The great British countryside.
The setting for one of the most pivotaI battIes of the Second WorId War.
ChurchiII caIIed it the ''frontIine of freedom''.
It was a battIe fought by the farmers of Britain.
RUTH: Timber!
With the Nazis attacking British shipping,
and attempting to cut off food imports,
it feII to the farmers to save the country from starvation.
They were tasked with doubIing the amount of food grown in Britain's fieIds.
If they faiIed, the nation couId be starved into surrender.
Now, historian Ruth Goodman...
..and archaeoIogists AIex LangIands and Peter Ginn
are turning back the cIock,
working Manor Farm in Hampshire
as it wouId have been in the Second WorId War.
Not a glamorous business, this reserved occupation ot tarming.
Whoo!
Coming up, the team face the conditions of 1 94 1,
when continentaI Europe had been virtuaIIy enguIfed by the Nazis.
Britain stood isoIated against Germany, with no prospect of victory in sight.
The demands on the nation's farmers had never been so urgent.
lt something goes wrong with this machine, you can do more damage than by hand-milking.
The third year of the war saw Government intervention stepped up.
And farmers feIt the burden of constant surveiIIance.
Kind ot like the iron tist in the velvet glove.
From here on in, there's no toIerance for faiIure on the Wartime Farm.
(Air-raid siren)
Ruth's foraging for wood.
With fueI in short suppIy, this was a cruciaI job in the earIy months of the year.
Actually, tinding woodland out like this during the war, tull ot dead wood,
would be rather a windtall.
Nowadays nobody touches all this tallen stick. They haven't got any use tor it.
But during the war, everybody was desperately trying to heat their homes any way they could.
With coal rationed and all other tuels under ration as well,
any extra little bit ot stick you could gather made a huge difference.
Even when they're tinished burning, they're still a really usetul resource.
The ash that's left after it's burnt contains a really large concentration ot potassium,
which makes a tantastic tertiliser.
So as soon as l've tinished burning the wood,
l shall be collecting all the ash trom underneath the pot and spreading it on the garden.
Fantastic.
Free tertiliser.
Right, that's that bundled.
There we go.
What a beautitul day.
For wartime farmers, day-to-day Iife wasn't just about their own survivaI.
The nation's abiIity to feed itseIf rested on their shouIders.
And in 1 94 1, the pressure of officiaIdom was suddenIy increased.
Just before the outbreak of war, the Government had passed an emergency Iaw
taking controI of every aspect of farming.
To administer it, every county had a War AgricuIturaI Executive Committee.
Known as the War Ag, they wouId dictate the way the Iand was farmed.
Now, with Britain isoIated and the nation's food suppIy in more periI than ever,
the gIoves came off.
Look lively, Ruth.
Historian Brian Short has studied the War Ags
and the powers they had.
- The man trom the ministry's here. - Hi.
Hello.
Good to see you.
- Hello. - Good to see you.
Hello.
- Have you come to keep an eye on us? - l have.
In the battIe to feed Britain,
it was cruciaI to know exactIy how much food was being produced.
So in 1 94 1, the Government Iaunched the NationaI Farm Survey,
the most thorough survey of British farming ever undertaken.
And it had a sting in the taiI.
One ot the contentious questions ot all was, how good was your tarming? OK?
And this graded you as an A, B or C tarmer.
And it you're grade C, watch out.
C-rated farmers couId face the uItimate sanction
by order of the War Ag.
They might well come in, take over part ot the tarm.
- Without agreement? They could torce it? - Oh, absolutely. No agreement necessary.
Or they could actually ask the tarmer to leave his tarm altogether.
They could take over the tarmhouse as well.
And the tarmer just didn't have a leg to stand on.
l mean, he was there tor the purposes ot winning the war.
Something like 2,700 farrmers are going to be turned off their tarms during this war.
And something like 1 0,000 tarms
are going to be affected by bits ot their tarms being taken over by the War Ags.
To avoid this fate, it was cruciaI for farmers to impress the War Ag inspector.
We have a tield ploughed and we're just desperate to put another crop in.
- ls there anything you'd suggest? - Yes.
Well, one ot the things that l think would be really good that is needed a great deal is tlax
during this war.
- So that's tor textile production. - lt's tor textiles, yes.
FIex was grown for its fibres, which were used to make fabric, such as parachute webbing.
But Britain's farmers had IittIe experience of growing it.
Before the war, fIax had been imported, often from Russia.
With these suppIies cut off, British farmers were expected to make up the shortfaII.
You'd be doing the nation a real tavour by putting tlax in this area.
So it we were to grow tlax, we might get a little bit closer to that precious A grade.
Yes, you would please the ministry.
We should show you the rest ot the tarm.
That would be a very good idea indeed.
Well, it's just down ''a'' lane.
We'll give you ''a'' cup ot tea.
No, no tea, please.
l'm above corruption.
- OK. - Henry, come on.
When it came to the farmyard, the War Ag's No. 1 priority was miIk production.
