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No. 395 Summer 2019 The Association of Wrens and Women of The Royal Naval Services PATRON: Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal PRESIDENT: Mrs Alison Towler SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT: Mrs Anthea Larken CBE VICE PRESIDENTS: Mrs Marion Greenway 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 Mrs Janet Crabtree Miss Andrea Crook Mrs Pat Farrington 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 Sue Dunster Mrs Rita Sayers Mrs Karen Elliot Mrs Lisa Snowden Mrs Lyn Gannon Mrs Georgina Tuckett Mrs Barbara McGregor Mrs Jackie Whitmarsh Miss Alison Moffatt Subscriptions: Membership renewal for 2019/20 payable by 1 April 2019 Annual membership for UK members £13 or 5 years £60 or 10 years for £110 Annual membership for overseas members £16 or 5 years £75, or 10 years for £140 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 Please be aware that photographs and news submitted for publication to The Wren magazine will not be posted on the AOW website (www.wrens.org.uk) and the AOW Facebook page (not the ‘Wrens Facebook Group’) without the express permission of the member submitting the item. Personal information i.e. addresses, e-mail addresses or telephone numbers WILL NOT BE INCLUDED in the magazine, on the AOW website or on the AOW Facebook page unless members give specific instruction that they wish their personal details to 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: 2019 Christmas Fundraising Dinner Application Form AOW Sales Catalogue and Order Form Book of 2020 Grand Raffle Tickets l-r: Katharine Lovegrove (Administrator), Rita Hoddinott (Hon Treasurer), Lin Burton (Administrator) and Georgina Tuckett (Trustee/Editor) CONTENTS Hunting through old issues of The Wren (looking for information on the ‘Ramsay Wrens’ going 2 Chairman’s Letter back a few years!) some interesting comparisons sprung to the eye – 3 Important Information 20 years ago we only needed two pages to notify deaths of former Wrens, now it is usually 4 pages. 5 AOW’s new President Wedding Anniversaries took up a lot more space 7 PRO Report as well! They had to be typed up and placed quite close to each other to fit them on the page. When 7 Standard Bearer’s Report we say typed pretty much everything had to be typed from manuscript. Emails save us a lot of 8 Branch and IG Reports work! Also we used to get more letters and photos 12 2020 Scuttlebutt from serving members which was a real surprise! Where have all our serving ladies got to? Is it that 13 USA Reunion 2019 you sea goers are too busy to write? We know you have good comms on ships so please email 14 Wrens Out Walking Launch us. We’d love to hear from you, please tell us what 15 People and Places you are up to, where you go and what life is like at sea. It’s not that the rest of us are nosy we really, 21 D-Day 75 Special Feature really want to know what we are missing. Well that was the past! what have we got for you 27 Festival of Remembrance 2018 for the present? As always the info from HQ 30 Royal Naval College Greenwich contains things you need to know but may not want to read so do at least look at the paragraph 32 HMS Queen Elizabeth visit headings in case there is something you need to respond to this summer. Branch reports, wedding 35 Naval Servicewomen’s Network anniversary notices are all there too. Plus your 36 WRNS BT AGM letters and reports of different events particularly AFD. Celia has excelled herself and really worked 38 Victory Walker update hard to obtain D-Day stories from as many of our WWII ladies as she could get hold of so do look 41 Letters out for those pages. 42 Where Are You Now? The future? well future issues are entirely up to you so start writing!! 43 Anniversaries The Editorial Team 45 Obituaries Front cover: WOW walkers at St Mary le Strand Church. 6 July 2019. see p 14. Photo credit: Susan Emery 47 Deaths Back cover: HMS Queen Elizabeth visit 7 June 2019 see p 32. Photo credit Crissie Proudley 2 The Wren CHAIRMAN’S LETTER A warm and sunny welcome to the Summer issue After a few days in Weymouth of The Wren magazine. The end of an era occurred it will be all whistles blowing on 18 May when, after 20 years as our President, for the Steam Train Ride to Commandant Anthea Larken CBE stepped down Minehead - the precursor for and her successor Alison Towler is now in situ. This our 2020 celebrations - how is the first time in the history of the Association that many of you can remember your President and Chairman have served in both sleeping in the luggage racks the WRNS and the Royal Navy - true ‘Blue to Gold’. on an overnight ‘leave train’ Having said that - we must never forget that our journey from Lossie going Jill Stellingworth Association foundation and heritage is built on ‘Blue’ south - I can - and it was Chairman - and recently it was good to see and hear some of very comfortable! Rolling on our veteran members playing their part in the D-Day the rails, next comes Wrens Out Walking, starting in commemoration events - even Donald Trump couldn’t London and ending at the Tower of London - ‘off with get a word in edgeways! Plus a 100-year old Wren our heads’ - but perhaps it might just be ‘feet up’! met Prince William at the D-Day celebration in the Perhaps on this note I will allow you to rest a while - NMA. Longevity is our backbone! but not for long - the Association needs all of you to do Continuing the ‘Blue to Gold’ theme - it is encouraging your bit - what do you want for the future? Come on to see that an increasing number of female RN - let’s hear your views. We need Trustees - for without personnel are joining the Association. Over the past them we cannot survive. We need Branches/Informal 3 months I have attended a couple of meetings of Groups to organise Out of Town Meetings from 2021 the Naval Servicewomen’s Network (NSN) - their onwards - we don’t want to end our ‘reunion’ days in strapline is to Share, Inspire, and Empower - all aims 2020. We are looking to the future - to a horizon that we can also look to achieve within the Association. It changes from Blue in the night to a Gold in the early is important that we work closely with the NSN - we morning sunrise - let’s grasp the day - let’s give it all can support them and they can support us. A number we’ve got - Blue to Gold will be our motto and both will of areas are under discussion but as yet it is too early be intertwined to ensure a continuing and flourishing to publicise them until we have a firmer understanding Association of Wrens and Women of the Royal Naval and basis from which to leap - but I can assure you it Services. will not be a leap into darkness and benefits will occur A ‘dining-out’ dinner, attended by Vice Presidents, and for all of us. From this issue of The Wren onwards, the past and current Council/Trustee members was held NSN will be providing an article to talk about today’s in the Mary Rose Museum on Friday 17 May to honour life on board - a life most of us could only dream and Anthea’s Presidency. This was followed the next day wish for - it will be fun to do the comparisons of your by the Out of Town Meeting, hosted by Portsmouth service life versus their service life - although I am Branch, which was the best ever attended OOT meeting sure that some things never change? Their current (150+ members). A presentation was made to Anthea NSN Chairman (Cdr Rachel Smallwood) has been before Debbie Whittingham, the Deputy Governor of invited, and kindly agreed, to be our Guest Speaker the Tower of London, gave a most interesting talk - at our AGM on Friday 13 December at the UJC - so and she was seen again in the following weeks in a let’s give her a resounding welcome as only we know repeat of the TV series on The Tower.