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.

Jenny Whitehead at Work

Among the members of the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service posted overseas was Jenny Whitehead (left), seen here working in a photographic darkroom.

Whitehead and the man to her right both hold photographs typical of official and publicity images produced by the Royal Canadian Navy. With considerable experience as a photographer, Whitehead joined the WRCNS in February 1943, and underwent photographic training in Ottawa later that year. Posted to London in February 1944, she helped develop the first photographs from the D-Day landings on 6 June, 1944.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19790488-005_22