The extent and impact of the 1940 and 1941 “plough-up” campaigns on farming across the South Downs, England

This paper, linked to a larger project relating to farm occupancy in the pre- and post-World War II decades, focuses on the plough-up campaign data in the NFS for a statistical population of over 500 farms in a group of contiguous parishes stretching across the South Downs, in south-east England. It explores the extent of the wartime plough-up and its potential impact on landscape change in the subsequent peacetime decades. It thereby contributes to our understanding of the impact of the Second World War on farming and the agricultural landscape in mid-twentieth century England.