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.

Presentation Cigarette Case, Captain Adelaide Sinclair

The Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS) officers' mess in Ottawa, Ontario, presented this cigarette case to its director, Adelaide Sinclair, in August 1945.

In an era when tobacco use, and particularly cigarette smoking, was widespread, tobacco-related items like this case, often engraved or decorated with crests and other designs, were given as celebratory or commemorative gifts. The WRCNS was disbanded in 1946, with Sinclair serving as its director until the end. Sinclair subsequently pursued a career with the government and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1967.

Cigarette Case, Presentation
CWM 19900006-004