MED Theatre’s Abby Stobart summons up for us the life of a lumberjill in Fingle Woods, North East Dartmoor, during World War Two:
JEANIE’S LUMBERJILL STORY
SONG, Jeanie is carrying an axe with her
“Some men say that we’re not as strong,
So watch right here while we prove them wrong.
We can do it with a smile and we’ll do it in style,
Singin’ our Lumberjill Song.”
Hey! What do you think you’re looking at? Yes you! You’re staring at me aren’t you. Is it my trousered legs? Oh I know, you have a problem with women wearing trousers don’t you. Well wake up! It’s 1943 now, it’s not like we’re stuck in the past! It’s just not practical for us women to have to wear skirts for this physical forestry work – why do you think the Landgirls all have the dungarees for the farming work? It’s the same for us in the WTC, you know the Women’s Timber Corps? Or most people know us as the Lumberjills. Mind you, don’t go comparing us too closely to Landgirls. It’s a very different type of skilled work that we do here in the forests, as well as the dangers being more imminent than those on a farm, and don’t let any of them tell you otherwise – that’s why we get the higher pay. Or is it my boots? I’d prefer not to wear these hot heavy things, I wish I could wear my heels that I used to wear back home, up in London, but needs must! Working in these woods is dangerous, and I’d be stupid to wear anything less protective. I hear what they say about us though. I went to the picture house in Newton Abbot just last week – and before you ask, yes I was wearing my overalls still – and I heard what people say: “Oh here they come in their boots. Clamp clamp no need to stamp.” While they’re at it they may as well check out my long legged knickerbockers and chin high vests, we name them the passion killers! (Goes to show underwear! But stops.)
Oh! I’m so sorry, you don’t want to see those di you?! Oh dear, I’ve gone off on one again haven’t I?! My apologies. It’s just we get so used to having to stick up for ourselves amongst all those who don’t believe we can do this sort of “man’s work”. That’s what my song’s about… did you like it? I have some moves that I can show you as well.
SONG with actions
“Some men say that we’re not as strong,
So watch right here while we prove them wrong.
We can do it with a smile and we’ll do it in style,
Singin’ our Lumberjill Song”
Why don’t you try the actions with me? I’ll sing it again!
SONG with actions
“Some men say that we’re not as strong,
So watch right here while we prove them wrong.
We can do it with a smile and we’ll do it in style,
Singin’ our Lumberjill Song”
How rude of me, I haven’t even introduced myself – I’m Jeanie. Nice to meet you. Jeanie the Lumberhill. Here, seeing as we’re friends now, why don’t I tell you a bit more about myself.
Since I was first posted here at Fingle I’ve done all sorts: cutting the timber for production of the pit props for the collieries, replanting trees, stripping the bark for the tanneries, and more. But recently I’ve been put on a different skill, one whose need has arisen as a direct result of the war… charcoal production. Before the war it was a dying tradition, no one needed it anymore because coal and coke became more available. The more traditional uses like smelting tin, heating wool combs, and even heating pans of clotted cream for pasteurisation were what it used to be used for. But here and now, in the Teign Valley in 1943, now charcoal is needed for the ultimate job in the war effort… making explosives! I can prove how important my work is here in these woods because I got this letter from the government saying so… (get out poster) well perhaps it’s more of a poster than a letter and it’s actually addressed to all Timber Workers. Now I don’t want to come across as big-headed or nothing, so could you read this paragraph here: AUDIENCE MEMBER reads out paragraph which starts “We have the right…”.
Pretty impressive huh?!
I should tell you how charcoal burning is done. When someone tried to explain it to me in the early days I have to admit I found it hard to understand the process they go through to create this stuff… … I mean it isn’t exactly the quickest of methods! So why don’t I show you… I’ll need your help though. Can I ask for your help?
