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Jane Rossiter
Wren Number 1
Jane Rossiter's husband, Ernest, served in the trenches during World War One and suffered the effects of a gas attack whilst in France. He returned to Britain and the couple moved to Devonport Naval Base once Ernest recovered.
Photo of Jane and Ernest Rossiter (RNM)
National registration card of Jane Rossiter, 1918 (RNM)
Jane left her job at the Board of Education. She worked as a Volunteer Aid Detachment (VAD) nurse, but then enrolled in the newly formed Women's Royal Naval Service on 27 July 1918 when she was aged 25.
She worked as a Clerk in the Paymaster's office aboard the training ship HMS Powerful in July 1918. There were only two Wrens working there. The Paymaster gave up his cabin for Jane to use as an office.
The Wrens experienced some problems with the attitude of the men onboard, as they resented the Wrens taking men's jobs. They were respectful, but unwelcoming, towards the women
Rossiter left the WRNS after World War One. She went on to raise a family, having two sons and a daughter.
Dame Vera Laugthon Matthews, the newly appointed WRNS Director, asked Rossiter for assistance with the reformation of the WRNS in 1939. She was the first rating to join the new service, becoming Wren Number 1. She was also the first woman to receive her pass book.
Rossiter's WWII service certificate (RNM)
Photo of WRNS secretarial staff, including Rossiter seated at back
The rest of her family also played their part in the war effort. Rossiter's husband, Ernest, served in the Home Guard. Her eldest son joined the Fleet Air Arm, working as an observer, and her daughter also joined the WRNS, taking a wireless telegraphy course. They both continued to serve in these roles after the war.
Rossiter initially worked as a Chief Writer. She then served as a Fleet Mail and Censor Officer from September 1941 onwards.
Her war serviced led her to work in Greenwich, Portsmouth and Dover, before she settled in the base fleet mail office in Reading.
Jane found that servicemen responded better to her presence this time as attitudes towards women in the services had now improved. She often helped men who could not read or write correspond with their families.
Jane Rossiter achieved the rank of Chief Wren. She received an appointment to Third Officer in 1941 and then a promotion to Second Officer in 1943. She served throughout World War Two, retiring in January 1946.
