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.

Commander Dorothy Isherwood Inspecting Wrens, Halifax

Commander Dorothy Isherwood (centre left) inspects members of the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS) in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

One of the officers from Britain's Women's Royal Naval Service who came to Canada to help create the WRCNS, Isherwood became the director of the Canadian service in March of 1943, a position she held until September of that year. Although Isherwood wears the uniform of the WRCNS and the three stripes of a commander in this photograph, she was still officially serving with Britain's Royal Navy.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19920141-059