Get audience to physically create the shape / elements of a charcoal burner First of all you create a wigwam of wood, that’s it. Then you pack the turf around it, pat it nice and snug so that no air can get to it, apart from one little hole to get it going! That’s how it doesn’t burn too quickly. What would happen if you let too much air in? Well the same as what happened to your fires at home… what does the wood turn in to? Yes, ash! We don’t want that. Then we light it, and once it’s burnin’ make sure you pack in the air pipe, then let it slow burn for about… 12 hrs. I’ll let you in on a trick of the trade: if we kept opening it up to see what is happening on the inside we’d let oxygen in and it wouldn’t cook properly, so how do you think we know what is going on inside? There is one clue that this kiln gives off to let us know what is changing inside… can you think what may be coming out of the top of this kiln? Yes, smoke! During the process it comes out as three different colours, green, blue and white… but not in that order necessarily! Let’s see if you can guess which colour smoke goes with each part of the process that is happening inside. So if there is moisture being released from the wood, what colour smoke do you think is coming out: green, blue or white? The answer is white! Next, what colour smoke do you think would signal that tar is being released from the wood? The answer is green! Finally, (now we’ll see if you’ve been paying attention!) what colour smoke may come out to signal that the charcoal is cooked? Yes, it’s blue! Well done! So let’s imagine that our imaginary kilns are giving off blue smoke now. We quickly unpack the turf, and then let it cool over around 24hrs. See, I told you it was a long process didn’t I?! Thanks for your help, you can relax now.
Then you wonder how we get it all up and down this valley, to be bagged and labelled and sent off to Christow Station? Well there are two ways… one is very quick and one is very slow! Can you guess what they may be? Let’s start with the slow. The reason I have to cut the stumps of the coppice strictly lower than 8 inches is so that the ponies can pull sledges over them carrying their panniers. So that’s a slow and hard way – good old Jack O’connell (the local irish gypsy) has that covered with his ponies at the stables just down the way. We found another way however, that is a hell of a lot faster… Zipwire! We send it down these wires and whoosh, it goes like the clappers! Mind you, if it collides with anything on the way down you know about it as it smashes everywhere. So make sure you keep out the way if you hear a whooshing noise.
So there you go, you’ve heard a bit about how we burn the charcoal. The boss would be impressed with you lot: “Dr Siegfried Marian”, well we just call him “Doctor”. Have you seen him? He sometimes walks around the wood, always wearing his trilby, mind, the base isn’t far from here so he likes to keep an eye on how everything’s running. He’s a bit of a geek, albeit an inspiring one if you ask me. I heard he fled Austria in 1938 as a Jewish refugee, originally interned here by the government, but then they realised his usefulness and sent him down here, to the Teign Valley (he has a chemistry degree and PhD in researching ammonium something or other – that’s smelling salts to you and me.) It’s good having a boss who is actually doing something so useful, to help the lads out there on the frontline, and it’s all happening right here and right now, and I’m a part of it! You know, us women aren’t the only people you find working in this valley different to who used to be here before the war began… there are older men, but also children too. They’re hard workers for sure… but if they think the Doctor has gone home for the day I’ve caught them playing a game about him, and once or even twice they may’ve got me to join in with them. Shall I share it with you? GAME Doctor Says: chop the timber, make a wigwam, pack the turf, pull the pony, zipwire, let it burn,
You lot are good fun, aren’t ya. Listen, can you keep a secret? There is someone I’m out here looking for actually, I wonder if you’ve seen him… although I don’t know if I should say who it is… I’m not really supposed to speak to his kind. I can trust you though can’t I? Don’t get me wrong, there are certain people I’m not allowed to talk to – definitely NOT the conchies… what do you lot think of the conchies? … you know, men who decided they didn’t want to fight in the war for whatever reason… perhaps they don’t believe in violence, it could be against their religion, others think them simply cowards… Anyway, it isn’t a conchie, I wouldn’t dare. No, it is a Prisoner of War, a German. Don’t think badly of me! He really isn’t what you’d imagine, not like the enemy, in fact he denies the word Nazi all together, he despises it. So he’s more like us than you’d think, in fact I’d go as far as to say he’s really rather romantic! You know he made me this wooden horse as a gift. He carved it himself. You wouldn’t get one of the English boys doing that, no siree! I keep it hidden in this pocket, not for anyone else’s eyes other than mine… and yours I suppose now… and I just reach down and touch it when I want to be reminded that, well, he’s mine and I’m his. At least that’s what I think he says, I can’t understand him completely, but it feels like that when we… I think I see Rolf coming now! That’s his name. “Jeanie and Rolf”. It’s got a nice ring to it don’t you think? It’s been so nice talking to you but I would like to meet him now… you know with a bit of privacy please! So feel free to move along… and don’t breathe a word to anyone about our little chat. Cheerio!
Jeanie runs off in to the wood
End