Northamptonshire and Soke of Peterborough  WOMEN'S LAND ARMY

6, MARKET SQUARE, HIGHAM FERRERS
May 27, 1942

Dear Madam,

WOMEN'S   LAND   ARMY   UNIFORM   RATIONING

The time has come when it has been found necessary to apply clothes rationing not only to the general public but to the uniformed Services including the Women's Land Army. Supplies of clothing material are becoming more difficult to obtain and it is most important that what is available should be distributed as fairly as possible.

Members of the Women's Land Army will, therefore, be required to give up a proportion of their clothing coupons in exchange for the replacements of uniform to which they will become entitled in the coming year.

As against this, every member of the Land Army in possession of her uniform will receive four Permits which will enable her to purchase at her own expense, free of coupons, certain articles of clothing which are not included in the outfit of uniform she receives from the Government.

Please read the details of the scheme explained below very carefully and carry out the instructions so that you may be sure of getting your replacements of uniform when they become due.

1.    You must now send me 36 coupons from your new clothes ration book. These may be green, brown or red coupons. They need not be signed on the back.

2.     As soon as I receive your coupons, I will send you a receipt which you should keep carefully. I will also send you four Coupon-Equivalent Permits which will allow you to buy without coupons the articles mentioned on each Permit. You may not exchange a Coupon-Equivalent Permit by post but you must take it yourself to the shop where you are going to use it, wearing Land Army uniform. You may use the Permits one by one and at any time you please. You need not buy all the articles listed on the Permit that you use but, as each Permit may only be used once, anything you do not buy is forfeited. A member of the Land Army only receives four Coupon-Equivalent Permits once during her whole period of service — not once a year.

3.    The 36 coupons which you must now give up are in exchange for all Land Army uniform replacements which you will receive during the coming year. Every member of the Land Army will in future be entitled to the following replacements after each twelve months of service as soon as the Women's Land Army Representative for her district is satisfied that the old clothes are worn out and that replacement is necessary.

Yours truly,
ELIZABETH SIMPSON