IN A PHOTOGRAPH bearing the marks of over 70 years of nostalgic handling, these boys of Keighley’s former Highfield School show off the produce of their wartime “Dig For Victory” efforts.
By March 1940, Highfield School had more than an acre of land under cultivation, and pupils were enthusiastically “sowing for victory”.
Throughout the West Riding, 167 pre-war county elementary school gardens increased to 437 within the first seven months of hostilities. Potatoes formed their main crop, and a variety of vegetables were also grown.
Allotments were encouraged. By September 1940, Keighley boasted a total of 860 plots, though not all the new ones were taken up immediately.
A Leeds University lecturer in horticulture give practical advice to members of the Keighley Allotment Holders’ Association, visiting sites at Fell Lane, Hard Ings Lane and Selbourne Grove, where several experimental plots were being worked under the direction of the University.
The government’s “Dig For Victory” campaign led to the re-forming of a former Haworth, Lees and Cross Roads Gardeners’ Association.
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