Pull Don’t Push at Dalby Forest

A sculpture to commemorate the role of women who worked in Britain’s woodlands during the Second World War. Ray Lonsdale’s steel fabrication of a felled tree and two lumberjills captures the arduous nature of their work in the forests as well as some of the lighter moments they experienced.

More than 9,000 women known as lumberjills were recruited from all over the country and posted to forests where they carried out the heavy work of felling and crosscutting trees by hand as well as working in sawmills, loading trucks, and driving tractors. The Women’s Timber Service was set up during the First World War, but in April 1942 the Ministry of Supply (Home Grown Timber Department) set up a new venture – the Women’s Timber Corps in England. Part of the Women’s Land Army, this was a new unit with its own identity and uniform, which included a green beret to distinguish them.

Home-grown timber was needed for the war effort and was used for telegraph poles, pit props, packaging boxes for military supplies and weapons, gun butts, canon carriage wheels, Mosquito and Spitfire combat aircraft and shipbuilding. The charcoal was also used for explosives and in the production of gas masks.

The Forestry Commission has been part of the effort to locate all surviving members of the Women’s Timber Corps to recognise their achievements and create a lasting legacy to them.

Location and Visitor Information

How to find Pull Don't Push

Haygate viewpoint is approx. half a mile in to the forest from the barrier entrance, the sculpture is situated on the right hand side as you are driving towards the forest.

Click here for the what3words location

Artist Biography

Ray Lonsdale is a Durham based artist specialising in steel fabrication with a passion for sculpture. Following the achievement of winning The People’s Award within the Hanging Jury Competition 2003 in Newcastle, Lonsdale is now receiving increasing acclaim and attention for his highly distinctive and thought-provoking work. His collections to date show the sculptor’s fascination with the human form. Built from steel, his work conveys incredible sensitivity and emotion, often providing deep moments of reflection.

Further pieces in Lonsdale’s portfolio include Eleven 'o' One (Tommy) at Seaham, Freddie Gilroy and the Belsen Stragglers on North Bay Scarborough and A High Tide in Short Wellies located in Filey.