For a popuIation fed on rations,
miIk was a vitaI source of fat, protein, caIcium and vitamin C.
It was known as nature's most compIete food.
Manor Farm's dairy herd are expecting caIves in a few weeks.
Once they're born, the cows wiII start producing miIk.
Come and have a look.
- After you. - Thank you.
So it's only a small milking parlour.
But we have got a milking machine.
Very good.
So with our cows about to calve,
you'd be looking tor us to get the maximum amount ot milk out ot their mothers.
Yes, absolutely. lt's very, very important.
The War Ags like to portray themselves as the tarmer's triend,
but it's kind ot like the iron tist in the velvet glove.
(Others laugh)
lt might be a nice suit but he's a hard man.
Right, we'd better crack on, then.
Brian will return in a tew weeks to allocate the team an A, B or C grade.
Before then, they must get the miIking parIour up and running, and sow the fIax.
AIex wants to harness up-to-date technoIogy to get the crop into the fieId.
So far the team have been using a Fordson, the most popuIar tractor of the war.
But Fordsons are notoriousIy hard to start.
There were other machines being deveIoped in the '40s.
AIex has come to meet RoIIy PhiIIips, an expert in earIy tractors,
who's got hoId of an aIternative.
- morning, Alex. - How are you?
How are you today? OK?
Yes, very well. And looking torward to seeing what the Field-marshall can do.
Yes. Far easier to start the Field-marshall than the Fordson that you love so much.
But your shoulder doesn't.
The FieId-MarshaII was more economicaI to run and more powerfuI than some earIier tractors.
But best of aII, there was a short cut to starting it.
The other way they used to start the marshalls was a shot-gun cartridge.
Right, OK. Show me, then. Show me how this works.
So l can get rid ot this handle, then.
- Put the handle back where you got it trom. - l could actually throw this in the river.
l wouldn't be too happy. it you do throw it in the river.
There's no shot in the cartridge
but there is bIack powder to cause an expIosion that wiII start the engine.
- Ah, l see. - And tap it off.
- There's your tiring pin, there. - There.
- But we're not going to use that yet. - OK.
And here we need to put a wick.
So the wick is very similar to blotting paper.
You need to roll it up...
Because blotting paper doesn't burn very rapidly, it just smoulders.
Right, OK. So this is effectively providing the ignition tor the tuel.
- Yeah. - Whilst this is providing the momentum.
The push ot the actual piston down.
As you can see, it's not burning very tast.
So that goes into the hole at the tront.
And now all you've got to do now is with the hammer hit the tiring pin.
OK.
- All down to you. - All down to me.
So this is...basically this is my ignition key.
- Correct, yes. - OK. Here we go, then.
Have you got another cartridge we can use?
(Both laugh)
You said this starts tirst time.
- lt does, but this time it doesn't. - OK.
Right, OK. Here we go.
(Engine starts)
- Easy. - marvellous.
That's brilliant. lt's going to save me my shoulder.
lt detinitely will.
- Well, let's take it tor a spin. - Let's go tor a spin.
The new tractor shouId make sowing the fIax much more straightforward.
But meeting the War Ag's other requirement, miIk production, is proving more of a chaIIenge.
So this is Sarah, is it?
Yeah, this is the one who's been giving us the problems.
Peter and stockwoman Debbie Underwood are keeping a close eye on the cows.
lt you look at the end ot that teat, can you see she's missing the bottom halt ot it?
- Yeah. - What we think has happened
is one ot the other cows have trodden on the teat
and have literally just cut through the end ot it, which is extremely paintul.
You can see, it's not very nice at all.
We've got a problem with the other teat as well.
- lt's black. - The tip ot it has gone black.
So she's got an intection.
Despite the best modern medicaI care, Sarah's injury wiII not heaI.
The onIy option is to keep her comfortabIe and wait for her caIf to be born.
Obviously, she's going to have to be culled because we can't use her tor milking any more.
- Yeah. But l suppose it's a tact ot lite. - lt is.
lt you've got livestock, you've got dead stock.
- lt's a very true saying, that one. Very true. - Yeah.
- But a nice big baby in there somewhere. - mm.
With the nation in desperate need of miIk,
Iosing a good dairy cow wouId have been a disaster for any wartime farmer.
The team's remaining cows
wiII now have to provide enough miIk to meet the War Ag's expectations.
Come on. Come here. Come on.
But their IeveI of production wiII be dependent on the quaIity and quantity of food they eat.
This should be interesting, Peter. l'm looking torward...
to seeing what's happened here.
Well, it is a complete experiment, isn't it?
Feed for dairy cows was in very short suppIy.
Before the war, they ate imported feed and aIso grazed on fieIds.
But with imports cut off and fieIds pIoughed up to grow crops for humans,
farmers had to find aIternatives.
The Government urged them to make siIage.
And a few months ago, AIex and Peter did just that.
The moment's come to see if their efforts have paid off.
Peter and l are both very, very nervous about this
because we've never made silage betore.
And in tact, actually, during the war,
many farrmers had never even entertained the idea ot making silage.
