Obituary – Nancy ‘Pat’ Moore (neé Clothier) – a true pioneer

We sadly acknowledge the passing of Nancy 'Pat' Moore in May 2026, at the age of 106.

Nancy was one of the first women to serve in the Women's Royal New Zealand Naval Service (WRNZNS) and a quiet pioneer of naval communications during the Second World War.

Nancy was born in Christchurch on 11 April 1920. In 1942 on her 22nd birthday, the establishment of the WRNZNS was approved by the War Cabinet.

In 2020 when she turned 100, Nancy told Navy News she had first joined the Women's War Service Auxiliary (WWSA).

"All the young women had joined," she told them. "You could do all sorts of things. I chose communications, and we had an old soldier who took us one night a week, and all day Saturday, teaching us Morse Code and semaphore."

Nancy was amongst the first group of women to be enlisted into the WRNZNS and entered service as a Probationary Wren at HMNZS Philomel on 15 July 1942 and issued service number 11.

Her service placed her among the earliest Wrens and saw her contribute to some of the most critical communications work undertaken by the Royal New Zealand Navy.

As a Wren, Nancy worked as a typist at the Post Office wireless station on Tinakori Hill (now Te Ahumairangi Hill), where the Wellington Naval Radio Station was based. The station ran full watches, day and night. She was then transferred to the naval radio station in Waiouru as a telegraphist. The station operated continuously, relaying coded messages from across the world and providing vital links between ships at sea and senior Allied commanders. She told NZDF that "you would be scared of making a mistake."

Nancy was confirmed as an Able Wren then promoted to Petty Officer Wren. She served until 1946, remaining in uniform during the immediate post-war period as the Navy demobilised.

In 1944, she met John Moore, a Fleet Air Arm pilot, and they later married. John became a stock agent and they moved to a farmlet in Upper Plains, Masterton.

They lived there for 40 years. They raised four children and Nancy had nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

Nancy would later be recognised as one of the longest-serving Wrens of the Second World War.

In later life, she spoke modestly of her service, often downplaying her achievements. On receiving letters from the Queen and the Chief of Navy for her centenary in 2020, she told Navy Today "I have no Wrens left to ring and say, I've had a letter from the Admiral."

Her legacy endures not only in the history of the Royal New Zealand Navy, but in the path she helped open for women in uniform. Her story is one of quiet professionalism, resilience, and service - qualities that continue to define naval service today.