The WRCNS officially commissioned in July 1942.
By 1942 the Admiralty realized that women in the RCN would free up men for duty at sea. The Admiralty then asked the RN for the loan of qualified officers of the Women's Royal Naval Service. Three WRNS officers were loaned and arrived in May 1942. The task of forming the new branch of the RCN was enormous. The initial complement was set at 150 officers and 2700 ratings.
An initial group of women were recruited to serve as the core of the new service and were trained in Ottawa in September 1942. Officers and senior ratings were selected from this first group of women. By December 1942 WRCNs were recruited in the same way men were recruited into the RCN.
The major problem that immediately arose with more women coming into the WRCNS was finding accommodations. As the Wrens would be employed across Canada and in Newfoundland housing at little notice was hard to find. Initiating in October, 1942, basic training was completed at HMCS Conestoga, at Galt Ontario. This three weeks of training was devoted to converting civilians into WRCNs. Drill and naval customs were the major portion of training. Probationary WRCNs were paid 90 cents a day, increasing to 95 cents a day on completion of basic training.
WRCN Officers were trained at Hardy House in Ottawa and the course was initially two weeks in duration, but eventually became a five week course. Neither ratings nor officers were initially trained in a particular trade. Advanced training for the most part took place at HMCS Cornwallis and St. Hyacinthe initially however specialized training took place in Galt Ontario, Toronto Ontario, Ottawa Ontario and Halifax Nova Scotia.
	The WRCN force eventually formed 39 branches, including jobs as messengers, cooks, messwomen, writers and wardroom attendants. By 1943 courses were underway for writers, cooks, drivers, sick berth attendants, supply assistants and photographers. Subsequently, WRCNs were trained in a wide variety of trades such as radar, switchboard, and teletype operators. By the end of the war there were about 6000 women in the WRCNS. Nearly 1000 of them served overseas, many of them in Northern Ireland and Scotland. Over 500 WRCNs served in Newfoundland.
The Naval Museum is actively collecting artifacts, photographs and documents from Veteran WRCNs. As with all of our collections your donated items would be preserved to the best of our abilities for future generations to learn of your wartime experiences. If you do not wish to donate your photos, we would be most interested in obtaining copies. Your photos would be treated with care and would be promptly returned. Please contact our curator at (403)242-0002 or email curator@navalmuseum.ab.ca.