As we watch the horrific events unfold in Ukraine, few of us can imagine the desperate suffering of its population. I was deeply moved by a BBC News report about a person planting vegetables on a small holding close to a dangerous area of the town of Orikhiv.
Lida Vasylivna in Orikhiv, Ukraine - Photo by permission of the BBC
A proud woman, Lida Vasylivna, was doing this while she was hearing distant Russian shellfire. She was tending her crops and animals alone while her children and husband, who was ill, were in a communal shelter some miles away.
It was too dangerous for her to live in their small house, instead she took refuge in a cold and damp cellar where food for the winter was usually stored but was now her bunker. Despite these perilous conditions, Lida was determined to carry on her family tradition of growing food for the family.
DIG FOR VICTORY - WW2 , 1939
The familiar Second World War (WW2) ’Dig for Victory’ campaign was initiated in October 1939 to promote our nation’s food self-sufficiency by encouraging people to grow food in their gardens and allotments. It was important to ensure people were sustained during food shortages and also to bolster national morale. Between the start and end of WW2 allotment plots in Britain increased from around 800,000 to more than 1.5 million.
Soldiers of the first world war tended flowers & vegetables on their battle lines
Less well known is the importance of growing food on allotments on the Western Front during the First World War. At a talk by Dr Alex Mayhew, a social and cultural historian at the London School of Economics and Political Science, I learned about the psychological role that gardening and growing food played at this time. Enduring military service during this four-year period required adaptation and like Ukraine today, there was no sense of how long the war would last.
Shelters with Gardens Behind. In French Trenches. WWI
As COVID-19 has shown, people find ways to cope. Many soldiers turned to gardening to create a sense of normality. History tends to focus on the gruelling life in the trenches, but surprisingly, even in the trenches there were flower beds sowed and tended by the soldiers. However, much time was also spent behind the frontlines where plants were looked after in cemeteries and an extensive network of allotments was created.
Around the Somme (where my great uncle died in 1916), for example, there were about 1,200 acres of garden allotments. Alex talked about war being a chronic crisis for soldiers who felt disconnected from home and their land. War presented ever great danger, its persistent presence, distant future and omnipresent death: a hellscape with discomfort, boredom and loss. Allotments represented an expression of identity and a reminder of England in a foreign land.
The communication trench to Beer Garden Dugout; between Ovillers and Beaumont Hamel by Albert Heim 1916 © Abbott and Holder Ltd
Horticultural shows on the western font
At the French port of Le Havre, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) established a key base for military personnel and supplies to the frontline. Allotments were widespread around the port and soldiers were encouraged to take up gardening. In 1917 and 1918 Le Havre hosted large scale vegetable shows, encouraged by the commandant, which appealed to national identity since gardening and farming were widespread activities in Edwardian Britain. The shows were a great success, each attracting around 10,000 visitors of many nationalities.
The gold and silver medals awarded alone in 1918 cost more than 3,000 francs, equivalent to about £6,500 today.
Photo courtesy of the Imperial War Museum
Beyond providing friendly competition, allotments helped to supplement military rations squeezed by German U-boat activity and boosted morale. Military authorities understood the value of the British love of gardening and how this culture behind the lines could be diverting and enjoyable.
Between 1914 and 1918 the number of plots in Britain had increased from 440,000 to around 1.5 million, similar to the number at the end of WW2.
Gardening and growing food is recognised to be beneficial to physical and mental health today. I believe allotments are as relevant today as they were in the past, particularly with concerns about food security and the increasing cost of living. I hope those in distress in Ukraine, like Lida, are able to find solace in this activity.
The Ukrainian Flag AT wellesbourne allotments
March 2022 © Zoe Edwards