[2] Stephens's father was General Sir Reginald Byng Stephens and she was descended from the brother of Admiral John Byng (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.
[1] 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 (WAAF).
[3] During the Second World War Stephens served in Britain, Belgium, and Germany, and was the second member of the WAAF to cross the channel after D-Day.
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.
[citation needed] In retirement, Stephens lived in Sibford Ferris, Banbury, Oxfordshire and volunteered with the British Red Cross and other organisations.