SiIage is a method of preserving green crops at their most nutritious,
a bit Iike pickIing.
It's usuaIIy made with grass but wartime farmers had to be imaginative.
lt's very interesting because this isn't your traditional silage.
- This isn't just straight grass, is it? - No, no.
This is a real cocktail ot nettles, grasses.
ln a wartime situation, it this hadn't have worked,
and we'd have put all ot our eggs in one basket, so to speak,
it could spell disaster tor a tarm that's trying to rear a dairy herd, bring a dairy herd on.
The boys made the container, or silo, trom scraps ot metal tound on the tarm.
- Alex, someone, during construction... - Yep.
- ..and it may well have been me... - Yeah.
- ..has actually put that nut tacing in. - Oh, no.
We've managed to have locked ourselves out ot our own silo here. Look.
Hopetully the silage will hold...
lt the silage can just hold the nut tight enough on the other side...
This doesn't bode well, Peter, really, does it?
- Ooh, it's coming. - Oh, it is.
Brilliant. Well done, Peter.
Right.
OK.
There was pIenty of information to heIp farmers spot siIage probIems earIy.
Look, see, this is the test here, Peter.
lt's called ''Silage, How to make and Feed it''. OK?
On the back ot this we've got a tault correction table.
And l'm not saying we've got a tault yet.
But it says here ''Evil-smelling silage throughout.''
Now, do you know what an evil smell is?
l'm all too tamiliar with an evil smell, Alex.
Give it a sniff. Tell me it you think it's evil.
l would not say that was evil.
l would say that smells ot grass.
l think it's good.
We'll see. l mean, it the cows tuck into it with great relish,
then we'll know actually it's not done so badly.
- You've got the tools? - l've got the tools.
You've got the barrow?
Grub's up, girls.
Oh, what is this?
What is that? Go on, have a...
Experimental silage.
- She's interested. - She is.
- This bodes well. Right, let's get it in the trough. - Ooh.
There we go. Look at that, Peter.
Look at that.
Wonder silage.
There it goes.
You can't have it all, you two.
There's more than two cows here.
There's plenty to go around.
That's it, Peter. You get it in there.
That's a no-nonsense bit ot troughing, that, isn't it?
Look at that.
Save some room tor later, darling.
l think we could very proudly go back to the War Ag
and say, you know, we did our job.
We tried silage.
- And we've made it work. - Yeah.
Go spread the word.
Brilliant.
Farmers hoping to impress the War Ag
made sure they kept up with the Iatest Government advice.
A popuIar way of doing so was to watch Government fiIms.
l think, dig in, yeah. Grab some sandwiches.
And one such production is showing at the viIIage haII.
MobiIe cinemas were sent up and down the country
screening fiIms that showcased how farming was heIping the fight.
Spring Offensive was made in 1 940
by the Ministry of Information.
FlLm'S NARRATOR: The English countryside.
lts most important crop, English countrymen.
Now, what will war mean to the countryman?
What will war mean tor the land?
Historian John Martin speciaIises in farming on the home front.
The ministry ot lntormation was set up right at the beginning ot the war
to intorm people?
To instruct people, to stress the success ot the wartime tood production campaign
and also, really, to raise people's morale.
FlLm'S NARRATOR: He not only tarms well.
He pulls his weight in all sorts ot ways.
Well, mother, here's the new visitor.
The main character in Spring Offensive is a member of the War Ag.
Well done. What can you give me?
Say, 20 acres.
Yes, 20. And tive or six in another tield which l might be able to break up later on.
That's an easy start.
lt gives them a human tace.
You'll get the Government grant. 64 pounds.
l'll give you 64 quid to mind your own business and clear off.
The pIot stressed the importance of cooperating with the War Ag...
..and the consequences of defying them.
But there's one that beats me. That's hopeless.
And that is Grove Farm.
(Slow, moody music)
Good use ot music.
mm.
Ominous.
The only way is to take the tarm over.
More than 2,000 fiIms were produced
under the guidance of the Ministry of Information during the war.
There we have it. Harvest in.
lt's telling us that they turned that tarm around.
The crucial element in a tilm like this is actually it's all about the mindset
and keeping everyone positive and keeping everyone moving in the same direction.
And in that sense it achieved the objective,
ensuring that everyone's committed to the war effort.
lt's certainly done that tor me. lt's certainly raised my morale.
But at the same time it's stressed to me
that l've got to get out there and get the kind ot yields that these people are.
FlLm'S NARRATOR: ln September 1 939, you asked the countryside
to provide you with a sate retuge tor your children and security against tamine.
And both these things it has given you.
Now the countryside asks you to do something in return.
When peace comes, don't torget the land and its people again.
Well, hopetully we won't get a bad grade tor our tarm.
Yeah, well, we've seen how it's supposed to be done.
Back on the farm, the team must get ready for the upcoming War Ag inspection.
They have the FieId-MarshaII tractor Iined up for sowing the fIax.
And for miIking, they'II aIso be using a new piece of kit.
- Here we go, Peter. - OK.
