Joan Hynes
Womens Land Army
Our Mum, Joan Hynes, was in the Farthingstone Hostel Litchborough in 1945/46 from the age of 16 or 17. We have no idea how long she served. She talked about a very tall woman who befriended her in the Land Army and is next to her in the group photo I found. She met my father John Rickards at the Old Lion Pub through his father Lawrence (Yank) Rickards. They were engaged for 5 years while Jack served in the British Army of Occupation after WW2.
When she turned 21 she told her father that she was going to Kenya to marry her Rhodesian sweetheart. Mum travelled on a troop ship to Mombasa. Mum and Dad married in 1951 in Kenya whilst Dad was still in the British Army during the Mau Mau War. In 1953 they moved to Rhodesia where my Dad started farming with his Uncle Chummy Acutt. Dad eventually bought his own farm and Mum and Dad farmed in Centenary. Dad died at 58 of cancer and Mum passed away at 72 after a long illness. We had a wonderful life growing up on the farm, going to boarding school, and being around Mum and Dad till their last days.
