Honour at last for Land


. by Julie Magee


A “LAND Girl”, who toiled on the Home Front to provide food for Britain in the Second World War, has been hon­ oured by: the Government 63


yiears on. ■ Mrs Joyce Cowperthwaite (85),


of iClitheroe, received a special commemorative badge th a t can be worn bn Remembrance Sun­ day or at other ceremonies and a letter from Prime Minister Gor­ don Brown expressing profound gratitude for her efforts as a Land Girl.


- 2:Joining ;the Women’s Land


Army, in 1940,a t the age of 18, Mrs Co\^^3erthwaite left her fami-’ ly and friends to work the land in Cornwall. Wearing a uniform that includ­


ed green jumpers and ties, brown breeches and brown felt hats, the


Land Girls dug ditches, ploughed fields, milked cows, sowed seeds


> and harvested crops; supplying the nation with food while the ’ men were away on war duty. Mrs Cowperthwaite, ' who


, worked as a cook a t Ribble Cement in Clitheroe a f te r the war, recalled the back-breaking work she had to carry.out. ' " This included growing an'd picking vegetables such as pota-


.• toes and cauliflowers. Although she described work-


V ing as a Land Girl as hard manual labour, Mrs Cowperthwaite said everyone realised at the time how, necessary the work was. :


A to ta l of 20|000 surviving


. Land Girls arS to be honoured i officially for the first time follow- • ing a long campaign by the


. Women’s . Land Army and ] Women’s Timber. Corps.


, ■, The Government announced in . December th a t the Land Girls’:


■


wartime efforts would be recog­ nised. During th e time Mrs Cow­


perthwaite was a Land Girl, one, of her, brothers joined the RAF while th e o ther served in the Army.'. Her husband, Richard, who she


married in 1943, also fought at Dunkirk.


’ " She said; “ I t is nice to be


acknowledged after all.this time, but it’s unfortunate tha t some of my friends who I worked along-


. side have already passed away.” The commemorative badge will


not be given to the relatives of deceased Land Girls, except for thoseS who . died L a f te r the announcement was made. ■ Our pictures show Mrs Cow­


perthwaite, top, as a teenage Land Girl and below it, holding h e r ; le t te r from-PM Gordon Brown and wearing her commem-, orative badge^ (A280708/3) ,


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PARENTS interested in joining a campaign to protest against recent changes tofreeschooi transport are urged to contact Ribble Valley Cit­ izens Advice Bureau. Local parent Angela Cunliffe


started the protest after learning th a t her daughter’s decision to attend Clitheroe Royal Grammar School from September 2008 would cost the family £450 per year in. tran sp o r t costs as a result of changes in Lancashire County


■ Council’s free transport policy. Existing CRGS pupils from Whal- ley will continue to have free bus travel until age 16, but new stu­ dents will only qualify if attending the nearest available school, which is Ribblesdale High School, also in Clitheroe. " ‘T rang my. Area Education


Office to ask if my child could have a free pass as far as Ribblesdale and,walk or pay the extra to the grammar school, but I was told this was not P9 ssible,” kiid Angela. ^•.:,The Citizeris Advice Bureau' .points put,that those in families ‘ claiming certain means tested ben-; efits mil qualify for free transport.; However; the CAB is concerned ' that many other families wouldO '


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