WRNS
Photograph of a WRNS officer instructing ratings in the use of gas masks at Lowestoft, summer 1918.

Formed on 29 November 1917, the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) provided an auxiliary network of support for the Royal Navy during the last year of the war and beyond. WRNS ratings served in various roles, including signalling, driving, cooking and general administration. In this picture, a smartly dressed WRNS officer demonstrates a standard part of WRNS training: how to put on and use a gas mask.
IWM Q 19655 (summer 1918)
WRNS officer
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