Following the outbreak of war and amid fears of a German invasion, steps were taken to fortify the beach at Forvie. An extensive network of blockhouses and tank traps was put in place and poles were driven into the sand all along the beach to prevent aircraft and gliders landing.

At the same time, Forvie’s extensive system of sand dunes provided an excellent training ground for desert warfare. Slains Lodge and its stable block were commandeered as a billet for the troops participating in these exercises.When the tide of battle turned in Britain’s favour the focus moved away from the Home Front at Collieston, but not before a village teenager, Alex Ross, was seriously injured by an unexploded mortar shell which he found in a rabbit hole. The war meant that most men between the ages of 17 and 49 either volunteered for, or were conscripted into military service.Such fishing as still went on was in the hands of the older men, schoolboys and students such as Lewis Mackie. Another consequence of the war was that families who had previously moved into Aberdeen returned to their old homes in the village away from the air-raids on the city.The end of the war meant a return to the declining fortunes of the village. Slains Lodge remained a training base until 1947 and in July 1949 the village school finally closed for good. From now on children would attend school at Slains.