Did your relatives serve as 'Land Girls' in the Second World War?

From early 1939, thousands of women answered the call to take up the work of men who had joined the military.

Women joined the Scottish Women's Land Army (SWLA) to do farm work, or from 1942 the Women's Timber Corps (WTC) to process timber.

Unsung heroes of the Home Front, the women worked in Scotland's farms and forests to keep the nation fed and warm.

What can you find?

Search the 'Land Girls' index cards for details of their training, postings and service.

The index cards were originally created as a directory to more detailed volunteer service files. The majority of these more detailed service files unfortunately have not survived. However the index cards offer vital clues to the women’s experiences in service. 

The records cover women who served from 1939–1950, and who were born up until 1924. Each January, we release new records for women born 100 years ago.

How to search

Head to the Scottish Women’s Land Army search page and search using the following index fields:

• Surname
• Forename/s or initials
• Year of birth
• Service branch (Land Army or Timber Corps)
• Enrolment county or division

If you can’t find who you’re looking for, select the ‘Search tools’ drop-down menu above each search box. Try the following options:

• ‘Names that begin with’: Retrieves names starting with given letters. This is useful for finding entries using initials, common prefixes or partial names.
• ‘Fuzzy matching’: Finds records that closely match your input, but allow for slight variations or common misspellings.
• ‘Phonetic matching’: Searches for records that share the same pronunciation.
• ‘Wildcards allowed’: add an asterisk (*) into a name. This will find all entries with any letter in that space, or no letter.

How to read the index cards

Each card contains some or all the following information:

1. Name (including both maiden and married surname, if married during service)
2. Full home address
3. Date of birth or age on enrolment
4. Enrolment or service file number
5. Occupation before enrolment
6. Date of enrolment and interview
7. Training details
8. Place of employment and dates
9. Remarks. These may include work experience, service badges, conduct. They can also include the date and reasons for leaving.

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The card above is for Betty Graham Robertson Reid. Reid excelled in the Land Army, becoming ‘Champion Plough-girl of Scotland’. 

Here is what her card tells us:

1. Reid is listed by her surname and initials: ‘REID, Miss B.G.R’.
2. Her usual address is Aldie, Bonnington Road, Peebles.
3. She was 18 when she joined up, and her date of birth isn’t given.
4. Her SWLA enrolment or file number was 12 – Reid was one of the first to join the Land Army in Scotland.
5. Prior to joining, her occupation was ‘Student’.
6. After enrolling on 26 January 1939, she was interviewed on 3 February, 1940.
7. No details are entered about her training.
8. Reid was employed by Mr Hutchison at Greenside Farm, Leven on 4 March 1940 and left on 6 June 1942. The R/ numbers are codes for the farms the women worked on. She also spent time at the Women’s Land Army (WLA) Hostel in Peebles, until 17 July 1943. ‘E.T’ may stand for ‘extra time’. 
9. The remarks tell us that Reid spent her school holidays on a farm in Lanarkshire to gain experience. She received three good service badges and was appointed ‘Labour Organiser for Peeblesshire’. She was finally released on 5 August 1943.

Find out more

• Read our full guide to the Land Girl records
• Explore our search tips
• Find out more about Betty Reid and other notable Land Girls