Lumberjills

Lumberjills were members of The Women's Timber Corps (WTC), recruited during World War II to carry out the work of male lumberjacks, whose numbers had been depleted by the call to war and conscription.

Lumberjills carried out the same arduous duties as lumberjacks, felling, snedding (removing branches from felled trees), loading lorries and trains, and sawing timber all over Scotland. Much of the wood was used as mining timber, providing pit props to keep the coal flowing into the country's power stations. There was little pay for the work they did, and once their keep had been deducted they were left with no more than pocket money. Their accommodation was sparse, wooden huts, generally on very isolated sites due to the nature of the work. Officially recruited from age 17, girls as young as 14 volunteered for the corps.

The Women’s Timber Service had been set up during World War I, but in April 1942 the Ministry of Supply (Home Grown Timber Department) created the Women’s Timber Corps in England, and Scotland followed in May 1942, when it formed its own Women’s Timber Corps which was a part of the Women’s Land Army - a new unit with its own identity and uniform.

Training courses were run at Shandford Lodge, by Brechin in Angus, and also Park House, by Banchory.

West of Scotland camps included Glen Etive, Inverchaolain (Loch Striven), Ballochyle (Sandbank), Glendaruel, Glenbranter, and Strachur.

The WTC was disbanded in August 1946, when each member was handed back her uniform along with a letter from Queen Elizabeth.

Strachur

The sawmill was at St Catherines next to what had been the village primary school. The girls were billeted at Letters Lodge, Strachur, and the cut timber was transported by lorry to Tarbet and onwards by rail.

Pier at Glenstriven

Inverchaolain

The timber was hauled by horses from Glenstriven Estate to the shore at Finnart (Loch Striven). The logs were floated out and loaded onto a puffer.

Later, a pier was built at Glenstiven and a better system of transporting the timber was invented by an Australian, with a railway leading down to the pier, and the use of bogies to move the logs using.

When the secret X-Craft trials were held on Loch Striven all the forestry workers were reported to have been shut in Inverchaolain Lodge with the blinds drawn and a naval sentry outside. This loss of production was resented. (This story needs a reference source, as these trials were extensive, and there would have been little point in locking-down the lumberjills, there would have been many others overlooking the water. Also, most of the trials and training were carried out underwater. Bouncing bomb tests would have been more likely causes for lock-ins, being confined to the target area, and carried out at specific times, but the same problem with casual observers being present along the length of the loch.)

Glendaruel

The girls were billeted at Glendaruel Estate. The cut timber was transported by lorry to Arrochar or sometimes Crianlarich for transfer to the railway.

The Lumberjills of Scotland

WW2 People's War is an online archive of wartime memories contributed by members of the public and gathered by the BBC. The archive can be found at bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar

References

1 ⇑ The Women's Timber Corps, Rosalind Elder, WW2 People's War.

External links

• Women's Land Army Timber Corps
• Lumberjills statue unveiled
• Women's Timber Corps Memorial
• Mrs Margaret Lynch, Women's Timber Corps

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