- This is what runs the milking machine, is it? - Yes, it is, Peter. lt's another engine.
- l can see a crank handle. - Yep.
And it's got your name on it, Peter.
lt's a tairly simple piece ot kit, this.
What we do is we create a vacuum that runs up through a rubber pump pipe up the back
and then goes in to the milking parlour here.
OK? And then across the top.
And off ot that pipe you can then tap in however many milking machines you may need.
The demands of wartime production increased the use of miIking machines.
Before the confIict, onIy one in five farmers were using them.
But the wartime shortage of manpower meant Iabour-saving devices were essentiaI.
And by 1 945 over haIf of Britain's cows were being miIked by machine.
The farm's cows stiII haven't caIved,
so the machine can't be used yet.
But there's some sad news about Sarah,
the cow who was iII.
We always knew that Sarah was going to have to be put down
but you were hoping to get a calt trom her, weren't you?
Yes, that's right. Even though we knew her injury was what you would call terminal,
what we were hoping tor was that at least we could rescue the calt.
Tragically, we came in one morning and tound that the calt had been stillborn,
which is, you know...which is very sad.
She was a very good milker, wasn't she?
Well, last year she was averaging about 50 pints ot milk a day.
- Wow. - And she was only a little girl.
So that was a lot ot milk tor her. That really was.
But there still is a herd. We still have cows on the tarm.
Yeah, our other cows are looking really good.
So hopetully within a very short time we should have at least a tew calves on the ground
and we'll be able to start milking again.
The War Ag wouId Iook unfavourabIy on any farmer who Iost their Iivestock Iike this.
And farmers who consistentIy faiIed to meet Government expectations
couId face the uItimate penaIty.
As IocaI farmer John Curtis witnessed.
John, l've been reading some ot the newspapers here trom the 1 940s
and there's a case ot a tarmer here in Hampshire shot in an 1 8-hour tarm siege.
Yes. He was our neighbour during the war.
A chap called George Ray Walden.
Yes, commonly known as Ray.
- And did you know him personally? - Yes,
although l was quite young at the time.
- my tather used to do his harvesting tor him. - Right.
- l was a little bit atraid ot Ray. - Yeah.
Because he was very tormidable, really.
As l understand it trom these articles, what happened is
Ray Walden was required to plough up roughly halt ot his tarm.
That is correct.
As part ot the war effort to grow more wheat.
But he retused to do so.
Some ot the land he couldn't have ploughed up anyway
- because it was too wet and damp. - Right.
But they still said he had to plough it up.
But then that was the War Ag at the time.
The War Ag tried to evict Ray WaIden
but he hoIed himseIf up in his farmhouse with a shotgun and fired at poIice,
wounding two.
Things spiralled out ot control
and it ended up with an 1 8-hour siege ot his house.
And he ended up getting shot by a police officer.
Yes. And then ot course eventually he was taken to hospital.
And it was there that he died.
And this must have then sent shock waves through the tarming community.
Oh, it did. lt was in all the press, you know.
And the farrmers' union papers, in the magazines that came out.
The story was there.
mostly they were condemning it.
Because it shouldn't ever have happened.
- You think it shouldn't have happened. - l don't think it should at all.
l mean, when l read this story, it does till me with sadness.
But at the same time there's part ot me that thinks, there was a kind ot greater good here.
Really, it we were going to avoid starvation on these islands,
we had to do this. We had to sort ot plough up...
Well, yes, but it still needn't have gone that tar.
Yeah.
Really, it's been very interesting and it's made me think a lot more about the War Ag
and what they were doing.
Throughout 1 94 1, imports decIined,
making everyday items increasingIy scarce.
One shortage in particuIar caused probIems for housewives.
Soap.
Soap became scarce because pretty much the major ingredient ot soap is tat.
Any sort ot tat but particularly the edible tats.
And Britain, with all the business going on with U-boats out in the Atlantic,
was really, really short ot edible tats.
So any soap you could save meant there was more tat tor people to eat.
The fat shortage became so severe that in 1 942 soap wouId be rationed.
But even a year earIier it was hard to come by.
There were some thrifty ways to make it go further.
This is a tip l got trom a newspaper ot the 1 940s
and basically you use a tlannel
and then all the bits ot soap that are getting too small to be usetul,
all the sort ot little chippy bits or the little tiny soft slivers left at the end ot a bar,
you bung them all into your tlannel.
And you just squeeze it up
and pop it in some hot water.
And basically the soap melts enough to all sort ot gel together
and become a sort ot multi-coloured, made-out-ot-mini-bits solid bar.
Even in that two seconds there, it l give it a good squeeze...
..you'll see it's retormed.
There we are. Look.
lt's all sort ot moulded into one lump.
And that's so much easier to use than all the little bits and bobs.
In the garden, those in the know couId find another way to deaI with the soap shortage.
This is soapwort.
You can sort ot see there's a nice pretty pink tlower on it.
And just like the name implies, soapwort... it's usetul as soap.
lt's a sort ot soap substitute, really.
