A memorial to the “lumberjills” – the women who worked in forestry during World War Two – has been unveiled in North Yorkshire.The sculpture in Dalby Forest, near Pickering, is a steel fabri…cation of a felled tree and two lumberjills.

Some 9,000 British women were recruited to work in forestry during the war.

The lumberjills carried out heavy work, felling trees by hand, working in sawmills, loading trucks and driving tractors.

The timber was made into telegraph poles, road blocks, packaging boxes and gun butts for the war effort, and even crosses for war graves.

Sculptor Ray Lonsdale won the Forestry Commission competition to create a lasting memorial to honour the women. More … http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-24843320