A FORMER Land Girl will be watching the Apollo Theatre's production of Lilies on the Land in Newport this week.

Doris, 96, known as Dot, will be an honoured guest in the audience of the play - which tells the stories of a group of women who worked on the land during the Second World War.

Dot joined the land girls at 17 and moved to Bedfordshire to help with the war effort. She is looking forward to attending the matinee with her friend Violet, 100, and celebrating the hard work and achievements of young women during the war. 

Director Chris Hicks said: "We are all absolutely delighted and honoured that a genuine Land Girl has been able to come to our production.  

"We hope she will be reminded of the good times she and her amazing colleagues enjoyed during those years when they were instrumental in supporting the war effort.  

"Their achievements and their essential work will always be remembered – and perhaps our play will help those who don’t know much about the Women's Land Army (WLA) to find out more."

The play is focused on the lives of four women - Vera, Margie, Poppy and Peggy – and tells of their experiences as members of the WLA.

Their stories, interspersed with songs from that era, tell a story of women who stepped into the breach to help the war effort.

Lilies on the Land was devised and written by The Lions part, a London-based group of professional actors who wanted to stage a play giving voice to the wartime experiences of women.

They realised that they knew very little about the extraordinary role the WLA, known as the ‘forgotten army’, played.

So they advertised in Saga magazine asking for any readers with experience to get in touch.

They were overwhelmed with over 150 letters and responses, and subsequently the experiences of those women became the heart of the play.

Watch the production at the Apollo Theatre from March 22 to 30 (except Sunday or Monday).