This is a brief guide to researching records of the Women's Royal Naval Service, also known as the Wrens.
While some relevant documents are available online or held at The National Archives, the majority of records are held by the Ministry of Defence.
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What do I need to know before I start?
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Try to find out:
- the name and rank of the person
- a date range to help focus the search
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What records can I see online?
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Service records (1917-1919)
Search the Women's Royal Naval Service records online (£There may be a charge for accessing this information. Searching indexes may be free.) for a person who served as either an officera senior member of staff in the armed forces or a ratingA seaman ranking lower than an officer. These are the most junior class of seamen in the Royal Navy..
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What records can I find at The National Archives at Kew?
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Naval medal records (1914-1920)
Consult the Roll of Naval War medals in ADM 171/133 to find a person who received a decoration during the First World War.
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To access these records you will either need to visit us, commission research (£there will be a charge) or, where you can identify a specific record referencea unique set of letters and numbers identifying a document in The National Archives, order a copy (£there will be a charge).
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What records can I find in other archives and organisations?
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Service records (1939-present)
Visit the Veterans UK website for information about how to request a summary of a service record from the Ministry of Defence. These are not available to members of the general public, but next of kin may request access to them.
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What other resources will help me find information?
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Books
Read Tracing Your Naval Ancestors by Bruno Pappalardo (The National Archives, 2003).
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Women's Royal Air Force
Women in the British Army
Births, marriages and deaths in the armed forces