgotten group of women who worked so hard for the war effort, with little recognition at the time. It seems that the young women who decided to volunteer for the Women’s Timber Corps felt liberated and freed from most of societies' rules and restrictions whilst undertaking their back-breaking work in the forests, although the service issue underwear was not such a hit!
This entertaining and informative talk, together with a glass of fizz, cake and the singing of Jerusalem, really made for a memorable evening.