The strongest part, the saponin, is in the root
but you can get it in the leat and the stem as well.
Eking out your soap ration with soapwort, however, was probably not very mainstream.
Really restricted to eccentrics like me who happen to know the older ways ot doing things.
The next stage is processing the pIant.
So l've washed and cut up all my soapwort.
Nice hot water.
Start bruising it.
What l'm trying to do is release the juices in the soapwort.
ln particular, the one called saponin.
That's the thing that does the cleaning.
Oh, yeah, look.
lt's starting to go a little bit bubbly.
lt's supposed to be one ot the gentlest ot all the cleaning agents.
lndeed, conservators use it when they're dealing with really ancient textiles.
Where soap would be too harsh, they use a solution ot soapwort or saponin
to gently soften
and lift dirt and grease out ot things like ancient tapestries and so torth.
So it it's good enough tor that, it's good enough tor my hair.
This is the greenest shampoo l think l've ever made.
Right.
lt smells very sappy.
Quite a nice tresh smell, actually.
l mean, it doesn't lather up like modern shampoos do.
But it mostly teels just cool and cleanish, l suppose.
l don't know.
Right, l think l'm ready to rinse it all off.
Peter aIso has a scheme to make the most of meagre scraps
and impress the War Ag at the same time.
Though feed for Iivestock was in short suppIy,
there was one animaI that thrived in conditions of scarcity.
Rabbits were an exceIIent, quick-growing source of meat.
And rabbit-farming was officiaIIy encouraged.
Peter pIans to start a smaII concern,
with the heIp of animaI behaviourist Anne McBride.
Rabbits are extremely good converters ot tood.
They are the best ot the mammals that we keep to produce meat.
They've evolved to live on low-quality, dried toodstuffs.
They evolved in the Southern Spanish peninsular.
lt you think about going to Spain in the summer, it's dry, course, it's very low-quality tood.
And that's what the rabbits are designed to survive on.
So in terms ot tood in, meat out, they're extremely good rapid converters.
Wow.
SeIecting rabbits for breeding is a deIicate process
that begins with sexing.
- These are our rabbits. - Fantastic.
The tirst thing we need to know is which are the boys and which the girls.
Ah.
OK, there we go. Let's get you up.
Sorry.
Good girl. Oh, no, this is a boy.
He's got a very nice pair ot testicles here.
Very large.
So we have here a very nice young man.
Whoops.
You only need one boy but you do need more than one girl.
Quite wriggly.
Ah, another boy.
A little boy.
Well, rabbit No.3. Hopetully this isn't a boy.
- Hey, not a testicle in sight. - No.
There are two more femaIe rabbits to choose from.
Now, ot the two, just based on size, l would go tor this one anyway.
lt you're going to breed large with large, you're more likely to get larger offspring
and a bigger litter.
And as the ultimate aim ot this is to provide as much meat as possible,
then you're going tor that,
- not tor looks or pretty teatures - lndeed.
- At the cottage, Ruth's got a visitor. - Ruth!
- Karen! Nice to see you. - Good to see you.
Laundry day today. You haven't come to help do the laundry?
l've got a surprise tor you. Come with me.
Hang on.
Hang on, hang on.
Historian Karen Sayer studies 1 940s househoId technoIogy
and has brought Ruth a revoIutionary gadget.
Oh, l'm so excited about this.
A washing machine!
Finally a washing machine.
Just like in the advert.
With huge numbers of women working fuII-time for the war effort,
Iabour-saving devices at home were invaIuabIe.
Washing machines were hard to come by.
With many factories converted to make munitions.
But Karen's found a pre-war machine for Ruth to use.
- lt's still not a powered washing machine, is it? - No.
- lt's woman power. - lt is actually...
- l can see her turning the handle. - lt's manual labour.
Yeah.
Where you're tortunate is in connection with the heating ot the water.
This machine was designed to heat water using gas power.
l think the gas inlet is down there.
You could get electrically heated machines as well.
But it is all about the heating ot the water. Because it's saving so much work.
But the farm doesn't have a gas connection.
So the water must be heated separateIy and then brought to the machine.
Here we go. Pop it in. Don't need very much.
- my blouse. - OK.
Some shirts.
my apron. Look at the state ot that.
l got in such a mess.
Let's see it this washing machine's tough enough to handle it.
Well, we could give it a whirl.
See it it really works.
So, moment ot truth, l think. Don't you?
Right, go. Agitate.
Agitate. Agitate.
l read that advert. lt said three minutes to do your weekly wash.
Yes, as it!
l mean, it doesn't take me three minutes to do my weekly wash now.
AIthough washing machines were first marketed in the Iate 1 8th Century,
it wouId be the 1 960s before they became common in British homes.
The next development on trom this would have been the twin tub,
which would have been a powered agitator.
But that wasn't to happen. For a long time.
We must have done our three minutes by now, surely?
- Let's have a look. - Let's have a look.
- So, pull it up. - Pull it up.
OK.
- Well, it smells good and laundrysome. - lt does.
