Saturday 29th June, it’s going to be a hot day
and it is also busy at the Record Office, there's a lot of people around including two women from Australia, normally it is just a handful of
regulars. Today I am booked onto some search room training. There
are three of us and we are shown highlights from the collection that can be
accessed via the catalogue, wills, photographs and sale particulars. I locate some photographs that are worth
looking at. We are also talked through
the other (card) catalogues available to us. There is a wealth of records that don’t
appear on the main catalogue (which I hadn't known about) and bundles of material waiting to be catalogued. It is a very useful session.
Once the searchroom session is over I have lunch, the
Archivist has helpfully given me a list of WWII sources so I take a look at
that before going back to the EADT on microfilm for a short time while I wait until
Middleton W.I. minutes that the archivist has located for me appear.
Middleton W. I. Minutes and Record books 1939-1945
I make my way through the minutes for the war years, in
October 1939 there is talk of welcoming evacuated mothers and opening the hall
one afternoon a week for them, however by the meeting of November 6th
the evacuee mothers have left the village.
Monday 29th April 1940, Miss Hambling arranged
with Miss Le Bland to come to the May monthly meeting and give a talk on the
work of The East Suffolk Land Workers, it isn’t particularly clear from the
minutes if this refers to the WLA or something more general, however, on cross
referencing with the Record book it appears that Miss Le Bland came to the 15th
July 1940 meeting and “explained the scheme and the urgent necessity for women
to do their part as part-time workers.”
I had hoped that the minutes and record book would yield some
references to WLA given the supposed link between the two organisations in
terms of making the Land Girls feel welcome.
The overwhelming theme of the minutes is concern over getting jam made,
especially in 1940 ... 9th July 1940 Lady Hambling is recorded as
talking about the delay in receiving a permit for sugar and the resulting waste
of soft fruit, Miss Hambling (junior?) offers to phone the local food office
while Mrs Woolnough, Mrs Bagott and Mrs Burder all volunteer to prepare the fruit. The jam once made (presumably after they had
got the sugar permit) was to be stored in the book cupboard.
By the 23rd July meeting 113lbs of fruit jam had
been made, including blackcurrent, redcurrent and raspberry. At the November meeting it is recorded that
any sugar not used for jam should be used for pickles (chutney).
I wonder if other village WI minute and record books will be
as comprehensive as Middleton.
A chance find
I note on the library catalogue at work that we have Irene
Grimwood’s book Land Girls at the Old Rectory, this is on Nicky and Vicky’s
list of titles so I borrow it. It is a
short book of Irene’s experiences but has some interesting photographs in
it, including a group photo of the girls at the Old Rectory Halesworth. I wonder if Irene is still
alive as the book was written in 2000.
I am getting nowhere with finding any information about Lady
Cranworth, I note that Cambridge has some letters. When I was talking to the Archivist at the record office some ideas had been offered which need following up.
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