The Correct Angle at Which the New Wrns Hat Is To Be Worn

The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. First formed in 1917 for the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in 1939 at the beginning of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, remaining active until integrated into the Royal Navy in 1993. WRNS included cooks, clerks, wireless telegraphists, radar plotters, weapons analysts, range assessors, electricians and air mechanics.

History

First World War

The Wrens were formed in 1917 during the

. On 10 October 1918, nineteen-year-old Josephine Carr from

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

became the first Wren to die on active service, when her ship, the RMS ''Leinster'' was

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...

ed. By the end of the war the WRNS had 5,500 members, 500 of them officers. In addition, about 2,000 members of the WRAF had previously served with the WRNS supporting the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...

and were transferred on the creation of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. It was disbanded in 1919. Join the Wrens - and Free a Man for the Fleet Art

Second World War

At the beginning of the

Vera Laughton Mathews Dame Elvira Sibyl Marie Mathews, ( Laughton; 25 September 1888 – 25 September 1959), known as Vera Laughton Mathews, was a British military officer and administrator. She was the second Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), serv ...

was appointed as the director of the re-formed WRNS in 1939 with Ethel (Angela) Goodenough as her deputy. The WRNS had an expanded list of allowable activities, including flying transport planes. At its peak in 1944 it had 75,000 active servicewomen. During the war 102 WRNS members were killed in action and 22 wounded in action.Stephen Roskill: "''Royal Navy - Britische Seekriegsgeschichte 1939-1945''", page 403 One of the

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political slogan, political, Advertising slogan, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the publi ...

s used in recruitment posters was "Join the Wrens and free a man for the Fleet". Colossus

Wrens were prominent as support staff at the Government Code and Cypher School at

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes ( Buckinghamshire) that became the principal centre of Allied code-breaking during the Second World War. The mansion was constructed during the years following ...

; as operators of the bombes and

Colossus Colossus, Colossos, or the plural Colossi or Colossuses, may refer to: Statues * Any exceptionally large statue ** List of tallest statues ** :Colossal statues * ''Colossus of Barletta'', a bronze statue of an unidentified Roman emperor * ''Col ...

used to break Axis codes and cyphers

Post-war era

The WRNS remained in existence after the end of the war although Mathews retired in 1947 and Goodenough had died the year before. In the 1970s it became obvious that equal pay for women and the need to remove sexual discrimination meant that the WRNS and the

would become one organisation. The key change was that women would become subject to the Naval Discipline Act 1957.

Vonla McBride Sara Vonla Adair McBride, (20 January 1921 – 2 August 2003) was a senior British naval officer who served as Director of the Women's Royal Naval Service from 1976 to 1979. She was sent to advise Haile Selassie and later in life served as Chair ...

, who had experience in

human resource management Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

, became the Director of the WRNS in 1976, and members of the WRNS were subject to the same discipline as men by the next year. In October 1990, during the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

, HMS ''Brilliant'' carried the first women officially to serve on an operational warship. That same year, Chief Officer

Pippa Duncan Pippa Duncan was a Captain (Royal Navy), captain in the Royal Navy, and an officer in the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS). In 1990, she became the first woman to command a Royal Navy shore establishment, other than the WRNS training facility. ...

became the first WRNS officer to command a Royal Navy shore establishment. The WRNS was finally integrated into the Royal Navy in 1993, when women were allowed to serve on board navy vessels as full members of the crew. Female sailors are still informally known by the nicknames "wrens" or "Jennies" ("Jenny Wrens") in

naval slang The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

. Before 1993, all women in the Royal Navy were members of the WRNS except

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

s, who joined (and still join)

Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) is the nursing branch of the British Royal Navy. The Service unit works alongside the Royal Navy Medical Branch. As of 1 January 2006, according to former Ministry of Defence junior minist ...

, and medical and dental officers, who were commissioned directly into the Royal Navy, held RN ranks, and wore WRNS uniform with gold RN insignia.

Ranks and insignia

The WRNS had its own ranking system, which it retained until amalgamation into the Royal Navy in 1993.

Officers

Enlisted

Ratings' titles were suffixed with their trade (e.g. Leading Wren Cook, Chief Wren Telegraphist). Wrens wore the same rank insignia as their male equivalents, but in blue instead of gold. The "curls" atop officers' rank stripes were diamond-shaped instead of circular.

Uniforms

From 1939, Wren uniform, designed by leading British fashion designer Edward Molyneux, consisted of a double-breasted jacket and skirt, with shirt and tie, for all ranks (although similar working dress to the men could also be worn). Junior Ratings wore hats similar to those of their male counterparts (although with a more sloping top). Senior Ratings (Petty Officers and above) and officers wore tricorne hats. In tropical areas these had a white cover. All insignia, including

cap badge A cap badge, also known as head badge or hat badge, is a badge worn on uniform headgear and distinguishes the wearer's nationality and/or organisation. The wearing of cap badges is a convention commonly found among military and police forces, as w ...

s and non-substantive (trade) badges, were blue.

List of directors

* Dame Katharine Furse, 1917–1919 * Dame Vera Laughton Mathews, 1939–1946 * Dame Jocelyn Woollcombe, 1946–1950 * Commandant Dame Mary Lloyd, 1950–1954 * Commandant Dame Nancy Robertson, 1954–1958 * Commandant Dame Elizabeth Hoyer-Millar, 1958–1960 * Commandant Dame Jean Davies, 1961–1964 * Commandant Dame Margaret Drummond, 1964–1967 * Commandant Dame Marion Kettlewell, 1967–1970 * Commandant Daphne Blundell, 1970–1973 * Commandant Mary Talbot, 1973–1976 * Commandant Vonla McBride, 1976–1979 * Commandant Elizabeth Craig-McFeely, 1979–1982 * Commandant Patricia Swallow, 1982–1985 * Commandant Marjorie Fletcher, 1985–1988 * Commandant Anthea Larken, 1988–1991 * Commandant Anne Spencer, 1991–1993

Notes

References

External links

Search and download the WW1 records of those who served in the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) from The National Archives.

Women in the Royal Navy today
Archived Page
Association of Wrens
{{Authority control Naval history of World War II All-female military units and formations Royal Navy British women in World War II Military units and formations established in 1917 Military units and formations disestablished in 1993