Smells very wholesome.
ls that your apron?
- That's looking a lot better. - lt is, isn't it?
- You see? - Yeah, that's shifted it.
There we go.
Squeezy, squeezy, squeezy.
l like this bit.
l love washing machines.
l think ot them as an implement ot women's lib.
Well, l think you're right.
Where are you planning to put it? Down here?
Peter and Anne are ready to start breeding their rabbits.
l suppose the tirst thing we need them to do is actually...
- Do the business. - Yes.
Exactly.
The sun's come out tor you.
The buck is put in first so that he can estabIish the run as his territory.
l think he's rather enjoying himselt at the moment.
lt they don't mate at this attempt, does that mean that it's never going to happen?
No, it could mean that she's just not ready yet because they do have a cycle.
He might spray her with urine, which in rabbit language means he tancies her.
Don't try it at home.
And we'll just see how they get on.
- Now, there you go. - That was pretty tast.
That was pretty quick tor that.
Clearly we've got her at the right time.
- They're certainly living up to the stereotype. - They are.
And that's it over and done with.
The whole thing is quite tast.
Then we've got some nice grooming behaviour.
Oh, yeah.
- Him showing... - Some affection.
Some affection.
Excellent.
Looks really hopetul. For baby rabbits.
Not to put a dampener on it, but how long until those babies are ready to be butchered?
Really, at the weight you want them, l guess.
You know, three to tour months you can have an animal that's a goodly size.
Peter hopes his frugaI new enterprise wiII pIease the War Ag inspector.
But his main concern
wiII be how weII the team have done with the fIax they've been ordered to grow
to produce textiIes for the war effort.
AIex is getting ready to sow the fieId.
But he's worried about pest controI.
Any resuIting Ioss of crops wouId invite the dispIeasure of the War Ag.
Pigeons and the rooks and the crows... go to do something about them.
And l know they don't particularly savour tlax seed
but, at the same time, what l don't want to tind is we get the little shoot coming out
and it's like a beacon to crows and rooks.
They'll see that shoot and know that at the bottom ot that shoot is a nice sweet little seed.
And l don't want to lose any ot this tlax crop.
l want to keep the ministry tor Agriculture as happy as l can.
So l'm going to tind some kind ot way ot scaring the birds out ot this tield.
And l'm not going to go tor the old-tashioned scarecrow this time.
At the start of the war one miIIion tonnes of food were being Iost to pests every year.
EIiminating the probIem was seen as a patriotic duty if Britain was going to feed itseIf.
lt's almost like a war on pests as much as a war on anything else.
We're so desperate tor every last little bit coming out ot the tields.
- Yeah. - You can't afford to let halt ot it be taken.
You know, it we're going to go tor that A category
then we should at least be seen to be doing something, l think, about the bird problem.
AIex has taken inspiration from a 1 940s product.
You see, in this little...
advertisement...
''Bang!''
And what looks like a tirecracker going up the centre.
Yeah.
So it goes bang, pushes the corrugated iron up and it tlaps about.
And that's what happens. Look. Rabbits tlee in terror.
- Noisy enough? - This?
Come on.
- lt's not bad, is it? - We want it to go trom there, don't we?
AIex has ordered in expIosives identicaI to the wartime ones.
So that's gunpowder, isn't it, wrapped up in paper stuck into a bit ot string.
Now, we've just got to hope...
that there's enough power in each one ot these...
- To blow it open? - To blow it open, yeah.
- Head for the spade, Ruth. - Oh, yeah.
The bird scarer wiII be tested in a nearby fieId.
The thing is, is it going to be deep enough?
So, moment ot truth, Ruth.
Well, l reckon a charge... One ot those whole things has got to last a day.
Yeah, so it's going to be quite some time, l should think, betore we get...
Ooh.
Smoke.
(Ruth laughs)
lt was a good bang.
lt didn't tlap, though. lt scarcely moved.
- The tuse is lit. - lt is.
Presumably it'll work its way up and bang again.
lt would be nice it they did tlap around more, but...it scared me.
The Second WorId War saw farmers aII over Britain battIing to reduce pests.
The bird scarer shouId heIp the team make a good impression on the War Ag.
In June 1 94 1, the course of the war was transformed
when Germany invaded the Soviet Union.
But the resuIting confIict on the Russian front was bad news for British farmers.
The Government diverted shipping to send munitions to the Soviet Union,
Ieaving even fewer vesseIs avaiIabIe to bring food to Britain.
The War Ags now ordered farmers to redoubIe their efforts
to increase the nation's home-grown food production.
MiIk remained a vitaI part of this campaign.
The farm's cows have at Iast had their caIves and the team can begin miIking.
The wartime need to get maximum yieId and keep the herd heaIthy
greatIy increased the roIe of vets on farms.
Veterinarian AbigaiI Woods has come to advise AIex and Peter.
Come on, cows. Come on.
ln the 1 930s, farrmers had no money.
They would only call vets as an absolute last resort.
You know, it something was on its last legs and about to die.
