![Join the Wrens: and free a man for the fleet, 1939 UK poster: A smiling Wren in a hat lettered 'H.M.S. Pemb[roke]' lights](../images/uk-join-the-wrens-free-a-man-for-the-fleet-1939.jpg)
Join the Wrens: and free a man for the fleet (Women's Royal Naval Service)
A smiling Wren in a hat lettered 'H.M.S. Pemb[roke]' lights a sailor's cigarette on a yellow ground, with the line 'and free a man for the fleet'. The slogan presents women's service as releasing men for sea duty, and the friendly pairing makes a social scene stand for service, which are the transfer tells.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1939
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Admiralty, Director W.R.N.S.; printed for H.M. Stationery Office by J. Weiner Ltd, London W.C.1
- Region
- Western and Central Europe
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- State
- Regime
- Churchill Government
- Leader
- Winston Churchill
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Recruit
- Themes
- War and the military, Gender and suffrage, Labor
- Event
- World War II
- Leader
- Winston Churchill
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (UK Crown copyright, 50 years from publication, expired before 1996; no URAA restoration)
Admiralty / H.M. Stationery Office, via U.S. National Archives (RG 44), c. 1939-1945.
Text on the object
Join the WRENS WOMENS ROYAL NAVAL SERVICE AND FREE A MAN FOR THE FLEET Director W.R.N.S. Admiralty, S.W.1 or nearest Employment Exchange PRINTED FOR H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE BY J. WEINER LTD., LONDON, W.C.1. 51-381
