Although nearly 60 when war erupted again in 1939, Stratton eagerly volunteered to return to active service. After persuading the War Office, he was given command of an Officer Cadet Training Unit. However, he was soon reassigned to the Royal Corps of Signals and given a special-duties role concerned with radio security. As a result, Stratton spent the war travelling extensively across the British Empire and also to the United States. Having exceeded the age limit for retirement, he relinquished his commission in the Territorial Army on 20 October 1945, retaining the rank of brevet lieutenant-colonel.