Themes
Free a Man for the Fleet
Page 2 of 6
Article Highlights
War work
WRNS recruitment posters encouraged women to 'free a man for the fleet'. This famous phrase has led to the misconception that the women who served in the Women's Royal Naval Service only undertook shore-based, desk jobs in order to allow these men to go off to sea.
The WRNS was certainly set up at its conception in 1917 for women to undertake these sorts of jobs, with most Wrens working as clerical staff, stewards and as domestic help. Many women found that they were doing similar kinds of jobs to what they had done prior to the war. However, the success of women taking on 'men's work' led to an increasing development and diversity of roles for females throughout both world wars.
During World War Two Wrens underwent technical training in order to take on jobs as mechanics, work with heavy torpedoes and help assemble dangerous mines. They trained to the same standard as their male counterparts, achieving a reputation for hard work and reliability. These women proved that given the right training and opportunities, women were entirely capable of taking on the boys' jobs.
To discover the growing employment equality for the WRNS during peacetime, select Next
