Land Girl - Doris Ashworth (1923- 2017)
Doris Ashworth GTL3-ZB4 was born on 23rd February 1923 in the historic mill town of Waterfoot, Rossendale, Lancashire. Her parents were Maggie Wearden, a cotton slubber in the local mill (a slubber is somebody who draws out & twists wool/cotton after carding to prepare it for spinning) and Richard Ashworth, a quarry stone dresser. Sadly, by the age of 5 years old, Doris had been orphaned – her father died in 1926 and her mother passed away in 1928.
It isn’t clear who brought Doris up, but in 1939 when the Register for England and Wales was taken, Doris was living with Ann Brown and her son William Brown at 4 Holt Mill, Rawtenstall, Lancashire.
Doris’ occupation at the age of 16 was that of a spinner’s piecer in the local woollen mill. This meant she was employed as an assistant to a spinning mule operator. She would have had to crawl under the spinning mule to join broken threads or join a new spindle of thread to that just completed. The two threads were joined by wetting the forefinger and thumb and rolling the two threads together. It was a job that required alertness, dexterity, speed and nimble fingers.
When WW2 broke out in 1939, the Women’s Land Army (WLA) needed to recruit workers for the many farms up and down the country. One of the County Offices was in Preston and it would have been here that Doris applied to join the Women’s Land Army. She was accepted and billeted at Model Farm, Plex Lane with John Rimmer MG2C-158 and family.
John Rimmer was originally from Scarisbrick and had farmed at Chestnut Farm, Summerwood Lane, Halsall before moving to Model Farm. He was also a keen breeder of Shire horses as this short clipping from the Ormskirk Advertiser verifies.
Further up the road in The Hermitage at the top of Plex Lane, lived John’s son James GG26-SZY, with his wife Harriet GPTF-QQ2 and son Hugh Rimmer GTL3-3H1 as well as an evacuee school teacher from Liverpool, Lilian Ethel Lucas GP5Z-8T7. Three generations, grandfather John, father James and grandson Hugh worked at Model Farm (Incidentally, James Shacklady and family lived next door at Hermitage Farm at this time).
As many a story goes, whilst working alongside each other on the farm, Doris caught Hugh’s attention and they formed a relationship. They were married in 1953 and continued to live and work at Model Farm until their retirement. They were very much part of village life; Doris was a member of both the choir at Halsall church and the Concert Party that put on plays and variety performances for instance and Hughie will always be remembered for driving the ‘Tea Ladies’ float at the Rose Queen.
Hughie died on 12th January 2006 and Doris passed away on 26th April 2017. They are buried together with Hughie’s grandparents and Aunt Rosetta in Halsall Church graveyard. Doris and Hughie are still remembered fondly by the local people of Halsall.
