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.
This story is from the February 19, 2023 edition of The Sunday Mirror.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the February 19, 2023 edition of The Sunday Mirror.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
CHECK MAIT
Farrell proving endgame in England 'matters to him... as Sarries grandmaster batters Quins
HUNGRY LIKE A WOLFFLE UBS
Prowling Mercedes boss is waiting for right moment to pounce for his top target
JUST STOP OIL WANTS UN TO DEFEND RIGHTS
Claim anti-protest law breaks convention
HORRIFIC TRUTH OF 'FREE-RANGE' EGGS
INSIDE these cramped farm sheds, thousands of hens live in darkness, laying egg after egg next to bin bags full of dead birds.
Davina and the Dragon
Podcast chats for new network
Tory donor's sexist jokes about Rayner
Labour raps bigwig's crude jibes
Moscow attack death toll rises to 'at least' 133
US confirms ISIS did it... but Putin blames Ukraine
FUNERAL HOME SUSPECTS WERE HELD AT HEATHROW
TWO people at the centre of the funeral parlour probe were arrested when they landed at an airport after a trip away, police said yesterday.
Kate will be brave and fight like me
THE Princess of Wales last night received a touching message of support from a young girl she befriended and helped through her own battle with cancer.
Kate & Wills: We are both enormously touched by your support
King is so proud of brave daughter-in-law