Spit, Polish and Selotape
If nothing else, being in the RN made me an excellent laundress. Mum had prepared me as well as she could by getting me to polish my school shoes and do a bit of ironing when forced to, but that was nothing compared to what was required for naval kit. The photo above is of one of my kit musters. These were done frequently during training and occasionally (purely as an inconvenience) when not. A kit muster involved washing, ironing and folding all items you were supposed to have into a 'book sized' rectangle. This was supposedly the exact size of a ships locker, and meant kit was kept clean and neat in a confined space. All well and good in a ship's mess, but not really necessary as a Wren with no chance whatsoever of going to sea. However... Before my bunk had been warmed, I was up to my elbows in soap suds and shoe polish. The very first night was spent washing and ironing shirts and collars - they were not attached! followed by sitting with a fluffy...