Now, 1 940s, vets are on tarms
essentially to deal with the sorts ot diseases
that weren't thought a big deal ot betore.
Because they didn't kill cows.
So diseases like mastitis.
lntertility.
They're not dramatic diseases but they have a major impact on milk production.
- Right. - And, you know, 1 941 ,
this nation needs all the milk it can possibly get.
Mastitis, an infection of the udder,
is easiIy caused by using the miIking machine incorrectIy.
That's great.
Betore we start milking proper,
the next thing is just to get a little squirt ot milk out ot each teat.
- Out ot each one? - Out ot each one.
Just a little bit.
Don't get it all over the tloor. make sure it goes into that mug.
So the reason we're doing this
is that trom the appearance ot that milk
you can pick up the early signs ot mastitis.
So any nasty little clots or tlecks in the milk or it smells a bit tunny...
- That's tine. - Smells OK.
That's absolutely tine.
- So turn it on. - (Hiss)
There we go. So you can hear it's coming through.
So it you put your thumb on that, you should be able to teel the vacuum.
- That's just pulsating. - That's right.
lt you just put a straight vacuum on that and it didn't pulse, it would damage the teats.
- Right. OK. - The pulsing gives it a chance to recover.
Attaching the vacuum cups is a tricky task.
Put your thumb over the end tirst.
That's it.
No, it's not...
- That's it. - Oh, there we go.
- There we go. - Two.
Ah.
lt looks like you're winning the battle there but perhaps not the war.
- There we go. - Brilliant.
- And will that just hold itselt on? - That will, yeah.
- l don't have to stay here? - You can stand up.
About three or tour minutes now.
But you've got to do everything just right
because it something goes wrong with this machine,
you can do more damage that way than by hand-milking.
Do you know how much it's sucking out, a ratio, a rate?
lt's quite quick, is it?
Yeah, it's about 40 to 60 pulses a minute.
That is the trequency which a calt sucks.
- Right. - lt's also the trequency that a cow's heart beats.
So it's a sort ot...
- OK. - There's some logic behind that.
There's a bit ot rhythm here, a natural rhythm.
- OK, so she looks like she's done. - Right.
Farmers were under pressure to send the miIk they produced into the rationing system,
keeping onIy a smaII amount for themseIves.
There we go. Fresh out ot the cow.
That's tairly tull.
Most were prohibited from turning it into butter or cheese at home.
These foods were now produced in centraIised factories,
so the Government couId keep a cIose eye on what was being made.
But if any miIk went sour before it Ieft the farm, farmers couId get speciaI dispensation to use it.
my milk's turned.
lt's off.
But luckily not a disaster.
Cheese, after all, is just off milk.
That's all it is.
All you've got to do is separate the curds trom the whey.
And all l'm going to do is strain it.
(Trickling)
Agricultural workers really telt the need tor cheese.
They'd always been big cheese eaters.
Taking a lump ot bread and cheese out into the tield is the easiest way ot dealing with lunch
miles away trom the tarmhouse.
A little bit more.
lt's only going to need a sprinkle ot salt...
..and a dusting ot chives
and l've cottage cheese that we can have in sandwiches.
With the War Ag inspector due to revisit the farm soon,
the boys must now get on with sowing the fIax.
- The tlax isn't getting any lighter. - No, it's not.
Nearly there, though.
Certainly got the weather tor it as well, haven't we?
AIex and Peter have enIisted heIp from one of the few remaining fIax farmers in Britain.
Simon Cooper.
So what l've done is l've brought along a bit ot tlax just to show you
what we're hoping you're going to achieve.
- The end product. - Yes.
So what's so special about it?
Behind the bark you'll see the tibres.
The tlax tibres, tor making ropes, canvas, tenting,
tire hoses.
lts got a whole load ot uses.
We have brought you two bags ot tlax.
- You do have a seed drill. - Yes. Yeah.
- And we have a tield we need to sow. - Good.
FIax was such a rareIy grown crop in pre-1 940s Britain
that virtuaIIy no machinery was set up to deaI with it.
''Peas, oats, barley, wheat.''
- No tlax. - No tlax.
We'll go there and see how it goes.
Try and lift it up. There we are.
This seed driII needs to be caIibrated, so the correct amount of seed wiII be sown in the soiI.
You want to spin the wheel 1 0 times.
- 1 0 complete revolutions? - Yeah.
Nine and three quarters, 1 0.
That's almost perfectly on... Just under eight ounces.
- Eight ounces. - Yeah.
So it's probably a little bit high.
lt we just go down a setting, we'll be pretty close with that.
We want to get this right. We really want to get a good even crop.
So it competes with itselt, makes itselt grow tall and straight.
Hopetully keeps the weeds down.
Let's take the time, then, Peter, and get this right.
Remember, we're looking tor that A rating.
After hanging forjust an hour, the sour miIk is transformed into cheese that's ready to eat.
There we go.
mm, it's quite nice.
- Need a hand starting it? - Yes, please, Peter.
This is the ignition key.
