Pam Warner of the Bridport Branch of the Royal Naval Association celebrated her 100th birthday on 4th September 2026.
She hosted an Open Door event at her home from 12 noon, and asked anyone who knew her to pop in and help her relive those memories and celebrate her milestones.
What a life she got to relive with them. She received a wonderful cake and a letter from The First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff – General Sir Gwyn Jenkins KCB OBE ADC RM.
PAMS STORY – In May 1944, during one of the most critical periods of the Second World War, Mrs Warner volunteered to join the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS). She was the youngest of three friends who had volunteered and was the last to join.
Her wartime service began at New College, where she was in Sick Bay on D-Day, 6 June 1944. She vividly remembered waking early and hearing coded radio messages being broadcast to agents in France. A few hours later, she and those around her realised that the long-awaited Allied invasion had begun.
Having missed her Wireless Telegraphy course because she was in Sick Bay, she was offered the opportunity to train instead as a Writer (Pay). She was sent to Highgate Hill in London, where she completed the course and came top of her class, qualifying for her rate.
She was subsequently posted to Chatham and then to HMS Beehive at Felixstowe, where she worked in the pay office supporting the Coastal Forces. HMS Beehive was a busy and strategically important naval base, and her work played a vital part in keeping personnel paid, supplied and able to carry out their duties.
Her time at Felixstowe coincided with the terrifying V-1 flying-bomb attacks. She experienced one particularly close call when a flying bomb struck nearby as she and her colleagues were leaving their accommodation. Holding on to the doorway protected her from the blast, but several of the women behind her were knocked to the floor. She immediately helped to pick them up and continued with her duties. The V-1 attacks became an almost daily part of life, with the women hearing the weapons approaching and the sound of anti-aircraft fire as attempts were made to shoot them down.
Despite the dangers, there were also memorable and lighter moments. She recalled the American servicemen who were stationed nearby and the dances and social events they organised. One particularly special occasion was being invited to a Glenn Miller concert held in an airship hangar at Bedford. The concert included WRNS personnel as well as American servicemen and others, and she remembered it as a wonderful evening. Glenn Miller disappeared only days later, making the memory all the more poignant.
During her service she also met the man who would become her husband. Their first encounter came when he arrived seeking a railway warrant to Bristol after injuring his finger. Mrs Warner, then an Essex girl unfamiliar with Bristol’s Temple Meads station, asked where Temple Meads was. Later, she discovered that he was the brother of one of her colleagues. Their relationship developed during this extraordinary period of wartime service, and they eventually married in a simple registry-office ceremony, with just two witnesses, when wartime circumstances made a traditional wedding impossible.
On VE Day, Mrs Warner was briefly at Newmarket Races with her father before returning to Felixstowe. Soon afterwards came another extraordinary moment in her naval career: the arrival of the German E-boats to surrender at Felixstowe. She witnessed the boats entering the harbour and remembered the enormous sense of occasion as everyone gathered to see them arrive.
The surrender also brought practical responsibilities. Ammunition had to be removed from the German vessels and disposed of safely. Mrs Warner was invited aboard one of the surrendered boats, RML 547, to accompany the crew as they took ammunition out into the North Sea. It was an unforgettable experience — although her realisation that she was becoming extremely seasick led her to conclude that she was never going to make a proper sailor!
After the war, Mrs Warner continued her naval service rather than being immediately demobilised. Personnel in essential occupations had to remain in service until their demobilisation numbers were called. She returned to Chatham and was then posted to HMS Wildfire III at Sheerness Dockyard, where she continued working in the pay office, supporting a large naval establishment that included submariners and other personnel.
By this time she had been promoted to Leading Wren. She subsequently undertook a Petty Officers’ course, passed the examination and, following an Admiralty Fleet Order allowing those who had qualified to be promoted immediately, became a Petty Officer.
With an excess of Petty Officers at Sheerness, she was transferred to London, where she worked in an office on the Embankment dealing with Royal Naval Reserve officers. She continued in this role for several months until her demobilisation became due. Even then, a further spell in Sick Bay delayed her departure, and she finally left the Service towards the end of 1946.
Her career was characterised by dedication, adaptability and a strong sense of responsibility. Her work in naval pay offices may have been behind the scenes, but it was essential to the smooth running of the Service. One memorable incident demonstrated just how important that responsibility could be. A group of sailors returned after spending months overseas without receiving their pay. With the men waiting to go on leave and the pay office unable to provide sufficient cash, Mrs Warner helped persuade the authorities to arrange for the bank to open specially. The money was obtained, the sailors were paid, railway warrants were issued, and the men were finally able to leave.
Although her naval career formally ended in 1946, her connection with the Royal Navy community continued for the rest of her life. She became deeply involved with the Royal Naval Association (RNA) and served in a number of important roles, including Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer.
When she began her involvement, the branch had approximately 110 members. Over more than 30 years she witnessed membership gradually decline to around 50, as well as attending numerous funerals and seeing generations of naval comrades pass on. Nevertheless, she remained committed to keeping the Association active and supportive.
She described the RNA as hugely supportive and took great pleasure in the friendships, activities and sense of community it provided. She and her husband were also involved in bringing together members of the RNA and the local Royal Air Force Association, creating many opportunities for fellowship and social gatherings.
In recognition of her outstanding and sustained commitment, Mrs Warner was made a Life Member of the Royal Naval Association.
Her story is therefore much more than that of a woman who joined the WRNS during the final years of the Second World War. From D-Day and the V-1 attacks to the surrender of the German E-boats, from working in naval pay offices to rising to Petty Officer, she played her part in some extraordinary chapters of Britain’s history.
Her service at HMS Beehive in Felixstowe placed her at the heart of vital Coastal Forces operations during a decisive period of the war, while her subsequent service at HMS Wildfire III at Sheerness Dockyard contributed directly to maintaining the readiness and effectiveness of the post-war fleet.
Her experiences also form part of the wider story of women in the Armed Forces. Through her commitment, professionalism and willingness to serve wherever she was needed, she helped demonstrate the valuable contribution women could make to Britain’s military services and helped pave the way for future generations of women in uniform.
More than 80 years after she first volunteered, her contribution remains an enduring legacy. Her memories provide a remarkable personal window into the Second World War, while her decades of commitment to the Royal Naval Association demonstrate that her sense of service did not end when she left the WRNS.
Mrs Warner’s lifetime of service, dedication and comradeship is a remarkable achievement and a lasting source of inspiration.
Happy 100th Birthday, Pam!