2WW Early WRNS Badge

[royston]

Hi

The WRNS were reformed in the uneasy Summer of 1939. Since there were no blue on blue badges for the early recruits, they were given needle and thread and the red on blue male equivalent badge and told to embroider over it.

This is an example I purchased recently. If you read Nevil Shute's "Requiem for a Wren" then this would have been the badge "she" would have worn.

John

[Ray6930]

Hi John
Great badges!
I wondered whether you know if today's WRENS who are attached to Marines have any specific arm badge?
I know they have red felt behind cap badge and/or ROYAL MARINES cap tally but wondered if there were any other badges specific to them when with Royal?
Yours Aye
Ray

[royston]

Ray

They will certainly have their appropriate arm badge such as logistics, as regards any additional badge or recognition device I will try to find out for you the next time I go into the local naval establishment.

Regards

John

[Nozzer]

Originally Posted by Ray6930

Hi John
Great badges!
I wondered whether you know if today's WRENS who are attached to Marines have any specific arm badge?
I know they have red felt behind cap badge and/or ROYAL MARINES cap tally but wondered if there were any other badges specific to them when with Royal?
Yours Aye
Ray

hi, a great badge john, many thanks for showing it.

The WRENS ceased to exist in 1993 and became fully intergrated into the RN, although are still affectionately known as WRENS or "Jennies". They now wear the same uniform as male sailors with the same badges. They no longer wear the blue badges and I understand that red badges are now a thing of the past.

Again a great badge and I did not know that this practice took place. Thanks

Andy

[royston]

Andy

Thanks. I realise that the Wrens now wear gold badges, since red and blue badges are obsolete, but you may be able to answer the other question about wrens working with the marines as to whether they wear any other distinguishing cloth/marks such as when they wore the red behind the cap badge.

Regards

John

[Nozzer]

I am not to sure if they wear any other distinguising badges and have never seen any. Perhaps someone who is still serving might know?

Andy

[Paddy]

John/Andy

I haven't seen WRNS (or female naval ratings) wearing any special cap/beret backing for ages and I have just looked through BR3 which does not mention any backing or special badge etc. It does mention the cap ribbon (extract from BR3 below) and the Uniform Issue Table states that 1 ribbon is issued.

Scale 6 - RN Ratings Serving in Commando Units and Medical Branch Male Ratings Serving in Other RM Units
a. As a general rule, RN personnel in RM units are to wear RN uniform. Class II Ratings are to wear cap ribbons lettered ‘ROYAL MARINES UNIT’. Exceptionally RN personnel in commando units, including CTCRM, and RN Medical Branch Ratings only, in other RM units, may wear combat dress on operations or field exercises, and military working dress on appropriate occasions when ordered locally.

Paddy

[sailorbear]

Originally Posted by andyh

I am not to sure if they wear any other distinguising badges and have never seen any. Perhaps someone who is still serving might know?

Andy

A good friend of mine who is a serving female medical assistant (we went through MA training at DMSTC Keogh Barracks together) has served two drafts with the Royal Marines, one as the field medic at CTCRM Lympstone and most recently in Afghanistan with 3 Cdo Bde, the only distinguishing marks she wore was the Royal Marines Unit cap tally (at CTC) and the square 3 Cdo Bde Commando dagger TRF (in Afghanistan), the old RM cap badge on a red tombstone has'nt been worn since the WRNS was fully intergrated into the RN. Unlike the QARNNS (who although fully intergrated into the RN, still wear crossed A's distinguishing badges) neither male or females of the RN attached to the corps wear any distinguishing marks unless they are commando qualified!

Regards Tony

[Nozzer]

Paddy and Tony,

Many thanks for the info. I new someone would know.

Andy

[Ray6930]

Gents
Going back to John's original badges at the start of the thread, and having read the long thread on FANYs serving with SAS on the forum, I was interested to see this on ebay
Item # 170711339960
Pieces from a 'woman' (Jenny?) serving with a RM unit in WWII - presumably she'd have had the blue badges John?
Ray

[royston]

Ray

I found the item mentioned. I'm not certain if the cap tally would have been in use then. Yes she would have worn blue badges.

John

[DAVID B HOWELL]

Hi Ray and John

Cap Tally "ROYAL MARINES UNIT" came into being on 1st May 1968 under DCI (RN) 451/1968 12 APR 1968.

The lot on Ebay looks to have been put together I shall be steering clear of it

David

[royston]

David.

Thank you for your update. I was sure that the cap tally was much later than 2WW

John

[Ray6930]

David / John
I presume the medals are genuine but obviously the cap tally is rogue. I'd guess either added by the seller to suggest attachment to RM in WWII and boost sale price - or an assumption when finding it with the other items?
Not a sale I was interested in but, for any one that was, worth researching the lady in question perhaps?
Having read this thread and the FANY one it struck a chord and I thought it worth mentioning - I do not have the knowledge of you chaps to spot flaws so easily!
Yours Aye
Ray