Wren Jane and I

How does a mature male author come to write about an adventurous young woman who is living at a time of exceptional forces? This is a regular question which I sometimes struggle to answer from my own internal resources. The externals are obvious enough: The real life boat crew wrens were about as tough, determined and sometimes downright wild a group as could be found anywhere in the uniformed women’s services in World War Two. They had a wonderful time developing into strong independent people doing things that had never been asked of women before in the polite Western world. So there is terrific scope for writing thrilling stories full of adventure and social comment and, let us admit it, of direct challenge to the patriarchal structures within which they had to operate.

Now, not many of these young women would have regarded themselves as card-carrying feminists. They joined up to “do their bit” for their homeland at a time of ultimate peril and to do their bit they had to take on challenges far beyond anything their safe home lives had prepared them for. This included working and living alongside the Royal Navy which at the start of World War Two was probably as totally male a structure as could exist. These women could have tried to achieve this by being ultra feminine and letting the men believe they were simply acting as their handmaidens. But from the start they didn’t. They asserted their independent status as co-workers with a tough job to do and in the process set in motion a quiet social revolution so strong that the wider society never did return to its pre-war style.

All of which gives an author a huge amount to go at. Being a lifetime seaman anyway the nautical stuff in telling their tale was already second nature to me, and that meant that I was free to focus my research on the Wrens’ stories. By creating a feisty girl who becomes the first experimental pioneer boat crew Wren I had a powerful central character well able to carry the story and she will go on doing so through the war. There is so much still to tell and the series, as it lengthens and fills out, will see our heroine in many different guises and places.

And the internal resources? To begin with I knew there was a wonderful story to tell, and wanted to tell it. But coming to understand my heroine and see into her mind was a huge challenge and in earlier stages I was very grateful for the support and assistance of some ladies who both challenged and advised me. Having managed to get some understanding to form a base, I have found my access to her mind developed hand-in-hand with her own growth into a tough resilient young adult able to survive, succeed, and come of age in the fierce heat of war. It is proving to be quite a journey.