Lovelocks and the World War II Women's Land Army





       At Ancestry.co.uk there is a collection of World War II Women's Land Army Index Cards. Lovelocks feature on only three of the cards, as follows:


Betty Avena Lovelock
Betty was born in 1912 according to the 1921 Census, which is consistent with her age quoted on the Index Card of 26 years 7 months. She was actually Beatrice Avena Kay whose birth, in Accrington, Lancashire on 14 Jun 1912, was registered in the Jul-Sep quarter of 1912 in the Haslingden Registration District. Her mother's maiden name was Kay, so it seems possible that Beatrice had been adopted by Reginald Russell Lovelock and Meda Ede from the Portsmouth Tree, with whom she was living in the 1921 Census. At the time of her application to join the Land Army she was working as a Restaurant Cashier at the Balmer Lawn Hotel in Brockenhurst, Hampshire. As her qualification for the Land Army she stated 'Slight knowledge of farming gained from camping with Guides'. However, her application was not successful, the Card being marked 'Rejected 29.9.39'. She was recorded as Betty A Lovelock in the 1939 Register, but as Beatrice A Kay when she married a Michael Galligan in Oct-Dec 1948, so she may not have been adopted after all. She died in 1997.

Doreen Mary Lovelock
Although recorded on the Index Card as Mrs Doreen Mary Lovelock, Doreen only became a Lovelock at some point in the Oct-Dec quarter of 1945 when she married George Lovelock from the Swallowfield, Heckfield and Worplesdon Tree. The Index Card indicates that she resigned from the Land Army on 30 Nov 1945. Doreen was born in 1924 and died in 2007.

Linda Meda Lovelock
Linda was the daughter of Reginald Russell Lovelock and Meda Ede from the Portsmouth Tree. The Index Card bears the legend 'Cancelled 13.9.39' so it is not clear whether she actually spent any time as a member of the Land Army. Linda was born in 1921 and died in 2007.

There are no references to Lovelucks on the Index Cards.