FORMER Land Army girl and respected horti-culturist Mary Hayward has died at the age of 85.

Born an only child in Broadwey in May, 1925, Mrs Hayward left Broadwey School when she was 11 and went to the Central Girls School in Westham.

She was a hockey goalkeeper for her school and enjoyed cookery lessons as a girl, once winning a cook book as a prize.

While on holiday in 1939, war broke out and Mrs Hayward didn’t go back to school.

She got a job at Wheelers Stationers and Printers in St Mary’s Street, Weymouth and was signed on for a three-year apprenticeship.

She later joined the Land Army in January 1943 and worked at poultry farm.

She met her first husband Charles Read, a bomb disposal technician with the Royal Engineers, when he was stationed in Weymouth.

The couple were married in December 1943, when she was 18, and their first son, the now late Sydney James, was born in September 1945.

Their second son, Peter Charles, was born just 16 months later in January 1947.

Mrs Hayward later worked as a house cleaner and, following her husband’s death, joined the Women’s Institute in the late 1960s.

She was elected to the WI’s committee and served as president four times.

Mrs Hayward started the annual flower and craft show 20 years ago and was chairman of the area home economics committee, exhibiting her flower arranging skills at numerous shows.

She married the now late Victor Hayward, aged 54, in 1979 and was also a member of the Melcombe Regis Floral Group and secretary of the Upwey Horticultural Society.