MP pledges to reward Land Army veterans

A pledge to ensure all surviving members of the Women's Land Army around Bognor Regis receive medals has been made by the town's MP.

Nick Gibb said it was important all those entitled to the recognition were given the medal and certificate by the government.

He spoke after meeting Iris Rose who took her Land Army Medal to a recent coffee morning of the Pagham Association for the Elderly which was attended by Mr Gibb.

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Mr Gibb said: "We all owe a deep debt of gratitude to Iris Rose for her service just as we do to all the soldiers who sacrificed so much to give us the freedoms and quality of life we all enjoy today.

"Without enough food, Britain's war effort would have been seriously undermined. Food continued to be a serious problem immediately after the war.

"There are many people in Bognor today who served in the Land Army. I hope they will all be receiving their medals soon.

"If not, I hope they will write to me so I can approach the Ministry of Defence on their behalf."

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Mrs Rose, of Stonehill Crescent, Nyetimber, had received her medal just three days earlier.

She joined the Land Army at the end of the second world war when the country was suffering from food shortages.

She worked on land owned by Baron Rothschild in Brill, Buckinghamshire. She weeded, tended potting plants, tied tomatoes and stacked wheat.

The work went unrecognised unofficially until last December 6 when the government announced that the army members and those of the Women's Timber Corps could have a special medal to be worn at Remembrance Day services and other civic occasions.

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Mrs Rose's husband, Alfred, served in the army from 1944 to 1945 and saw active service in Burma.

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