The Women's Timber Corps (WTC) was a British civilian organisation created during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

to work in

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

, replacing men who had left to join the armed forces. Women who joined the WTC were commonly known as Lumber Jills.

Formation

Formed in 1942, the origins of the WTC go back to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when the Women's Timber Service had been formed to help with the war effort. In 1940 to solve a labour shortage and an increased demand for timber the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respon ...

started recruiting women both as forestry workers but also to work in sawmills. In 1942 responsibility passed from the Forestry Commission to the Home Timber Production Department of the Ministry of Supply and the 1,200 women already working for the Forestry Commission or in forestry jobs as part of their service in the

Women's Land Army The Women's Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organisation created in 1917 by the Board of Agriculture during the First World War to bring women into work in agriculture, replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the W ...

(WLA) became part of the new corps.

Organisation

As many of the women who had joined the Forestry Commission came from the WLA, the WLA took over the administration and recruitment for the WTC and although the WTC was officially part of the WLA it retained a separate identity. The uniforms were identical except that the WTC replaced the WLA felt hat for a beret and wore the WTC badge. A full set of kit consisted of:- * 2 green jerseys * 2 pairs of riding breeches * 2 overall coats * 2 pairs of dungarees * 6 pairs of woollen knee socks * 3 beige knit shirts * 1 pair boots * 1 pair of brown shoes * 1 pair of

gumboot The Wellington boot was originally a type of leather boot adapted from Hessian boots, a style of military riding boot. They were worn and popularised by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. The "Wellington" boot became a staple of p ...

s or boots with leggings * 1 green beret * 1 melton overcoat * 1

oilskin Oilskin is a waterproof cloth used for making garments typically worn by sailors and by others in wet areas. The modern oilskin garment was developed by a New Zealander, Edward Le Roy, in 1898. Le Roy used worn-out sailcloth painted with a mixt ...

mackintosh The Mackintosh or raincoat (abbreviated as mac) is a form of waterproof raincoat, first sold in 1824, made of rubberised fabric. The Mackintosh is named after its Scottish inventor Charles Macintosh, although many writers added a letter ''k' ...

* 2 towels * a green armlet and a metal badge * a bakelite hat badge Many of the women rarely wore the full uniform and instead they wore what was comfortable and/or practical to work in. The corps was divided into nine geographic areas responsible for the work and welfare of the women in that area. Accommodation ranged from purpose built hutted camps, through small hotels and hostels to private

billet A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alth ...

s. Never as large as the WLA, the WTC did have a maximum strength estimated at being between 6,000 and 13,000 at its peak size in 1943 working throughout the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. This compared with over 51,000 men and 48,000 Italian and German prisoners of war working in forestry by 1945 The corps was a mobile organisation so the workers could be posted anywhere and moved frequently as work required. One of the major difficulties the women faced was in finding accommodation as in most cases they had to find their own accommodation and many householders were reluctant to take the women in as they considered them dirty or held other prejudices against women workers. One women recalled that she stayed at over 80 different billets in two years.

Duties

The work of the WTC included all the jobs involved with forestry including

felling Felling is the process of cutting down trees,"Feller" def. 2. and "Felling", def. 1. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) © Oxford University Press 2009 an element of the task of logging. The person cutting the trees ...

snedding Snedding is the process of stripping the side shoots and buds from the length of a branch or shoot, usually of a tree or woody shrub. This process is most commonly performed during hedge laying and prior to the felling of trees on plantations ready ...

, loading, crosscutting, driving tractors, trucks, working with horses and operating sawmills. A more specialist skill was measuring which was the job of assessing the amount of timber in a tree, measuring the amount of timber felled, surveying new woodlands and identifying trees for felling. Initial training consisted of a four to six week course at one of the Corps depots at Culford, Hereford, Lydney or Wetherby before being posted elsewhere. The work was heavy and arduous but there was a grudging acceptance from farmers and foresters that the women of the WTC were as good as the men they had replaced. Pay ranged from 35 to 46 shillings per week for treefellers with measurers earning more at about 50 shillings per week. The women were paid

piece-work Piece work (or piecework) is any type of employment in which a worker is paid a fixed piece rate for each unit produced or action performed, regardless of time. Context When paying a worker, employers can use various methods and combinations o ...

rather than a set wage as paid to the women of the WLA, this resulted in the average WTC wage being higher than the WLA. The overall wages though was lower than the national average of just over 62 shillings per week being earned by women in industry during the later war years. Towards the end of the war some of the women were considered skilled enough to be posted to Germany to help salvage the sawmills there.

Disbandment and subsequent recognition

The WTC was disbanded in 1946 when each member was awarded a personal letter signed by Queen Elizabeth. Other than this no recognition of the WTC (or the WLA) was made and it was not until 2000 that former members of the WTC were allowed to take part in the annual

Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...

parade in London. In 2007, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced that all surviving members of the WTC would be entitled to wear a new badge to commemorate their service in the Corps. In 2012, the Forestry Commission marked the 70th anniversary of the WTC. On Remembrance Day 2012, BBC Countryfile broadcast a tribute to the work of the WTC with veteran members, filmed in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

National memorial

Women's Land Army and Women's Timber Corps Memorial

On 10 October 2007 Forestry Commission Scotland unveiled a national memorial to the women of the WTC in the form of a life size bronze sculpture by Malcolm Robertson. The statue is in the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park near

Aberfoyle Aberfoyle may refer to: *Aberfoyle, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland *Aberfoyle, Stirling, Scotland * Aberfoyle, Ontario, Canada *Aberfoyle, Texas Aberfoyle is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Hunt County, Texas, Hunt Count ...

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

. In October 2014, a memorial statue to both the Women's Land Army and the Women's Timber Corps was formally unveiled at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire.

Notes

References

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