Women’s Land Army
Born: 1925
Story
Joyce was the daughter of John Archer Parker (1888-1966) a bus driver, and Sarah Hughes (1888-1971) who married in Allerton Bywater on 3rd June 1911. The family lived at Ryecroft, Preston Road, Allerton Bywater before the War.
During the War, Joyce served in the Land Army. Women were initially asked to volunteer to serve in the Land Army and, from December 1941, they could also be conscripted into land work. At its peak in 1944, there were more than 80,000 women in the WLA. Land girls did a wide variety of jobs, they worked in all weathers and conditions and could be directed to work anywhere in the country.
Joyce married Ernest Frank Gissing (1923-2007) in 1950, and they were living at 7 Kippax Hall in the 1950s; Linden Lea, New Street in the 1960s and 70s, and 15 Calvert Close in 2010. Ernest used to own a barber’s shop near Cross Hill (pictured below), and Joyce worked in the ladies’ salon next door. Joyce continued to give demonstrations in her Land Army uniform, and was interviewed about her war time memories as part of our Commemoration Event. Joyce sadly passed away 9th December 2021.
Kippax Roll of Honour 