Land Girls strawberry picking, 1944. Image courtesy of
the Museum of English Rural Life, University of Reading

The forgotten army of the land girls tell their story in this new exhibition.

During World War II, over 200,000 women joined the Women’s Land Army. The heroic image of the land girl standing tall in her corduroy breeches, green jumper and brown felt hat, fork resting over her shoulder, has become an iconic symbol of the triumph of wartime agriculture.

The exhibition highlights personal stories, propaganda, paintings, posters and photographs. It reveals the experiences of women as they leave their pre-war lives to learn milking, rat catching, threshing and tractor driving. At the heart of this story are the surviving items of their distinctive uniform – where it was made, who wore it, what they did, how women felt about wearing it and the reactions they encountered.

The Land Girls also focuses on the contribution in Sussex. Their headquarters were at Balcombe Place; land girls were trained at Plumpton Agricultural College, and lived and worked on the Sussex Downs.

Try on a land girl uniform, listen to the voices of land girls as they tell their stories and take away resources to help you collect wartime memories from your own families.

Supported by Lloyd Loom
Featured on BBC Sussex

Their Past Your Future
3 October 2009 to 14 March 2010
In the exhibition galleries

Former land girls worked together with students from Cardinal Newman School, Brighton & Hove, to make this new film about wartime experiences. Find out why they decided to become land girls, how they settled into life in the countryside and dealt with the dangers of work on the land.

Supported through Their Past Your Future Phase 2 Programme

The Land Girls events programme

Saturday 10 October
The War at Home
The Old Courtroom, 118 Church Street (side entrance)
A one day seminar 10.30am-4.30pm
£40 (£25 concessions) includes tea/coffee
To book call 03000 290902

Marguerite Patten OBE home economist and author of over 170 cookery books, best known for her wartime work as an adviser for the Ministry of Food. In conversation with Sarah Tobias, social and cultural historian
Professor Dorothy Sheridan MBE from Mass Observation Archive at Sussex University discusses a unique collection of diaries written by women recording their lives during World War II.
Films from wartime Sussex Frank Gray presents archive film clips from Screen Archive South East

‘Make do and mend’ clothing workshops
Inspired by wartime thrift, dressmaker Theresa Parker revives timeless tricks for today’s fashionable look.
Workshops take place at Brighton Museum
£20 per workshop. To book, and for more information (eg about materials to bring) call 03000 290902

Decorative mending
Saturday 3 October 10.30am-1.30pm
Learn how to rework existing garments using simple decoration techniques like stitch, appliqué, button work and jabots.

New for old
Saturday 17 October 10.30am-1.30pm
Simple ways of converting one garment into another.

Revamping hats and shoes
Saturday 14 November 2-5pm
Customise your accessories using simple techniques for a stunning finish.

Study sessions
Thursdays 15, 22 & 29 October & 5 November
Keep Calm and Carry On: the Home Front in wartime Britain
10.30am-1pm Course fee £65 (£55 concessions)
A series of illustrated talks with opportunities to handle authentic objects and ephemera from the museum’s collections.
Tutor: Sarah Tobias social & cultural historian
To book call 03000 290902

Saturday 14 November
Wartime Christmas
10.30am-1pm £12
Find out how people celebrated Christmas when money and luxuries were in short supply and food was rationed. Includes ideas for thrifty retro gifts and decorations.
Sarah Tobias social & cultural historian
To book call 03000 290902

Family events

Thursday 29 October
Make do and Mend
Bring along a top that you no longer like, or has developed a hole, and give it a fresh new look using various creative techniques.
1-3.30pm
Book in advance on 03000 290902
£7.50
8 years up

Friday 30 October
Make do and Mend again!
Re-work an old skirt or pair of trousers using craft techniques.
Bring along an item that you no longer wear.
1-3.30pm
Book in advance on 03000 290902
£7.50
8 years up

Saturday 31 October
Cinderellas of the Soil
Celebrate the contribution the land girls made to the war effort in this fascinating exhibition. Meet some land girls and enjoy wartime entertainments. Bring along a piece of clothing to alter in our ‘make do and mend’ workshop.
1-1.45pm, 1.45-2.30pm, 2.30-3.15pm, 3.15-4pm
Free, drop in
All ages