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.

Modelling WRCNS Uniforms and Civilian Wear

Two Wrens model the service's uniform (left) and an example of the same uniform refashioned into a civilian outfit (right).

Upon their demobilization, members of the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS) were allowed to keep almost all of the kit they had been issued, including much of their uniform. This is one of a series of photographs showing ways in which WRCNS uniforms could be refashioned into civilian clothing. After years of wartime clothing rationing, and in the face of delays until civilian clothing would become widely available again, such re-use was widely encouraged.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19920141-077