Themes

Phyllis Thomas describes the large boiler suit that new Wren recruits wore as uniform.

Transcript: 'We were issued then because you weren’t staying so you weren’t issued with any uniform but you all had to be dressed the same - obviously you couldn’t go round in whatever you wanted. So we were issued with a garment which I don’t think any designer had thought of a woman. They must have thought that everybody was about 7 foot tall. Unless we had what was left. We were given a thick, navy blue, gabardine female equivalent of a man’s boiler suit. It was pleated from the waist down but it was such a large thing that the waist of it came to my knees because I’m only 5 foot 3. So it buttoned down the front and obviously turned down collar and then these pleats. So we were supposed to sew it. We had to pick up this 8 inches more of waist and bring it up to our waists but very few of us sewed it. We had big safety pins going because we did have a belt and this was what we wore and this was the uniform for the fortnight until you were admitted to the WRNS properly.'

Return to article