Womens History Month

On #WomensHistoryMonth, WO2 Ann Miller-McCaffrey shared with us the major highlights from her career in the Royal Navy, as she remembers her grandad whose past stories and experiences inspired her to join in the first place.

“My grandad was in the Merchant Navy in WW2 and I loved hearing him talk about how he travelled around the world, the people he met and the unbelievable experiences he had. So when able to, I joined the Girls Nautical Training Corps (GNTC) which later amalgamated with the Sea Cadet C“My grandad was in the Merchant Navy in WW2 and I loved hearing him talk about how he travelled around the world, the people he met and the unbelievable experiences he had. So when able to, I joined the Girls Nautical Training Corps (GNTC) which later amalgamated with the Sea Cadet Corps (SCC).

I spent almost every weekend learning about all things nautical / maritime such as boating, rope work, foot drill, morse code, and I really liked navigation and chart work. The opportunities were endless and I thrived on the challenges presented and I gained the confidence to push myself. I was also very sporty and couldn’t wait to get out onto the water sailing, rowing and canoeing.

As soon as I experienced going to sea on a Motorised Fishing Vessel with the Sea Cadets I knew this is what I wanted to do as a career. However, when I joined in 1987, women didn’t go to sea but I’d been given a tip off that they might do some day soon. I loved sharing everything that I learned with my grandad and he seemed to cherish the opportunity to recall and share his own experiences too.

Due to my branch, I have had the pleasure of working with amazing people across the Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm, Royal Marines, Royal Air Force and British Army but my roots stemmed from the Women’s Royal Naval Service. The day I joined up was a very proud day for the whole of my family and remains etched in my memories because I wanted it so much. Training was challenging in some areas and on my passing-out parade my chest burst with pride with my close family watching my most significant achievement to date.

Working with the Royal Marines at RM Poole and 42 Cdo RM were very rewarding and I really enjoyed deploying to Norway – this gave me important life skills, helped to build confidence and proved to myself that if I trained hard enough I could achieve my goals. Working alongside people with a positive mental attitude really does influence your mindset and I remain life-long friends with some of my mentors.

An overseas draft to Gibraltar was a dream come true: what an amazing insight into culture, international relationships and allyship. I travelled as much as I could using this as a base and got to visit some stunning places in some very rich but also some very poor countries. My abiding memory of this experience is that ‘it’s only by luck that you are born where you are’ and we must respect and celebrate other people’s differences.

My most recent achievement of being promoted to WO2 is one I must admit I never thought I would see, when I left the RN and joined the Reserves I knew that the branch I was joining didn’t have opportunities for promotion. However, things change and here I am with a renewed enthusiasm and a new role ready to strive forward and progress.

My role model has always been Queen Elizabeth I, not just because she is ginger, but she was a women in a man’s world who overcame both personal and professional adversity to be remembered as a great leader, monarch and whilst retaining her identity as a woman. Joining up gave me the confidence to become who I am, it gave me experiences I would never have had in other careers, it gave me opportunities to create lasting memories and life-long friendships.”

WO2 Ann Miller-McCaffrey – WO2 Reserves Transformation and WO2 Training Branch Capability.

#BreakTheBias

Source: Royal Navy