THE WREN Summer 2018 No. 392 Summer 2018 The Association of Wrens (Women of The Royal Naval Services) PATRON: Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal PRESIDENT: Cmdt. Anthea Larken CBE VICE PRESIDENTS: Mrs Marion Greenway Mrs Janet Crabtree Mrs Anne Trigg Mrs Pat Farrington Mrs Elsie Baring RD Mrs Beryl Watt Mrs Patricia Wall Mrs Julia Clark Mrs Marjorie Imlah OBE JP Miss Rosie Wilson OBE Miss Julia Simpson BSc CEng MBCS Mrs Mary Hawthornthwaite Miss Eleanor Patrick Mrs Carol Gibbon CHAIRMAN: Miss Jill Stellingworth VICE-CHAIRMAN: Mrs Linda Mitchell HON. TREASURER: Mrs Rita Hoddinott EDITORIAL TEAM OF THE WREN: Mrs Georgina Tuckett Mrs Rita Hoddinott PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER: Mrs Celia Saywell MBE ADMINISTRATORS: Mrs Katharine Lovegrove Mrs Lin Burton TRUSTEES: Mrs Janice Abbots Mrs Lisa Snowden Mrs Kathy Carter Mrs Vicki Taylor Mrs Sue Dunster Mrs Georgina Tuckett Mrs Karen Elliot Mrs Fay Watson Mrs Barbara McGregor Subscriptions: Membership renewal for 2019/20 payable by 1 April 2019 Annual membership for UK members £12.50 or 10 years for £100 Annual membership for overseas members £15.50 or 10 years for £120 All correspondence for the Association of Wrens should be sent to: Association of Wrens, Room 215, Semaphore Tower (PP 70) HM Naval Base, Portsmouth PO1 3LT Tel: 02392 725141 email: [email protected] If a reply is required, please enclose a stamped addressed envelope The contents of THE WREN are strictly copyright and all rights are expressly reserved. The views expressed herein are not necessarily the views of the Editorial Team or the Association and accordingly no responsibility for these will be accepted. Whilst the Editorial Team has high regard for all advertisers, readers are recommended to seek appropriate financial or legal advice before entering into any binding agreement. VERY IMPORTANT Changes To Data Protection Act – Members Consent Under the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), which came into effect on 25 May 2018, all members are informed that any item submitted to The Wren magazine or to the AOW website (www.wrens.org.uk) CANNOT be posted on the AOW Website and the AOW Facebook page (not the Wrens Facebook Group) without your specific consent. Personal information (ie addresses, email addresses or telephone numbers) WILL NOT BE INCLUDED in the magazine, on the AOW website or on the AOW Facebook page unless members give WRITTEN instruction that their personal details CAN be included. For example, include with your submitted article the following statement: ‘I give my written consent for my personal details to be included in The Wren magazine*/on the AOW Website*/Facebook page* (*delete any area where you do not wish your details to appear). Registered under the Charities Act 2011 — Registration No. 257040 The Wren 1 FROM THE EDITORIAL TEAM Enclosed inside your Summer Magazine: AOW Sales Catalogue and Order Form 2018 Christmas Dinner l to r: Katharine Lovegrove (Administrator), Rita Hoddinott Application Form (Hon Treasurer), Lin Burton (Administrator) and Georgina Tuckett (Trustee/Editor) GDPR Information With Preference Return Form Editorial Report Trustee Ballot Form WRNS100 presented some challenges which judging (to be returned by 5 September 2018) from the comments and compliments paid to the team we succeeded in overcoming. The two major challenges were the sheer quantity of items sent in and the other was trying to meet publishing schedules while ensuring that the different events were fully covered. The problem of volume was overcome by CONTENTS Rita Hoddinott in her role as Treasurer allowing us to have extra pages. Thank you Rita. Extra pages cost 2 Chairman’s Letter extra money partly because of the cost of paper but more importantly the cost of the postage goes up by 3 Important Information weight. 6 Trustee’s Corner One of the questions raised at the OOT in May was why don’t we stop publishing a paper magazine and 7 PRO Report put it on the internet. This option is always under consideration because of the cost but there are still 8 Branch and IG Reports hundreds of members who are not on the internet and many of those who are enjoy receiving their 11 2020 Scuttlebutt magazine through the post. With the advent of GDPR the question of putting the magazine on line creates 23 National Armed Forces Day more problems. As it is a magazine for members only it would involve having to have security password 33 Forthcoming Events access to the website for each individual member so that it was not accessible to all and if anyone ill- 34 Letters intentioned hacked into or distributed the magazine to non-members or the wider media it could cause 36 Where Are You Now? real trouble - so for the time being we are sticking to paper! 