Description
Object description
British civilian volunteer with Fellowship of the Maple Leaf in Canada, 1935-1938; aid worker with Egham Town Council, GB, 1939-1940; wren served as driver with Women’s Royal Naval Service in London and Windsor, 5/1941-3/1942; officer served as quarters officer with Women’s Royal Naval Service at HMS Sparrowhawk, Royal Naval Air Station Hatston, Orkney Islands, GB, 6/1942-11/1942; served as quarters officer with Royal Naval College, Greenwich, London, GB, 11/1942-5/1944; served with Women’s Royal Naval Service at HMS Woolverstone, GB, 5/1944-11/1944; served with Women’s Royal Naval Service at HMS Godwit, Royal Naval Air Station Hinstock, GB, 11/1944-2/1947; served with Women’s Royal Naval Service at HMS Ceres, Wetherby, GB, 7/1947-7/1949; served with Women’s Royal Naval Service at HMS President, London, GB, 7/1949-11/1949; served with Women’s Royal Naval Service at HMNB Chatham, GB, 1949-1951; served with Women’s Royal Naval Service on Staff of Director of Manning in Admiralty, London, GB, 1951-1954; served as Senior Officer Women’s Royal Naval Service on Staff of Commander-in-Chief Plymouth, Plymouth, GB, 1954-1957; served with Women’s Royal Naval Service on Staff of Flag Officer Flying Training and Flag Officer Reserve Aircraft at HMS Condor, Royal Naval Air Station Arbroath, GB, 1957; served with Staff of Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth, HMS Victory, Portsmouth, GB, 1957-1960; served with Women’s Royal Naval Service at Royal Naval College, Greenwich, GB, 1960-1961; served as Superintendent (Air) on Staff of Flag Officer at HMS Ariel, Royal Naval Air Station Lee-on-Solent and on Staff of Flag Officer Flying Training at HMS Heron, Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, GB, 1961-1964; served with Women’s Royal Naval Service Training Establishment, HMS Dauntless, Burghfield, GB, 1964-1967; served as as Director of Women’s Royal Naval Service in Admiralty, London, GB, 1967-1970
Content description
REEL 1 Background in GB, 1914-1935: family; education. Aspects of period as volunteer with Fellowship of the Maple Leaf in Canada, 1935-1938: joining organisation; initial duties; origins of organisation; attitude towards duties; reasons for not returning to Canada, 1939. Aspects of period as aid worker with Egham Town Council in GB, 1939-1940: reaction to outbreak of Second World War, 3/9/1939; initial work helping pregnant Jewish refugees; running nursery. Aspects of period as Wren driver with Women’s Royal Naval Service in London and Windsor, GB, 5/1941-3/1942: driving duties for Vice-Admiral Max Horton during first probationary two weeks of service; background to enlistment in Women’s Royal Naval Service; driving senior naval officers; accommodation in London; driving duties in London including hearing of sinking of German battleship Bismarck, 5/1941; arrival of uniforms; duties on posting to Windsor, 6/1941; social backgrounds of Wrens; drill in Windsor.
REEL 2 Continues: long driving trip to River Humber. Aspects of officer training at Royal Naval College, Greenwich in GB, 4/1942: reaction to offer of commission; reception on arrival; drill instruction; attending board at end of training period. Aspects of period as officer with Women’s Royal Naval Service at HMS Sparrowhawk, Royal Naval Air Station Hatston, Orkney Islands, GB, 6/1942-11/1942: posting as quarters officer; reception from First Officer Rumbelow Pierce; rations and laundry; organisation of dances; presence of Home Fleet at Scape Flow; work of Women’s Royal Naval Service personnel; relations with civilians; attitude to appointment. Aspects of period as officer with Royal Naval College, Greenwich, GB, 11/1942-5/1944: college staff; duties as quarters officer; memories of Dame Vera Laughton Mathews; socialising with other naval personnel; bombing of college by German Air Force.
REEL 3 Continues: duties at college; story of storing Royal Navy confidential books in Greenwich Foot Tunnel; memories of Princess Marina and Lady Cholmondsley; attitude towards work of Dame Vera Laughton Mathews; relations between officers and wren ratings; opportunities for wren ratings to obtain promotion; prior recollection of cost of officer uniform; organisation of tailors on introduction of new uniform; uniform worn. Aspects of period as officer with Women’s Royal Naval Service at HMS Woolverstone at Woolverstone, GB, 5/1944-11/1944: nature of base for small craft; duties as unit officer; sight of small craft departing for Normandy landings, 6/1944; concerts; attitude towards appointment and disciplinary incident.
