Second World War Women's Timber Corps badges and associated portrait photo, £1550 at Laidlaw.
So it is with the ‘Lumberjills’ – the nickname of those involved in forestry in the Second World War. With the UK so reliant on timber imports for the war effort and many men away serving in the armed forces women were increasingly employed to boost home-grown production.
It was not until 1942 that the government at last recognised their role and agreed to officially set up the Women’s Timber Corps (WTC) – part of the Women’s Land Army – recruiting women aged 17-24.
A reminder of this little-known formation came up at Carlisle auction house Laidlaw on June 21.
Estimated at £30-50, the lot included a pair of WTC slip-on shoulder titles together with service badges and a portrait photographic postcard with handwritten To George With Love Nan on the back and a date stamp 4th Sep 19(??) with the last two numbers too faded to read.
The lot obviously had rarity value: on sale day the hammer fell at £1550 (plus 20% buyer’s premium). The auction house could shed little further light on the lot. Paul Laidlaw said: “It came as part of a very general consignment with no provenance. The two bidders who fought over it did so via thesaleroom.com.
“The plastic cap badges of the WTC aren’t uncommon and can be picked up for £40-60. Reviewing auction records, the scarcity of the slip-on titles was apparent, though a previous result as part of a large group of related insignia etc which sold for £220 was certainly somewhat overshadowed by the result on Saturday. A perfect bidding storm for the seller.”
The full story
Author and historian Joanna Foat is keeping the memories of the WTC alive thanks to a website she set up, thelumberjills.co.uk, and a history book and a novel she has written about their work.
She writes: “At first, rather than employ fit and healthy young women, the government wanted to employ British prisoners, conscientious objectors and school boys. The women who began work in forestry at the start of the war received ridicule and abuse, not only from the timber trade, but also from timber merchants and local people.
“These women had to prove to the men they could do the job with determination and hardwork, sometimes working through snow blizzards in the middle of winter. The work required great strength, stamina and skill.”
Alongside the “hard physical work of forestry, thousands of women were also trained in measuring timber and put in charge of wages”. Foat adds: “They became the brains behind timber production with mathematics at its core and were promoted to senior roles as supervisors and forewomen and often put in charge of the men and whole forestry operations.
“But regardless of how hard they worked or the seniority of their role, the women faced discrimination and coupled with the itinerant nature of the work often meant that they were refused billets or provided with unsuitable lodging wherever they went.”
Foat first discovered the Lumberjills while working for the Forestry Commission in 2012. For her history book she met over 60 original Lumberjills and interviewed them about their lives during the war.
Forestry England also notes: “During their time up to 18,000 women became skilled in forestry and had earned the respect they deserved, paving the way for women to undertake forestry roles in the future.”
