Air Commandant Dame Anne Stephens DBE, (4 November 1912 – 26 July 2000) was Director of the British

Women's Royal Air Force The Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) was the women's branch of the Royal Air Force. It existed in two separate incarnations: the Women's Royal Air Force from 1918 to 1920 and the Women's Royal Air Force from 1949 to 1994. On 1 February 1949, the ...

from 1960 until her retirement in 1963. She was awarded an

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

in 1946, and elevated to DBE in 1961.

Family and early life

Stephens's father was General Sir

Reginald Byng Stephens General Sir Reginald Byng Stephens, (10 October 1869 – 6 April 1955) was a British Army general of the First World War and later Commandant of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, from 1919 to 1923, Major-General commanding the 4th Division ...

and she was descended from the brother of Admiral

John Byng Admiral John Byng (baptised 29 October 1704 – 14 March 1757) was a British Royal Navy officer who was court-martialled and executed by firing squad. After joining the navy at the age of thirteen, he participated at the Battle of Cape Passa ...

(1704-1757), who was shot after a court-martial found him guilty in failing to relieve the siege of Minorca during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

. She was educated privately except for a short period at Hatherop Castle School, and engaged in voluntary work near her home in Gloucestershire until 1939 brought the opportunity to volunteer for service in the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

(WAAF).

Service career

Stephens joined the 27th (Gloucester) company of the WAAF when it was formed in 1939, becoming its first commanding officer. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Stephens served in Britain, Belgium, and Germany, and was the second member of the WAAF to cross the channel after

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

. After the war she continued to serve in the WAAF, which in 1949 became the

(WRAF). In 1950 she took charge of the WRAF training depot at

RAF Hawkinge Royal Air Force Hawkinge or more simply RAF Hawkinge is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Ashford, north of Folkestone, Kent and west of Dover, Kent, England. The airfield was used by both the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal ...

, becoming the first woman to run an RAF station. In 1951 she was promoted to Group Officer; from 1952 to 1954 she was Inspector of the WRAF, and, from 1954 to 1957, its deputy director under Dame Henrietta Barnett. She spent two years in Germany with the 2nd Tactical Air Force and in 1960 was appointed Director of the WRAF and an Honorary Aide de Camp to Queen Elizabeth II, with the rank of Air Commandant, on Barnett's retirement. She held this post until she retired in 1963, when she was succeeded by Dame

Jean Conan Doyle Air Commandant Dame Lena Annette Jean Conan Doyle, Lady Bromet, (21 December 1912 – 18 November 1997) was a British military officer in the Women's Royal Air Force. The second daughter of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, she was a spirited child who ...

Later life

In retirement, Stephens lived in

Sibford Ferris Sibford Ferris is a village and civil parish about west of Banbury in Oxfordshire. It is on the south side of the Sib valley opposite its larger sister village, Sibford Gower. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 476. History ...

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

, Oxfordshire and volunteered with the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...

and other organisations. She died on 26 July 2000, aged 87, unmarried. Her estate was valued at £680,546.

References

1912 births 2000 deaths Women's Royal Air Force officers Women's Auxiliary Air Force officers Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Place of birth missing Place of death missing {{RAF-bio-stub