STONE, Rita May
| Service Number: | 96635 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 May 1942, Adelaide, SA |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | RAAF Hospitals |
| Born: | Orroroo, South Australia, 13 October 1918 |
| Home Town: | Henley Beach South, Charles Sturt, South Australia |
| Schooling: | State School 7th Grade, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Domestic |
| Died: | Natural Causes, South Australia, 21 June 2009, aged 90 years |
| Cemetery: |
Enfield Memorial Park, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Willowie WW2 Roll of Honour |
World War 2 Service
| 28 May 1942: | Involvement Corporal, 96635 | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 May 1942: | Enlisted Adelaide | |
| 28 May 1942: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Corporal, 96635, RAAF Hospitals, Adelaide, SA | |
| 29 Oct 1945: | Discharged |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Daughter of John STONE, Willowie, SA
Biography contributed by Di Barrie
Rita May Stone was born at Orroroo 13 October 1918, the fifth child and youngest daughter of John and Julia Charlotte (Turner) Stone. John and Lottie farmed Sections 11w, 11e, and 12, Hundred of Pinda.
May enlisted with the WAAAF at No. 5 Recruitment Centre 28 May 1942. She was 23 years old.
May requested to be enlisted as Mess Steward. On her application she stated she had seven years’ experience as a domestic servant (to Mrs. S. J. Kallin, a cousin), and two years’ experience as a house-parlour maid. She also listed experience as a Governess. Her application also noted that she was prepared to serve anywhere (in Australia), had passed a police check, and “can rough it.” It was also noted that she answered questions “promptly”. Her application was accepted.
24 June 1942 May was posted to Number 4 Initial training School (4 ITS). 4 ITS-RAAF was located at Mount Breckan, Victor Harbor. From 4 November 1940 until 5 December 1944 approximately 5,595 RAAF and WAAAF personnel graduated from this facility. May was promoted to the rank of Corporal on 1 December 1943. It was here she was to meet her future husband, Frank, when he was serving meals. He asked her to go to the pictures with him.
She was transferred to No 7 RAAF Hospital on 15 January 1944, looking after the Air Force kitchen for approximately a year, and then transferred to the Adelaide Hospital again taking charge of the kitchen. She remained at there until her discharge from the RAAF 29 October 1945. After the war May returned to the farm at Willowie.
May married Francis (Frank) Edward Harford at the Methodist Manse, Orroroo on the 20 April 1948. They worked in Queensland for a period where they had their first child, a daughter. They then returned to South Australia. May and her daughter moved back to Willowie whilst Frank worked in Adelaide to earn enough money to buy a block of land. They reunited with Frank in Adelaide where their four younger children were born.
May died 21 June 2009, aged 90 years of age, at Mt. Carmel Hostel, Rosewater, South Australia. She was cremated and her ashes collected by her daughter.
Excerpt taken from the "Diggers From the Dust" (2018) Di Barrie and Andrew Barrie
Click images to start slideshow.