Letters

Seawomen standing by for war, women at sea in WW1 and WW2?

 


seawomen standing by for war
July 12, 2012

Good morning, Mac, from the flooded Pennines.

I wonder if you or someone could please answer this thorny question, for the book I am writing about women at sea in WW1 and WW2? I can't get the info in the normal ways but you, I know, are a magician.

Some British merchant seamen were in the RN Reserve and joined the RN proper in WW2, but... Were any women merchant seafarers in any naval reserves in WW2? (If not, is this because the RNR tended to be officers, and at that
time MN women (apart from Nursing Sisters and Conductresses) were not officers?)

And can anyone explain to me the difference between the Women's Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and The Women's Royal Naval Supplementary Reserve? I'm not clear if both were in force in Ww2.

Thank you so much, Mac.

Dr Jo Stanley, FRHistS,
WEBSITE: www.jostanley.biz 
blog: http://genderedseas.blogspot.com/


Hello Jo,
 
Nice to hear from you and thanks for your kind remarks. 
 

History of the Women's Royal Naval Service And its integration into the Royal Navy

These notes may be helpful:

Naval Reserve Forces

I could find no evidence that Merchant Navy Women served in the Royal Navy Reserves in WW11.

Mac

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