WW2 Heroine

Ailsa Stewart, 104, Campbeltown, Kintyre

Ailsa rose to the rank of second officer in the Wrens, serving at a number of Royal Naval air stations across the country including in Crail, Fife, and Machrihanish, Kintyre.

Her war effort included working as an analyst during training missions.

It involved the dropping of torpedoes by naval aircraft, before the planes headed on dangerous missions to attack German battleships, including the Tirpitz. It was part of the Baltic fleet, which was sunk by Royal Air Force bombers in November 1944.

Ailsa Stewart served in the Women’s Royal Naval Service as an analyst (Image: Wattie Cheung)

Her daughter-in-law, Mary Ann Stewart, said: “Ailsa will be 105 next month. She often talks about her time in the war but it’s mainly the people she met that she talks about.

“When she was stationed at Machrihanish she met her husband, Ian. She has frequently travelled to Glasgow to take part in Wren reunions.”