Devon woman attempts to track down land girls of WW2

Becks Pearson, left, with former land girl Grace Dray

A former Royal Navy officer is trying to trace some of the 1,700 former land girls who farmed in Devon during and after World War Two.

Becks Pearson, from Lympstone, began recording the stories of the ladies who served in the Women's Land Army when she realised no-one else had done it.

Land girls was the name given to women who worked on the land while men were away fighting during World War Two.

Many of the women Ms Pearson has tracked down are now in their late-90s.

The women who signed up worked long hours doing manual jobs to boost food production.

Grace Dray moved from London to Devon to join the Women's Land Army at the age of 17

Grace Dray, 94, moved from London to Devon to join the Women's Land Army at the age of 17.

Ms Dray, who now lives in Bovey Tracy, said she lied about her age to sign up.

"It was totally different to anything I'd done before... it was hard work," she said.

"Every muscle was strained with doing really heavy work.

"When before that you were used to working in an office which was very sedate.

"I loved every minute of it."

Ruby Terry, 96, was presented with a medal for her service

Ruby Terry, 96, another former land girl who worked on a farm in Kingston, said her job was to milk 50 cows morning and night.

She remembered there was very little machinery on the farm and not much could be done in the event of an injury - including a time when she cut her hand.

"Salt and water I had to pour on it," she said.

"It finally cured the poison. Just 12 months later they invented penicillin."

Ms Pearson, who presented Ms Terry with a badge for her service, said some land girls did not receive proper recognition despite their vital work during the war effort.

"They did so much to feed the country," she said.

"They were an amazing group of women who came from all walks of life.

"They were all volunteers - some hadn't even seen a cow before."

Grace Dray is seen driving a tractor after joining the Women's Land Army