A group had gone up into the mountains into Kandy where the local children were bathing elephants. Gibraltar proved to be more enjoyable for them as, being a British base, the women were free to walk and roam around seeing the sights and eating sweet navel and blood oranges which had been brought over from Spain.It was discovered that several women never bothered to meet their husbands when the ship arrived in Plymouth. The Captain decided to commence night patrols and the women were requested to be in their bunks by 2300. He said, ‘I have never had women on my ship before and I hope never to have them again’. Sheets and towels were donated by the Red Cross and the Royal Australian Navy donated toilet seats.

Just two weeks after commissioning in 1941, Victorious took part in the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck in the North Atlantic. Australia with its sunshine, open spaces and loving families was more enticing than Britain with its cold weather and rationing. These aircraft had been given to the Royal Navy by the Americans under lend-lease and as the engineers, fitters and armourers had all left the ship, there was no-one to service them any more. In order to use the hangar as accommodation for the brides, some redundant aircraft were rolled overboard when the ship was in deep water clear of Sydney Heads. This is how it’s going to be – anybody misbehaving will be put ashore regardless of where it is, and will have to find their own way home.’ Two women were put off the ship at Fremantle as they were found to be charging the sailors for ‘services rendered’ on the poop deck!When shore leave was granted the women handed in berthing cards at the gangway when going ashore and collected them on their return. It was simply decided that they were of no use and no longer required!Captain Annesley’s log and his reports give details of the weather they encountered, the recreational facilities and amenities, medical arrangements, the cabins, dormitories and ablutions areas, difficulties with shore leave in the various ports, money changing and the problems of fraternizing between the women and the ship’s crew.To make things logistically easier, the Captain decided there would be only one class of war bride, everyone would eat the same food, they would be allowed the same amount of luggage and they would receive their mail at ports of call in the same way as naval personnel. However, most of the women were very glad to see that their husbands were there waiting for them on the dock.
Extra bathrooms, toilets and laundries were built along with recreational and dining areas. Captain Annesley announced to the women, ‘I never thought I’d see the day when sex reared its ugly head on my ship!

As many of the women were pregnant, one can only imagine how the medical arrangements were intended to work effectively!A later report by Captain Annesley recommended that in future, if possible, pregnant women should have special dormitories on a deck where the mess, recreation space and toilets and showers were all on the same level. This involved the construction of new superstructure above the hangar deck level, a new angled flight deck,In early June 1941, while part of the escort for troop convoy The Arctic convoys had been suspended temporarily after the heavy losses suffered by She left for Scapa Flow on 18 November and, while en route, After May 1945 the British Pacific Fleet withdrew to Sydney and Manus for refits and, in the cases of The ship was extensively reconstructed and modernised at On 25 September 1958 Commander J. D. Russell drowned in his Supermarine Scimitar after a failed attempt to land on In 1960, after recommissioning into the Home Fleet on 14 January 1958, with work-ups and deployments in the Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea, she portrayed both herself and HMS On 11 November 1967, after the completion of the 1967 refit and shortly before the start of what was intended as the ship's final commission, there was a relatively small fire, which was rapidly extinguished, in the chief petty officers' 1941 Illustrious-class aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy There are differences between sources on the precise details of the circumstances of Hobbs David British Aircraft Carriers Seaforth 2013

Needless to say, there were many complaints!Seasickness was a major problem to be handled, with many of the brides being very ill and unable to cope with the rough weather, particularly when the ship was crossing the Great Australian Bight. One can only imagine how heartbroken they would have been upon hearing this news. In some ports it was considered necessary to have escorts as some of the women were inexperienced in the ways of the world. It was at this stage that many of them began to question why they had chosen to go on this trip!Homesickness became a problem for many of the women so entertainments were organised.