The Women’s Land Army (WLA) Training Camp at Culford in Suffolk, England, was a vital forestry training center during the Second World War. It specifically trained “Lumber Jills,” a special branch of the WLA known as the Women’s Timber Corps (WTC), to work in the timber industry.
With British men enlisting in the armed forces, there was a crucial need to maintain food production and other essential industries on the home front. While many “Land Girls” worked in agriculture, the Culford camp was one of several sites dedicated to training women for forestry. Between 100 and 150 girls at a time would undergo a month-long course to learn skills like felling trees, using saws and axes, and stacking timber. The wood they processed was used for everything from building ships and aircraft to making pit props for coal mines.
Life at the training camp was demanding and physically taxing. Women, often aged 17 to 40, were either transferred from other WLA branches or directed there from labor exchanges. They had to be fit and strong to handle the rigorous work. Despite the hard labor, the camp’s atmosphere was generally positive, and the women were considered some of the happiest war workers.
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