REEL 4 Continues: reaction to departure of small craft for Normandy Landings, 6/1944; relations with local civilians. Aspects of period as officer with Women’s Royal Naval Service at HMS Godwit, Royal Naval Air Station Hinstock in GB, 11/1944-2/1947: promotion to first officer; duties; presence of Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel on station; social activities; VE Day celebrations, 8/5/1945; method of dealing with pregnancies amongst Women’s Royal Naval Service personnel; accommodation for male and female personnel; public attitude towards Women’s Royal Naval Service; degree of contact with Very Important Persons (VIPs); attitude of Women’s Royal Naval Service towards demobilisation; memories of commanding officers at station; closure of station, 2/1947; attitude towards wartime service; question of impact of Second World War on women’s emancipation.
REEL 5 Continues: Aspects of period as officer with Women’s Royal Naval Service at HMS Ceres, Wetherby, GB, 7/1947-7/1949: reapplying for permanent service; prior appointment as unit officer with Royal Naval Air Stations, 2/1947-7/1947; duties in charge of Women’s Royal Naval Service personnel at HMS Ceres; use of prisoner of war labour; attitude towards peacetime service. Aspects of period as officer with Women’s Royal Naval Service at HMS President, London, GB, 7/1949-11/1949: appointment to HMS President, 7/1949; attitude towards appointment in charge of education. Aspects of period as officer with Women’s Royal Naval Service at HMNB Chatham, GB, 1949-1951: appointment to HMNB Chatham, 11/1949; segregation of male and female personnel; duties running training courses; inspections and ‘rounds’; membership of Association of Wrens and design of memorial windows at HMNB Chatham; attending sea trials aboard HMS Manxman. Aspects of period as officer with Women’s Royal Naval Service on Staff of Director of Manning in Admiralty, London, GB, 1951-1954: promotion to chief officer and appointment to Staff of Director of Manning; recruitment of Women’s Royal Naval Service personnel; attending ceremonial occasions.
REEL 6 Continues: Aspects of period as officer with Women’s Royal Naval Service on Staff of Commander-in-Chief Plymouth, in Plymouth, GB, 1954-1957: appointment and duties; growing specialist skills amongst wrens; links with Northern Ireland; assisting in welfare issues. Aspects of period as officer with Women’s Royal Naval Service on Staff of Flag Officer Flying Training and Flag Officer Reserve Aircraft at HMS Condor, Royal Naval Air Station Arbroath, GB, 1957: seven month appointment; duties; duties of Women’s Royal Naval Service personnel on station; training on recruitment techniques. Aspects of period as officer on Staff of Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth, HMS Victory, Portsmouth, GB, 1957-1960: appointment as senior wren officer; background to introduction of mixed sex messes; story of media attempt to stir up trouble within Women’s Royal Naval Service; fund raising work; question of presence of ethnic minorities in Women’s Royal Naval Service. Aspects of period as officer with Women’s Royal Naval Service at Royal Naval College, Greenwich, GB, 1960-1961: duties running officer training course; need to lock Women’s Royal Naval Service laundry room on mess nights; dealing with pregnancy of third officer.
REEL 7 Continues: changing social attitude towards unmarried mothers; promotion to Superintendent. Recollections of period as Superintendent Air on Staff of Flag Officer at HMS Aerial, Royal Naval Air Station Lee-on-Solent and on Staff of Flag Officer Flying Training at HMS Heron, Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, GB, 1961-1964: appointment; first supersonic flight in Hawker Hunter at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton; standard of living; importance of flying to wren morale; reasons for arranging educational talk on homosexuality; opinion of introduction of new mess dress. Recollections of period as officer with Women’s Royal Naval Service Training Establishment, HMS Dauntless, Burghfield, GB, 1964-1967: nature of appointment; description of establishment; degree of involvement in search for new locations for Women’s Royal Naval Service Training Establishment; chaplains; passing out parades; duties at Prime Minister’s Official Residence at Chequers; opinion of British Broadcasting Corporation broadcast ‘Women, Women, Women’ on Women’s Royal Naval Service.
REEL 8 Continues: attending annual commanding officers meeting at Portsmouth; trip on submarine. Recollections of period as Director of Women’s Royal Naval Service in Admiralty, London, GB, 1967-1970: appointment to role, 5/1967; contact with members of Royal Family; background to appointment of Princess Anne as Chief Commandant after death of Princess Marina; attempts to increase opportunities of overseas postings for wrens; advantages of role as director including overseas travel; recruitment problems of Royal Navy during late 1960s; debate on whether wrens should serve at sea during her period as director. Reflections on service with Women’s Royal Naval Service: attitude towards eventual introduction of women’s sea service.
REEL 9 Continues: inadequacy of training and difficulties of wrens during sea service; attitude towards women serving at sea; attitude towards merger of Women’s Royal Naval Service into Royal Navy; question of quality of personnel; question of effect of marriage on career with Women’s Royal Naval Service; attitude towards inequalities of pay between female and male personnel during service; degree of contact with Royal Navy after service; award of Companion of the British Empire (CBE) in 1954 and Dame of the British Empire (DBE), 1970; attitude towards cuts in funding for Royal Navy.