World War II In the workhouse
In 2025, Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse marked VE80 by exploring the stories of local people in 1945, with generous support from the National Archives.
Norfolk is acclaimed for its international role in the Second World War. Royal Norfolk Regiment's 2nd Battalion was the first complete infantry unit of the British Expeditionary Force to land in France at the start of the war and the first soldiers ashore the Normandy beaches on D-Day were men from the Royal Norfolk Regiment.
However, little is known about the finer details of life for those living in Norfolk during the war. Norfolk experienced a changed landscape of agricultural labour spearheaded by the Women's Land Army. There was a strong current of international cultural exchange, with US Forces positioned at multiple bases. This was also a period when the Mitford and Launditch Union Workhouse (now Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse) became a Public Assistance Institution, ahead of its eventual transformation into an NHS care home for elderly and disabled people in 1948.
Equipped with training from the Norfolk Record Office, staff and volunteers undertook in-depth research that resulted in several biographies, four of which we are happy yo share now.
Learn more Guardian Ethel, Labour Master and acting Porter Claude, Nurse Bessie and ARP Warden Violet, whose experiences during 1945 were brought to light during National Archives-supported project, WWII in the Workhouse.
Read about labour master and acting porter Claude.
The stories of Ethel, Claude, Bessie and Violet were brought to life by costumed characters at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse during the Home Front Stories and Christmas 1945 events in 2025, and in illustration by Norfolk artist Thea Grint.
Thanks to the National Archives for helping us to make these everyday histories accessible to more people.
