Joyce decides to stay on the land following eight years in East Suffolk Women's Land Army.

suffolkwlamemorial
4 days ago
2 min read

Joyce's father, Charles Wadnow decided to move his family away from the bombs in London during WW2 and bought Hill House in Bruisyard without telling his wife and children. They first realised where their new home was to be when they spotted a familiar vase in one of the windows.

Joyce had already had some experience of working with poultry in Milton, Cambridgeshire by the time she came to enrol in East Suffolk Women's Land Army on November 16th, 1942. She soon became familiar with cows too, shortly after moving to Bruisyard as their neighbours, the Barhams had a herd of cattle.

Joyce's first name was Mary but she preferred to be called by her middle name as did many other girls in the Women's Land Army. Others took the opportunity to choose a completely different Christian name for themselves or a nickname.

She was mainly involved with fieldwork and harvesting crops but also milked and looked after Red Poll cattle. She became very fond of the Suffolk countryside and enjoyed the camaraderie of the Land Army,

Joyce was based at Freston House, a WLA hostel near Ipswich in 1943 but subsequently lodged in Letheringham with a Mrs Finch in 1944.

She spent eight years working in the Women's Land Army and then opted to stay on the land following November 1950 when the Land Army was disbanded. One of the places where Joyce worked following 1950 was at Oakenhill Hall on Bruisyard Road, Badingham. She loved looking after the prize-winning herd of Red Poll cattle there.