Second World War
The Navy Ashore  - Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service

The Second World War saw close to 7,000 women in naval service. Founded in 1942, the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS), often called the "Wrens", performed a wide variety non-combatant roles ashore, both in Canada and abroad.

WRCNS Training at HMCS St. Hyacinthe

Members of the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service climb a signals mast during training at HMCS St. Hyacinthe, near Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec.

In this photograph, Wrens, wearing naval trousers, pose on a ladder while colourful signal flags flap in the breeze. Flags like these, as well as semaphore flags waved by people, were still a vital means of communications. Unlike radio transmissions, they could not be picked up by a distant enemy, and did not give away a ship's location.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19840030-044