What did Katharine Furse do at 15 Stanhope Gate?

Stanhope Gate Standing before this elegant Mayfair townhouse, you're looking at the birthplace of Britain's first official women's naval service. In January 1918, as the First World War raged on and the nation faced an unprecedented crisis, Dame Katharine Furse recognized that women possessed the skills and dedication to serve their country at sea—and she chose this very address to prove it. From behind these doors, she launched the Women's Royal Naval Service, transforming a radical idea into institutional reality by establishing its first headquarters here, where she could coordinate recruitment, training, and deployment of women sailors who would soon prove indispensable to the war effort.

This location represents a pivotal moment when a visionary leader and this particular building converged to reshape not just the Royal Navy, but the role of women in British military service forever.

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