Thursday, 07 May 2020
To mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day, we have chosen some of our favourite archived images from WWII courtesy of our Manuscripts and Special Collections department. You can find more images here.
To find out more about the collections, or to enquire about publishing any of the images, contact Manuscripts and Special Collections: mss-library@nottingham.ac.uk
The photos below show Nottingham University College personnel undertaking various duties for the 'Dig for Victory' campaign, 1940. Dig for Victory was intended to encourage Britons to grow their own vegetables over the winter months – in addition to spring and summer. This was part of a necessary drive for increased self sufficiency and sustainability in the face of rationing and food shortages caused by the war.
In the photo below, Nottingham University College lawns are being ploughed by a tractor for with the lake in the background.
In photo two, Nottingham University College personnel are planting and watering crops.
Photo three shows a man planting out spring cabbages and lettuces.
Next, we have photographs of the Women's Land Army at what is now the University's Sutton Bonington campus.
In the first photo, two Land Army girls are digging ditches in a hedgerow. The photograph is undated but was taken between 1939 and 1945.
In the next photo, a Land Army girl, Clare Boulter (née Baines) is kneeling on the ground bagging potatoes, Sutton Bonington campus, Nottinghamshire, Sep. 1939. In the background is a tractor pulling a potato lifter.
The photo below shows two of the Women's Land Army riding a tractor harrow in a field.
Some of the women pushing barrows up ramp to empty contents into horse drawn cart.
The photograph below shows a group of Land Army girls riding on a tractor. The photograph is undated but was taken between 1939 and 1945.
And finally, more than 500 students from the Institute of Education and Goldsmiths' College [both University of London colleges] were evacuated to Nottingham during the Second World War. The below photograph shows the reception of students from the Institute of Education and Goldsmiths' College by the President of the Students Union at Nottingham University College, September 1939.
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
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