They’re strong. They’re fierce. They’re CARRYING GIANT LOGS WITH THEIR BARE HANDS. Look at these women!
The Lumberjills were a crew of awesome outdoorsladies who pushed up their sleeves, pulled up their britches, and chopped wood on the U.K. countryside while men were at war. In 1942 these riveting Rosies were inaugurated into Brit forces as the Women’s Land Army and the Women’s Timber Corps.
At it’s peak the Corps had about 6,000 women enrolled, many of them as young as 14! They were all dispatched to remote areas of Scotland and England, where they lived for months in pretty tough conditions. Their days were spent felling trees, loading trucks and sawmilling the gigantic-ass trees they chopped down. Through it all, these women made sure Great Britain’s timber was kept in steady supply.
Here they are in action:
And here they are in color!
In August 1946, each Lumberjill got a letter from Queen Elizabeth recognizing her services, and the Women’s Timber Corps was officially disbanded. It then took over 50 years for the women to be properly recognized alongside other WWII veterans – they were just granted the right to wear special badges and march in Britain’s memorial parades in 2000.
Thankfully most of the Lumberjills were still very much around and kickin’ well into the new millenium.
To hear these women talk about lumberjilling with their own radical voices, check out this cute video. As if we needed more proof that Lumberjills are the bomb.
Photos via Dartmouth.edu, Forestry.co.uk, and the BBC.
