l WRNS pictured at West Mount House in Dover in May 1919. Two of the officers in the front row are wearing coat frocks, which were phased out as after October 1918 new officers were issued suit jackets
Pioneering women who made history Exhibition marks centenary of females in RN
UNIFORMS, a regulation handbag (complete with sewing needles, a bottle opener and a sink plug), photographs and a ceramic model of a wren – the feathered variety.
All are used to tell the story of women working in the Naval Service. An exhibition Pioneers to Professionals: Women and the Royal Navy has opened at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth to mark the centenary year of the Women’s Royal Naval Service. But it is the personal stories which bring to life how women contributed to British Naval history, right back from the age of sail when many women were unofficially on warships, some disguised as men. “Historically the work of Naval women was rarely recorded and often overlooked, yet thousands have actively contributed to worldwide Naval operations over centuries,” said Curator Victoria Ingles. “During this time, women have undertaken a huge range of jobs and have often confounded expectations about what they could do and this exhibition seeks to bring some of these inspirational stories to attention.” A section of the exhibition highlights the early pioneers from the 18th and 19th Centuries, during which time a number of women disguised themselves as men, while others openly lived with their husbands on board. Hannah Snell famously lived as Royal Marine James Grey for more than four years in the 1700s, while HMS Queen Charlotte’s 1815 muster book records a William Brown as enlisting in May but is dismissed a month later ‘for being female.’ A photograph taken in 1862 of 93-yearold Ann (Nancy) Perriam is included. She worked as a powder monkey and tended the wounded aboard HMS Orient at the Battle of the Nile in 1798. The formation of the WRNS in 1917 was seen as an important milestone as it allowed women to work in an official capacity in shore-based roles as cooks, stewards, dispatch riders, sail makers and in intelligence – the WRNS motto was Never at Sea. Initially the Service – around 7,000
Wrens served during WW1 – was heavily influenced by the Volunteer Aid Detachment – an organisation trained in first aid. Former VAD Commandant General Dame Katherine Furse was the first Director WRNS. The exhibition features a ceramic wren which sat on Dame Katherine’s desk. She bought a number of her key staff to the WRNS. The outbreak of WW2 brought a huge recruiting drive – one of the slogans proclaimed: Join the Wrens – free a man for the Fleet. By 1944 more than 74,000 Wrens were working in 90 different roles – and many of them did go to sea. Among the items on display is the Atlantic Star awarded to Constance Hale, who had a sea-going role with the Royal Navy during the Battle of the Atlantic. In 1943 she was drafted as a shorthand typist aboard the Philante helping train new crews in the Irish Sea to learn anti-submarine techniques. For her time in the WRNS, PO Hale received several medals but she is one of a few women to have received the Atlantic Star. Naval personnel on board ships who served for six months or more in the Atlantic or Home Waters between September 1939 and May 1945 received the medal. A large wooden key covered in signatures hangs in one of the WW2 display cases. This marked the 21st birthday of Margaret Hodgson as she sailed to Singapore to work on decoding Japanese signals. She had to get written permission from her father to join the WRNS. She, along with her fellow WRNS, were evacuated from Singapore shortly before it fell in February 1942. A brass plaque records the loss of 21 Wrens who embarked the SS Aguila in Liverpool bound for Gibraltar in August 1941. The convoy was attacked by U-boats and the Aguila was hit by a torpedo and sank in less than two minutes, taking with her 152 souls. Six surviving Wrens were picked up by the steam tug Empire Oak but she suffered
the same fate three days later. None of the Wrens survived. Following D-Day, a number of Wrens sailed to France to work with headquarters staff in France and Belgium. “It is important to recognise that the Wrens were not sat in office jobs but were putting themselves in danger,” added Victoria. “The attraction for many women was the chance to do something different and travel the world. It changed people’s perspective and also gave them skills and confidence, which helped them in life outside of the Service. “From talking to former Wrens who have visited it is clear that it was something special to be in the WRNS.” Members of the WRNS also heavily influenced the introduction of women into the navies of Australia, Canada, India and the Netherlands. It wasn’t until 1949 that a long-term Royal Navy career for women became possible and it was as late as 1990 before women were able to serve in ships at sea. Three years later the WRNS was disbanded and women were fully integrated into the Royal Navy. Today females in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines make up 9.3 percent of the force in the UK Regular Forces and Future Reserves. The percentage of officers who are female in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, in the UK Regular Forces, stands at 10.6 percent. The final part of the exhibition looks at the Naval Service today and includes a photograph of Kate Nesbitt – the first female member of the Royal Navy to be awarded the Military Cross as a result of her actions in Afghanistan in March 2009. Now Royal Navy women serve under and on the waves, in the air and on land – and are also eligible to apply to become a Royal Marine Commando. The Princess Royal, Admiral Chief Commandant for Women in the Royal Navy, was officially launching the exhibition, which runs until the end of the year, on March 8, International Women’s Day. For more details on WRNS100 events see www.wrns100.co.uk
l Wrens pictured cleaning depth charges during WW1
l Wrens pass messages as signallers during WW2
l Members of the WRNS were demobbed at the end of WW1
COMMEMORATIVE STONE TO MARK CENTENARY OF THE WOMEN’S ROYAL NAVAL SERVICE TAKES SHAPE – Page 41 www.navynews.co.uk
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