The Gentle Rebel

June Picken describes her eventful upbringing in pre-war Birmingham and life as a Land Girl in the Warwickshire countryside in 1943.She tells of how in early childhood she was inquisitive and headstrong, reaching her mid-teens with the desire to leave school early and enter the workplace. Once in the office, though, life was disrupted by the outbreak of war, and stories of ‘penny hops’ and outings with friends are interspersed with tales of fire watching duty, visits to the wounded soldiers at Hollymoor Hospital and the evacuation of her two younger siblings.

The sudden death of her father and the expectation of being conscripted for factory work or the services, prompted June to join the Women’s Land Army, enabling her to escape the city and do her bit for Britain.

Once stationed at RAF Wellesbourne Mountford, near Stratford-upon-Avon, she endured hard, physical labour whilst making friends and boosting morale with fellow servicemen and women across the camp.

Follow this gentle rebel’s journey from the classroom to the fields as she challenges conventions and makes her contribution to the war effort.