
The Women’s Land Army
The Land Girls Gate in Clochan is a memorial to all those that served in the Women’s Land Army during the world wars. The Army was formed in 1917, and then again in 1939 when WWII broke out. Women as young as 17 signed up for the duration of the war and took on all forms of farming and food production. The Army was eventually disbanded in 1950. There’s lots more information about the Land Girls here.
The Land Girls Gate
The memorial at Clochan in Moray is a beautiful piece of art, paying tribute to the women who served in the Land Army throughout Scotland. Stones from various farms across the country have been incorporated into the ground around the gate. The fact that the memorial is surrounded by working farmland feels perfectly fitting too.
If you visit on a Sunday morning, as I did, there’s a small car boot sale going on just down the road in Clochan, with pancakes and tea being served in the village hall. It’s rather lovely and feels a bit like stepping back into a simpler time.

Writing on War
SISTERS AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD is the only one of my books that includes war. From the chapter entitled Mons Graupius:
I was in a dreamlike state before; now I stand in the nightmare. I was in a soft and colourful ocean before; now everything is dry and hard and hurting and red. I had not imagined it like this. I had not thought of it at all, not in any realistic way. I’d heard a clash of swords in my mind and sensed the smell of blood. But I was like a storyteller, who lessens the dreadful parts to make them less harmful to those who listen.

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Set in the 1st century, the story includes the battle of Mons Graupius between the Romans and the Caledonian tribes. There’s a neurodivergent main character and some rather complicated romance!
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Wow I had no idea! Thanks for sharing!
It is a bit out of the way, and not very well known about.
I bet!
A really interesting memorial and piece of art. From what is it made and are the faces made by cutting out the background material?
I think it’s steel, and yes, the faces are cut out.
Charming and fitting memorial.
I think so too 🙂
Interesting ,we missed it by a mile on our drive from St Combs to Inverness on the A98 popped into Findhorn and Burghead instead !,a shame but there is so many interesting places in beautiful country .
There are a lot of great places to visit in that area. I love Findhorn and Burghead.
I love this. Perfect location, and a happy memorial.
Yes 🙂
What a wonderful and well-thought out memorial to the Land girls, Ailish. It’s such a good idea to make it into a gate within farmland, and by surrounding it with stones from farms around the country the beautiful work of art becomes a token of gratitude on a national scale. I’d love to visit it one day and see it in its setting – and the pancakes sound, as you say, a fitting addition. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I hope you get a chance to visit 🙂
What an incredible story. I’m hoping to go to Moray this year and will have a look. Thank you
It’s a lovely site to visit, fairly easy to find too.
What a fantastic tribute, and a wonderful piece of art too.
It is 🙂
Thank you for the history lesson! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and of course it’s gratifying to see these women’s service remembered and honored.
I’m glad you liked!
An uplifting and fitting memorial. Love it.
I love it too.
wonderful find… thank you. love this kind of uniqueness
It is quite unique, isn’t it?
That’s interesting piece of information…
🙂
I have heard about Land Girls and this tribute is new to me. Thanks so much for sharing.
I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Thanks, Allish. It’s great to see that. I just finished reading The Victory Garden by Rhys Bowen about the land girls in WWI.
What a wonderful coincidence!
Helen Humphereys’ — The Lost Garden is a wonderful book about land girls in England you might be interested in.
I’ll have to look it up!
What a wonderful memorial! I have read about the land girls. its nice to know that they have been remembered.
It is a great memorial.
Now, that’s a great gate! And a well-deserved one.
Neil Scheinin
🙂
Inspiring!
Yes 🙂
Interesting! Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome 🙂
It is good to know they and their hard work have been remembered in such a fitting and fun way! I love this gate and am so pleased you have shared this.
I love the gate too 🙂
🙂
I wonder if the image is from a photograph, and where they all are now. 😀 … wouldn’t they have some stories to tell!
I have seen similar photos with land girls posing on a gate. The site I linked has some amazing stories and photos: https://www.womenslandarmy.co.uk/
Thanks for the link … amazing stuff there. 🙂
Fascinating! Thank you for sharing this. I live in the US and didn’t know about the Women’s Land Army in Scotland.
I’m glad you liked it, Janet 🙂
A wonderfully simplistic tribute that says so much!
Absolutely 🙂
Thanks for sharing
🙂
My mother joined towards the end of WW2 and was based in a village called Spofforth just outside Leeds. Growing up she would tell me how happy she had been working on the land. She had wanted to join the Queen Alexandra Royal Army Nursing Corps but her father wouldn’t let her. In defiance she joined the land army instead.
How wonderful. She sounds like a really determined woman 🙂
She was, the family was quite large and she was expected to stay at home and look after younger siblings, housework etc. Eventually she got her wish and trained as nurse in Leeds in the 1950’s. I’ve always believed any one of us can be anything we want, it’s just a lot harder for some. Thanks for reminding me of these aspects of my mother.
Thank you for sharing her inspiring story!
You’re welcome.
Hey you followed my blog mad bookishness. But I’m merging the two of my blogs into one blog which is https://arushisinhablogg.wordpress.com/wp-admin/edit.php?post_status=trash&post_type=post . do follow this
I am following you there, Arushi 🙂
Glad to know
If you like my work
My Gratitude to those that have served. Nice hone for them.
🙂
How, interresting!
An original gate. A piece of art.
Yes 🙂
A great blog you have there! Mr Midnight, Sir Winston and myself love anything to do with Scotland. Well, we would wouldn´t we, what with my ancestors coming from that beautiful part of the world. 🙂
I’m glad you like the blog, and Scotland!
Keep up the good work. Mr Midnigh, Sir Winston and myself were pleased to have received feedback from you. Mr Midnight heard the word “feed…” which means I now have to serve food. That´s what human beings are for – servants for cats! 🙂 Have a nice weekend.
Fabulous post
Thank you 🙂
Please read my first post
Nice interesting bit of history 🙂
The Land Girls are interesting 🙂
How fab!
It is rather, isn’t it?
Thank you for following my blog!
You’re welcome 🙂
My mother and a friend worked as Land Girls during WW2 on a farm just outside of Longbridge where I was born. They were expected to work alongside men and do the same work 🙂
I’ve read a few books about the Land Girls, very interesting you see this. Thanks for sharing!
Glad you like 🙂
One of my old customers, served in the Land Army in WW2 with the duchess of Alnwick Castle, and remained good friends, she had lots of good stories to tell of her time in the Land Army and later with the duchess helping with the gardens at Alnwick Castle,
Ps thanks for the follow
How wonderful and fascinating!
LOVE THE GATE, AILISH. HAVE YOU VISITED THE ‘DEVIL’S PORRIGE’ MUSIUM NEAR ANNUN, CHINA
No, I have never been there.
Love it!!
It is gorgeous 🙂
This is beautiful. I am currently researching the memorials to Australian women who served in WWII. There are very few. This is so full of life and laughter, it’s wonderful. Seeing this has made my day!
I’m so glad you like it; it is a joyous monument!
As someone who started out across the pond, it was a fascinating concept. I never heard of it back in the states but after my move to France, I stumbled upon a film about it. Now I have a book in one of my many TBR piles. Thank you and thanks for following one of my blogs.
That’s awesome!