Themes

In Focus: Women in the Navy

Here you can discover how women have served in the Royal Navy across the twentieth century - from the establishment of the Wrens in World War One to the mixed crew ships of today.

Read about the story of the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) - why it was set up and how it progressed throughout the century, before being integrated with the Navy in the 1990s.

Learn about various areas of service life such as the different kinds of work that Wrens particiapted in and how they spent their social time. Also discover how people perceived the WRNS.

There are stories of individual Wrens who served in a variety of roles and locations - from the pioneers of the Great War to those sent around the globe in the conflict of World War Two.

 

Timeline of women in the Navy throughout history: