Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service

The Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS or "Wrens") was an element of the Royal Canadian Navy that was active during the Second World War and post-war as part of the Royal Canadian Naval Reserve until unification in 1968. The WRCNS was in operation from October 1942 to August 1946.

History

The WRCNS was modelled on the Women's Royal Naval Service, which had been active during the First World War and then revived in 1939. The Royal Canadian Navy was slow to create a women's service, only establishing the WRCNS in July 1942, nearly a year after the Canadian Women's Army Corps and the Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division. By the end of the war however nearly 7,000 women had served with the WRCNS in 39 trades.

The ''ByTown II'', later renamed HMCS ''Conestoga'' ("The Stone Frigate"), was the WRCNS training centre in Galt, Ontario, and became the first female-commanded Canadian commissioned "ship" in June 1943 when Lieutenant Commander Isabel Macneill was appointed commanding officer. That September Commander Adelaide Sinclair became the first Canadian Director of the WRCNS, a position she held until disbandment.

The WRCNS was disbanded in July 1946, but revived as part of the Naval Reserve at the beginning of the Korean War. It was disbanded a second time in 1968 when the Royal Canadian Navy as a whole was folded into the unified Canadian Forces.

A Historic Sites and Monuments' board of Canada plaque in Halifax describes the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service:

Women's service in the military during the Second World War challenge the tradition of all-male armed forces. Between 1942 and 1946 close to 7000 volunteers enlisted in the WRCNS and served in 26 non-combatant occupations in Canadian naval bases at home or abroad. By late 1943, nearly 1000 Wrens worked in the Halifax area and lived in HMCS Stadacona, within sight of this spot. The WRCNS made an outstanding contribution to Allied victory, paved the way for future generations of Canadian service women and raised questions about the equality of women in the civilian world.

Ranks

Wargaming

One of the departments was in charge of teaching anti-submarine warfare tactics to the captains of the vessels escorting convoys across the Atlantic. Carol Duffus (née Hendry), explained in an interview how the wargame was facilitated and debriefed by the training commander.

File:News. Navy Girls - Miss Gagnon BAnQ P48S1P09332.jpg, A journalist (left) interviewing a woman in uniform (right) from the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service, 1943
File:WRENS plaque Halifax.jpg, Wrens plaque at the Maritime Command Museum
File:Medals12.jpg, Medals of a woman in the service

See also

* Canadian Women's Army Corps
* Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division
* Women's Royal Australian Naval Service
* Adelaide Sinclair
* SPARS (the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve)
* United States Marine Corps Women's Reserve
* Women in the United States Navy
* Women's Royal Naval Service (British)

References

; Notes

External links

{{Archival records, title=WREN Association of Toronto collection, location=, inventory_number=Fonds 472, description_URL=http://gencat.eloquent-systems.com/torontodetail.html?key=602619, dates=, access_conditions=

Women's Royal Canadian Navy Legacy Project

The Wrens

Canadian Armed Forces – Historical milestones of women Fact Sheet
€”National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces

Naval units and formations of Canada
Women in the Canadian armed services
All-female military units and formations
Canadian women in World War II
Military units and formations established in 1942
Military units and formations disestablished in 1946