AT THE HEART OF THE ROAD TRANSPORT INDUSTRY.

Call our Sales Team on 0208 912 2120

Training Women as War-tirril Tractor Drivers

11th November 1939
Page 28
Page 29
Page 28, 11th November 1939 — Training Women as War-tirril Tractor Drivers
Close
Noticed an error?
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.

Which of the following most accurately describes the problem?

OMEN have many parts to play in the present conflict.

The tasks that they are undertaking are a vital part in the nation's tremendous war effort. In no sphere are they likely to perform greater service than that of agriculture, especially if the war continues to develop along economic channels.

A close-knit industrial community, such as that of Great Britain, cannot be self-supporting, but it can be brought much nearer that ideal, in respect of commodity. essentials, by intensive 'exploitation of natural resources. Much of our land had, before the war, been allowed to become derelict, largely because of official indifference to the importance of agriculture as a key industry. In fact, it took a state of international unrest to bring the Government to realize that an increase in the supplies of home-grown foodstuffs could very well be a vital, if not a decisive, factor in time of war.

That was one of the reasons why thousands of tractors were built by Government instructions before the war, and the wisdom of that course is no longer open to question. But mechanical equipment, in itself, is of little value without semi-skilled or expert operatives to put it to the best use. That is why a new army—the Women's Land Army—is being trained to drive and care for the large numbers of tractors that are destined to play a big part in amplifying our supplies of homegrown essential foodstuffs.

These women—most of whom have been recruited from a variety of occupations—will take the place of men who are called up for national service, and help to plough and tend the hundreds of thousands of acres which are being brought under cultivation for the first time, To the 1939 land girl, who is going to work on a farm, which is predominantly arable, a sound knowledge of tractors and related implements is of particular importance. It is generally recognized that the tractor provides the only economic and practical means for carrying out the plans devised by the Minister of Agriculture in consultation with the farming industry.

An interesting example of what is

being done to evolve an army of competent workers, in a short time, is provided at the Henry Ford Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Boreham, Essex. The Institute, the purpose of which, in normal times, is to provide specialized instruction in agricultural engineering for farmers, farm workers and tractor mechanics, has been placed at the disposal of the Government for the training of as many members of the Women's Land Army as can . be accommodated.

. The students come from many different classes and occupations, and are mostly from towns. They include typists, shop assistants, factory workers and many others who have little or no previous knowledge of agriculture, or of the country itself for that matter.

The Govurnment scheme provides for a month's training, during which the women's board and lodging are paid for and they receive 10s. weekly as pocket money. When the members of the

Land Army have completed their training and take up work on a farm they are paid wages of 28s. a week, and they generally have to pay 14s. weekly for

their board and lodging. .

Training at the Henry Ford Institute' is, naturally, of an intensive character. Part of the time is spent in the Institute lecture halls, where the women receive theoretical instruction, covering such matters as the principle of the internal-combustion engine.

Practical acquaintance with modern tractor and implement design is obtained in the workshops. The women completely dismantle and reassemble tractors, so that the design and interrelation of each part are clearly understood. The maintenance of tractors and implements, and the carrying out of simple running repairs, are also dealt with. As normal courses at the Institute cover complete maintenance and repair work for tractor mechanics, there is a plentiful supply of tools and equipment available to enable this part of the training to be efficiently carried out.

Instruction in field work covers a wide range of operations, including ploughing, cultivation and tillage, and haulage. Row-crop types and other variations of the standard agricultural tractor are available, and practically every class of implement met with on the average farm is provided for practice, in addition to the customary barn and field machinery.

Some farmers may be sceptical of the results likely to be achieved by only a month's training, but it may be said, with confidence, that a viait to the Institute when a batch of students is in the last week of the course would quickly set doubts at rest.

The women come to the Institute keen and enthusiastic about the task in hand, and with little or nothing to unlearn. It would he foolish to claim that they leave after a month with the knowledge and skill that the countryman acquires from his earliest years, but they are sent out capable of doing a useful day's work on any farm and, moreover, the training is of the kind

which feeds enthusiasm and inculcates the desire to continue to learn and improve.

Life at the Institute during the training period is made as pleasant as pos

sible. Students live and board either in the Institute building itself, which was formerly a large country house, or in cottages built by the Institute for the accommodation of students.


comments powered by Disqus