By Anna Burdett

Last updated 05:38, Friday, 25 July 2008

AT LAST Cumbria’s land army veterans have been recognised with a medal, 60 years after they helped keep the country fed.

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Smashing: Dorothy Hanking from Carlisle with her medal from the prime minister for her service in the Women’s Land Army during the Second World War

Hundreds of young women took to the Cumbrian fields during World War Two to grow food and feed the nation.

They helped with some of the dirtiest and most back-breaking work and yet, until now, were never formally recognised.

Dorothy Hanking, 81, was a teenager when she joined the Women’s Land Army, leaving her hometown of Liverpool behind for the Cumbrian hills.

Mrs Hanking, of Dalton Avenue, Carlisle, got a certificate from Prime Minister Gordon Brown this week and the medal of honour she has waited so long for.

She said: “When I’m lying in bed thinking about things, the whole experience comes back to life.

“It feels smashing to have my medal. I’m very proud – it shows that I did my bit towards the war.

“We weren’t in the thick of the action but we were doing dirty, essential work.”

Mrs Hanking is a former Carlisle Miss Land Girl, although she missed the national final because it clashed with her wedding day.

Fifty women were chosen to receive their medals in Downing Street at a ceremony with the Prime Minister Gordon Brown. No women from Cumbria were invited to attend.

At its peak in 1943, there were some 80,000 women in the land army. The Women’s Timber Corps, also known as the ‘Lumber Jills’ worked in the forests to provide wood for the war effort.

Mr Brown said: “The Women’s Land Army and Women’s Timber Corps worked tirelessly in the war years to keep this country going by providing food and supplies, and timber for the war effort. Their work was absolutely vital, and it is right that we thank them now for their dedication in the service of their country.”

Dozens of Cumbrian women received their medals this week. Among them was Bettie Baird, of Longlands Road, Carlisle, who was turned down for being too short when she first tried to join up but she was eventually accepted at the age of 18. She said: “I wore my medal to the hairdresser yesterday and I was very proud. My son and daughters said they are very proud of me.”

Vera Timperon, of Scotby Road, also got her medal. She said: “I’m going to put it on a chain so I can wear it round my neck. It was worth the wait and I’m pleased to have it.”