100 YEARS OF WOMEN IN THE MILITARY

THE AFGHANISTAN VETERAN Stacey Hodnett, 39

Served as a sergeant in the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps in the Gulf War, Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, where she helped treat wounded troops in the Camp Bastion hospital. In 2014, the married mother who lives in Folkestone, Kent, was diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder and continues to work to manage the symptoms.

Despite bearing the scars of war, she is proud to have served in the military. “We have gained so much as women in the Armed Forces,” she says. “We’ve shown we can be as versatile as men and I think we will go even further forward.”

THE NORTHERN IRELAND VETERAN Jane Freeman, 59

Enlisted in the Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC) in 1977 following in her mother Joan’s footsteps, who had served with the Intelligence Corps in the Second World War. Jane was similarly attached to the Intelligence Corps and served two operational tours of duty with the Special Reconnaissance Regiment. In April 1981, she was awarded the Queen’s Gallantry Medal. In total, the married mother-of-two served 24 years, first with the WRAC and then with the Intelligence Corps, finishing as a substantive Warrant Officer Class 2 in 2003. “I’m a huge feminist and I am very proud of my time,” she says.

THE SECOND WORLD WAR VETERAN Charlotte Webb, 94

Charlotte joined the Artillery Territorial Service (ATS) in 1941 and was transferred to Bletchley Park until the end of the war. Her operations were so secret that even her parents didn’t know where she worked. Before joining the military, Charlotte had been on a domestic science course, but felt it was her duty to sign up and volunteer.