Women who outwitted Hitler
The Sunday Mirror|February 19, 2023
THE HEROIC WRENS WHO WORKED OUT HOW TO DEFEAT U-BOATS
AMANDA KILLELEA and MATTHEW PRESCH
Women who outwitted Hitler

THEY were a secret group of women who achieved what senior naval officers could not outwitting the Nazis to win the Battle of the Atlantic.

It was 1942 and Germany had brought Britain to the brink of starvation by sinking Allied merchant ships crossing the Atlantic with food and vital supplies on board.

The deadly U-boats were Hitler's secret weapon, stalking the depths of the seas in packs, ready to torpedo the merchant convoys.

Allied losses were mounting and the Royal Navy could not work out how to stop the U-boats.

Tasked by Prime Minister Winston Churchill with sinking the enemy's fleet, veteran wargamer Commander Gilbert Roberts travelled to the Western Approaches command centre in Liverpool.

There he asked the admiral for mathematicians and specialists to join a crack wargaming unit - only to be told there were no spare men.

So he turned to the head of the Women's Royal Naval Service, Vera Laughton Matthews, who seized her moment.

The Royal Navy mainly viewed female staff as typists and car drivers, but Vera had been recruiting the cream of the crop as Wrens - women such as mathematicians, linguists and sporting stars, some as young as 17.

Historian Dr Tessa Dunlop says: "Women were totally undervalued before the war. There was a hierarchy of what men did and what women did, and basically women were like chattel that stayed at home.

"But Vera was an early-doors feminist. She was writing for the Suffragette, she was pushing the envelope for women." The First World War saw women engaged in military services. But the view after 1918 was that there would never be another conflict like it, so the female services were disbanded.

However mum-of-three Vera, a Wren in the First World War, continued to push for women's active involvement after 1939.

Esta historia es de la edición February 19, 2023 de The Sunday Mirror.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición February 19, 2023 de The Sunday Mirror.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE THE SUNDAY MIRRORVer todo
Zeezy does it
The Sunday Mirror

Zeezy does it

FEMI LAST-GASP\LEVELLER,DENIES CATS

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 24, 2024
Leading an Art Lesson
The Sunday Mirror

Leading an Art Lesson

GUNNERS TURN ON THE STYLE TO SNAP MISERABLE RUN

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 24, 2024
ODETO A GENIUS
The Sunday Mirror

ODETO A GENIUS

Gunners skipper is poetry in motion inspiring classic win

time-read
3 minutos  |
November 24, 2024
'WE CAN'T RELY ON KIDS TO STAY IN THIS LEAGUE'
The Sunday Mirror

'WE CAN'T RELY ON KIDS TO STAY IN THIS LEAGUE'

TAYLOR HARWOOD-BELLIS and Tyler Dibling are stars in the making.

time-read
1 min  |
November 24, 2024
BELLAMY'S TRIUMPH SHINES A LIGHT ON FA'S PRICEY GAMBLE
The Sunday Mirror

BELLAMY'S TRIUMPH SHINES A LIGHT ON FA'S PRICEY GAMBLE

CRAIG BELLAMY'S annual salary as Wales manager is not widely known, but most estimates have it around the £500,000 mark.

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 24, 2024
Why I blame baby talc for my cancer
The Sunday Mirror

Why I blame baby talc for my cancer

Brit suing US giant over asbestos link tells how her health fell apart

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 24, 2024
The tip of climate change
The Sunday Mirror

The tip of climate change

Coastal landslips expose old rubbish dumps to sea

time-read
1 min  |
November 24, 2024
Chaos reigns at Cop29 as nations walk over finance
The Sunday Mirror

Chaos reigns at Cop29 as nations walk over finance

COP29 collapsed into chaos yesterday with delegates from several countries walking out on the climate change talks.

time-read
1 min  |
November 24, 2024
You can earn more working for IKEA than in social care ... Labour wants to fix that
The Sunday Mirror

You can earn more working for IKEA than in social care ... Labour wants to fix that

A FAIR pay deal for care staff will help fix our creaking NHS, Angela Rayner says.

time-read
3 minutos  |
November 24, 2024
The Sunday Mirror

Denzel swaps $8,000 booze sessions for Training Days

DENZEL Washington says he is getting back in shape after spending years downing wine and sometimes knocking back $8,000-worth in a day.

time-read
1 min  |
November 24, 2024