Britannia's Daughters: The Story of the WRNS

The Women's Royal Naval Service was formed in 1917 from a group of volunteers who were called on to release men for sea service. At the WRNS' peak, there were over 5,000 women serving in Britain and overseas, but efforts to maintain the service in peacetime were unsuccessful, and the service was not reformed until the outbreak of the Second World War. These women served a different and altogether more demanding role, which involved the carrying out of some highly secret and responsible duties; many more of them served outside Britain. By 1945, there were over 75,000 officers and ratings, and when the War ended, and those who wished were demobilized, a permanent Service was set up, providing a career for women alongside men of the Royal Navy. This is their story, often told in their own words, which mirrors the changing place of women in our society in a century of tremendous social progress.