(Laughs)
- Well, you certainly won't lose that, will you? - No.
- You've started this betore, haven't you? - Yes, yes.
- Experienced? - No.
So, naked tlame, diesel,
shotgun cartridge.
OK. Let's get that tightened up.
OK, here we go.
Don't miss.
(Engine starts)
Just like that.
The acreage of fIax grown in Britain
increased from 1,000 acres to 60,000 over the course of the war.
SpeciaIIy buiIt factories across the country turned the crop into textiIes
that were vitaIIy important for the war effort.
How long is this going to take? When do we harvest it?
- Well, it's round about 1 00 days. - Right.
From planting till harvest.
lt's a very, very quick-growing crop.
Hi, chaps.
Sarnies!
Hello.
- Oh, thank you very much. - Cottage cheese ot my own.
- What's this? - lt's my cottage cheese.
You're a lite-saver.
- ls it all right? - mm.
Better than wasting it.
mm.
Are you going to get it done today, do you think?
Yeah.
- We're going to get this in today. - Good.
Right, save that tor later.
Let's get this baby started up again.
Ready?
To make sure they get aII the fieIdwork done, the farmers have enIisted some extra heIp.
Hello!
Come on through!
LocaI farmer Robert Sampson has brought his horses to harrow the ground,
breaking up and IeveIIing out the soiI to embed the seeds.
No! l didn't ask anybody to move.
Come here. Come here.
Those are good-looking beasts.
They're not shires. What are they?
These are British Percherons, a compact powerful horse
capable ot all tarm-work
and you could trot them to town it you wanted.
Come on, keep going.
- l might be talking but l'm not talking to you. - (Ruth laughs)
Percherons originaIIy came from France
but began to appear on British farms in the earIy 20th Century.
Just after the First World War.
The British Army were looking tor a heavy artillery horse
that was capable ot tast movement.
Ot course, war was mechanised and they were never needed.
But they went on to the tarms because the tarms were where they came trom.
And a sight like this
with a tractor and horses working in the same tield at the same time
is a really typical sight ot World War Two, isn't it?
Yes, oh, detinitely.
Despite the infIux of tractors,
working horses made a huge contribution to wartime farming.
Their numbers had decIined in the 1 930s
but the Second WorId War revived them
and by 1 945, there were aImost haIf a miIIion working horses on British farms,
twice the number of tractors.
- Nice to see the horses out working. - lt is.
l am an absolute bag ot bones.
l'd give my hind teeth to be behind those two horses.
After a Iong day's work, the fIax is safeIy in the ground.
Looking good.
Oh, my head!
That's so noisy.
- You all right there? - (Groans)
Good Lord.
What a machine.
Well, l think we've all earned ourselves a beer.
my back!
lt's not the most ergonomically designed seat, is it?
- Know the best thing about that tractor? - What?
l can't hear you complaining.
my back! my back!
There you go.
Right, we'll get these down us and then l'll get back to the yard
and get that bird scarer.
And get it out here as soon as possible.
Because l don't want to lose any ot this crop. l want to keep the man trom the ministry happy.
- Yeah. - He'll be pleased, l'm sure.
- Cheers. - Cheers.
Thanks ever so much.
Here's to a tlax crop.
The War Ag inspector is about to return
to judge how weII the team have carried out his instructions.
Just in time, the rabbits have started nesting, meaning their babies shouId be born soon.
And the farmers are keeping carefuI records of their miIk yieIds
to make sure they have aII the information to hand.
With everything in pIace,
they're ready for the Iong-anticipated return of War Ag expert Brian Short.
(Bang)
And that was the bird scarer.
Yes. Very effective.
Yeah, well, l'd like to think so.
Flax was one ot the crops
that you said would put us in the ministry ot Agriculture's good books.
- Yes, absolutely right. - All the time l've got my eye on that grade A.
- Yes. - Ever hopetul.
meanwhile, the cows are coming to milk
and we're getting about two gallons a day off each one.
Very good.
We have branched out into a rabbit concern.
We've started off with two.
But they are multiplying as we speak.
- (Laughter) - Right.
lt's amazing how tast that process happens.
Well, that's good.
Any meat tor the pot helps.
So, Brian, we now get to the burning issue ot the grade, the category,
- that you would like to assign to our tarm. - Yes.
Well, ot course, it's not just this tield.
One has to take account ot the whole tarming operation.
But l would have thought that given what you've done,
you are working to at least 60% ot productivity
on a tarm like this.
So that's a B, OK?
Right.
There are some War Ags who actually used B pluses and B minuses.
l think you might be edging towards a B plus.
- Really? - Whoo!
- B plus. - l can live with that.
l think so.
Right, well, let's have a cup ot tea betore we get any wetter.
- Are you allowed a cup ot tea afterwards? - After l've graded you.
You'd have got a biscuit with it as well it you'd given us an A.
The War Ag's centraI roIe in British agricuIture continued throughout the Second WorId War,
becoming more and more demanding.
It was a grueIIing chaIIenge
but one from which the nation's farmers wouId not fIinch.