The impact of Women’s Royal Naval Service on the position of women in British society during the Second World War

Abstract

The impact of the Second World War on the position of women is a subject of debates among historians. The traditional interpretation, which suggests that the war led to the emancipation of women, is contested by historians such as Summerfield and Marwick, who do not see the war as a stimulus for significant change. This article investigates the wartime lives of women who served in the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS, women’s auxiliary force to the British navy). Main primary sources include memoirs and recruitment posters. The article analyses the influence of service on three aspects of women’s lives: 1) their self-perception and image in the eyes of the wider society, 2) their position in relation to men, and 3) their financial situation. WRNS servicewomen participated in some of the most important events of the Second World War, such as the Yalta Conference or the fights for Malta. They were proud of the significance of the tasks which they performed, many of which had previously been reserved for men. Most of the WRNS servicewomen, however, treated work in the navy as a temporary adventure, which would end as soon as peace was concluded. After the war most of them returned to their traditional pre-war gender roles.