The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
This film is part of Free
Gender equality at RNAS Culdrose
Yes we can! Equal Opportunities for Women in the Navy
In partnership with:
Overview
This film charts one episode in the turning tide of fortune for gender equality UK’s Royal Navy. Commandant Vonla McBride, Director of the Women’s branch of the Royal Naval Service from 1976 to 1979 helped pave the way for equal opportunities in the Royal Navy. Under new jurisdiction, the WRNS are brought under the Naval Discipline Act in 1977 meaning WRNS are not only to be treated equally but also to be reprimanded just as their male colleagues.
By 1993 women begin to serve in every branch of the navy. It is not until 2013 that women may serve on submarines. Women take on jobs alongside their male counterparts such as wireless telegraphists, radar plotters, weapons analysts and mechanics. The Women’s Royal Naval Service or WRNS used to be known as Wrens and was formed in 1917 during WWI. By 1918 there were some 450 officers and 5,000 in service before being disbanded in 1919. The WRNS was revived in 1939 at the start of WWII and remained active until 1993 when they became integrated into the Royal Navy and are no longer known by their gender.
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