38 Book Reviews Finally may I remind you that The Wren is the magazine 39 Anniversaries of the Association of Wrens and Women of the Royal Naval Services. We do not pay professional reporters 40 Deaths to write for us, we can only include material sent by you the members to us and thus we frequently ask, 44 Obituaries plead and pester you to write items because without your contributions there would be no magazine! Front cover photo: AOW member Irene Maclean enjoys a Thank you for all your hard work and the many items Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. you send in. Back cover photo: Trustee Lisa Snowden Avionics Eng Georgina Tuckett DE&S with l-r: AET Tia Shoemaker, POAET Sally Higgins and AET Georgina Shaw 825 Squadron Wildcat HMA2. (Phot credit Guy Pool VL) 2 The Wren CHAIRMAN’S LETTER We are now halfway to share an afternoon tea with Swindon Branch at a through 2018 – the Year beautiful country hotel (the Ritz had better up their of Recruitment – have you stakes!) Recently I joined the Derbyshire Dale enrolled a new member? members for their meeting to celebrate the birthday At the Out of Town (OOT) of their 94 year old member – she made me feel meeting in Stockton-on-Tees old! Also it was exciting to meet with members who in May there was a guest in have taken up such interesting hobbies on which the hotel who, on asking what I may talk about in a later issue. In June I had the our event was, said that she pleasure of presenting the Cheltenham Branch was an ex-Wren. In no time with their 70 year pennant and certificate as well at all she had a membership as enjoying strawberries and cream. At some of Jill Stellingworth application form and biro these events often someone will come up to say Chairman placed in front of her – and ‘I remember when you …’ That is when I wish the she joined! ground would open up – but we all have memories, The OOT meeting was well attended and it was and it is good to have them, and that is what makes good to see so many new and younger members. this Association and its members such a great My thanks have to go to Georgina Tuckett and camaraderie of like-minded and good-humoured her Cleveland Branch members for their excellent people. organisation both for the meeting and the most Going back to the beginning – please wear your enjoyable (and noisy) dinner in the evening. Association Badge with pride – let everyone know I stayed up an extra few days to explore the beautiful you belong to the AOW – and spread the message surrounding countryside – travelling west across that everyone who has served whether in the WRNS, to Richmond and Leyburn, north to Gibside – and or RN are welcome. Who can you recruit this year? south to Castle Howard. The journey back to the Why not carry a few membership application forms hotel from the latter across the North York Moors with you wherever you go? If you don’t wear your was as though I was stuck in a cobweb – the SatNav badge then nobody knows. lost its bearings, the petrol gauge was heading Jill Stellingworth downwards, and all roads were headed ‘The Lane’ or ‘High Street’ with no habitation in sight! Glad to say I made it back with thanks to the old fashioned road map! The WRNS100 Commemorative Stone has had a spring clean, thanks to Portsmouth Branch and in particular to Val and Bronwyn and their workforce, all is looking shipshape and sparkling, Since the start of this year much of the time has been taken up with the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) – a new EU/UK Law which came into being on 25 May 2018 and one that we are required to comply with. Some of you in branches will have already seen the e-mail I sent out last month setting out what the Association requires from you for us to be able to keep in touch. All of you will continue to receive The Wren magazine, but in the event we need to contact you with other information, we do need your consent for us to do so. You will find an insert in this magazine which I encourage you all to complete and return to the Association so that we can keep you informed. We want to keep you involved. Other dates in the diary have been my attendance at a good number of other Service Charities – the hot topic being again the GDPR. It is always interesting to mix with others who have the same aim of looking after serving and ex-serving members and searching the best way forward for our Associations. All suggestions are welcome on a postcard please! Besides meetings it has been my pleasure to meet with members socially.