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This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Hillary Ross of the Chineham Learning Centre on behalf of Agnes Stone and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

I was called up in the summer of 1940 and reported to Glencorse Barracks, Edinburgh, where we were supplied with uniforms and tested. From there we were sent to Oswestry and formed the 467th Heavy Mixed Ack Ack Battery. From here we went to training camp at Holyhead, Anglesey, where we practised, along with our gunners, firing at the sleeve. After this we were stationed at Wardley, Newcastle-on-Tyne, defending shipping at Jarrow docks.

I was a height and range finder and trained by my CO on all aspects of gunnery. During this time I was sent to Brigade as director of operations. The Battery was being replaced, being due for a rest period, so I rejoined my Battery having been signed up for France. We were the first Ack Ack girls to replace the gunners on the scientific instruments. Moving to Scotland we then were sent to a gun site at Helensburgh. After two weeks we were then overnight on a troop train having been selected by Sir Frederick Pile, Chief Anti-Aircraft, as the chosen Battery to defend shipping at Southampton docks in preparation for D-Day. We were trying to bring down doodlebugs and rockets. The first rocket to land in England stood on our gun site at Marchwood.

Southampton was badly blitzed. Everything was demolished, only empty basements remained and the railway station had only one platform. The American troops and the 8th Army were billeted in a field behind our camp and this was all part of the build up for D-Day. We had to man the command post and the gunners had to remain on their guns day and night. It was impossible to shoot down the doodlebugs and rockets but the RAF pilots used to go up and with the wing tips of their aircraft flip the doodlebugs over.

After the war Britain and other countries created United Nations to ensure that World War 2 was the ‘war to end all wars’. Because today we have more sophisticated weapons there is a greater possibility of mass destruction. We must ensure peace and stability so we require a good defence system to protect the nation against any attack.

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