Dorothea Barron, who is 100 years old, was stationed at Port Edgar during the war and was the guest of honour at a special ceremony as work began to transform the 17-acre site into affordable homes.

The site, which had become a local eyesore, having been lying derelict and abandoned for many years, is set to get a new lease of life thanks to a visionary project by Lar Housing Trust. The housing charity plans to develop the site into 49 homes, convert one of the buildings into a community café and provide space for the local Men’s Shed group. A museum room is also being planned to mark the site’s history.

The yoga-loving centenarian former Wren, a visual signaller who specialised in reading morse code and semaphore, was stationed at the site from November 1943 to June 1944 as part of a shore-based Combined Operations Training Centre, HMS Hopetoun. This was set up to help train British and Allied forces for the D-Day landings.

She has returned to the area to take part in a brick-laying ceremony to mark the start of construction work. This is part of a special trip organised by The Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, run by volunteer London black cab drivers.

She said: “I have very fond memories of my time in Scotland and I am delighted that the Taxi Charity has made it possible for me to revisit Port Edgar. I am very much looking forward to hearing about the plans for the site and it would be a joy to meet others who served at the same time as I did.”

The site includes barracks, officers’ quarters, a hospital wing, air raid shelter and guardhouse with six cells for miscreant personnel.

Lar chief executive, Ann Leslie, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Dorothea to our Port Edgar development – she is a remarkable lady with a fund of stories to tell about her time here. This project has captured the imagination of so many people with historic and family links to the barracks and it’s a special moment for us to meet Dorothea and hear about her memories of being stationed here.

“We’ve also enjoyed incredible support from the City of Edinburgh Council as well as local community, heritage and history groups who are delighted that something so positive is happening at such an important and historic site.”

The Port Edgar project is just one of a number being undertaken by Lar to repurpose and regenerate abandoned buildings across Scotland. The ceremony used reclaimed bricks from elsewhere in the site with lintels and timbers also preserved as part of a major carbon capture drive by Lar.

Construction work is now underway with the first homes set to be completed by early summer 2026.