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Women Royal Naval Officers pass out at Dartmouth Britannia Royal Naval College

WRENS pass out - All female passing out parade at Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth

Current affairs 1976 1 mins Silent

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Overview

In 1973 the first women Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) join Brittannia Royal Naval College followed in 1976 by the Women's Royal Naval Service moving from Greenwich to Dartmouth. The Naval Discipline Act 1977 saw women training alongside men at HMS Britannia and HMS Raleigh for the first time. Patricia Gould, Director of Naval Nursing Services from 1976 to 1980 helped female officers through their training.

The Women’s Royal Naval Service is the women’s branch of the Royal Navy, first formed in 1917 to 1919 for WWI then reinstated for WWII. The college was bombed in 1942, and as women and men trained together during WWII, the only fatality was Petty Officer WREN Ellen Whittall. In 1992 there was full integration of men and women in BRNC and equality of choice for courses. QARNNS and WRNS fully integrated into the Royal Navy in 2000 and 1993. In 2013 the first women served on submarines.