Marsie Taylor had a varied and fascinating war. She moved to London with her parents in 1939 and immediately joined the Mechanised Transport Corps because she wanted to contribute to the war effort. She recalls the effect the sights and sounds had on her, driving a Light Rescue Team through bombed-out streets in Lambeth. She vividly recalls receiving the BEM from the King for recovery work on the night of 15 October 1940. She joined the WRNS in 1942 when the bombing reduced, spending over a year in Norfolk House where she typed operation orders during planning for the invasions of Sicily and Normandy. She comments on the enormity of the secrecy, because she held BIGOT clearance, so knew the time and place of the landings. Once the planning finished, she moved to the naval HQ at Southwick House in Portsmouth in readiness for D-Day. She recalls hitchhiking in uniform back to London and working on artificial harbours. She was later commissioned and spent the last months of the war as an assistant to the captain in charge of an air station near Aberdeen.

After testing out the army and the air force as a cadet, William Sheppard settled on a career in the navy and completed his training at HMS Collingwood. After passing out, he joined HMS Onyx in 1943 and remained with the same ship until 1949. William talks about his duties aboard the Onyx, remembering the good fortune that excused him from many of the more tedious jobs to be done, and recalls the constant challenge to keep warm faced by the crew as they sailed the Arctic seas. His story includes details of the sweeps commonly used by the Onyx when trying to detect mines, and he tells of the horrors he encountered when the ship arrived in the English Channel ahead of the Normandy landings. William also recalls catching sight of a ship full of German maidens en route back to harbour, wryly commenting on the lack of any similar provision within the British navy.

Betty “Bet” Dobson grew up in Scotland and was just a teenager when war broke out. With her father called up in 1939, she was determined to do her part. Though he forbade her from joining the Army, she applied elsewhere and was accepted into the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS).

In her interview, Betty recalls her training in Dunfermline, the pride of putting on her uniform for the first time, and the strict rules about hair and dress. Posted first to Rosyth and then to Donibristle Fleet Air Arm Station, she worked as a teleprinter operator, sending coded signals, weather reports, and urgent supply requests. She describes the relentless noise of the machines, the discipline of secrecy, and the constant rhythm of wartime communications.

Her service later took her to Largs and finally to the Admiralty in London, where she worked underground alongside the WAAF on vast teleprinter switchboards. She shares memories of Christmas pantomimes, strict food rationing, the loss of cousins in the RAF and Army, and the euphoria of VE Day celebrations.

Betty’s story offers a vivid glimpse into the essential but often unseen contribution of the Wrens during the Second World War.

William O’Brien joined the navy as a 13-year-old cadet in 1930 and qualified as a Sub Lieutenant in 1937. He served on HMS Garland in the Mediterranean and, after World War II broke out, transferred to the destroyer HMS Wolsey patrolling the UK’s East coast. In May 1940, O’Brien was involved in a land-based operation ‘Royal Marine’ laying mines on the Rhine, but had to retreat when German forces advanced. Returning to sea, he became First Lieutenant of HMS Witherington, which patrolled the English Channel but was damaged during a bombing raid whilst docked at Portsmouth. At the end of  1941, O’Brien transferred to HMS Offa, participating in a raid on Norway and escorting Arctic convoys, including the ill-fated PQ17.  In February 1943, O’Brien took command of the destroyer HMS Cottesmore, conducting patrols and participating in D-Day operations at Gold Beach, where they supported the beach landings. Promoted in late 1944, O’Brien was sent to the Asian theatre as a planner for amphibious assaults in Burma. He witnessed the surrender of Singapore and became the Allied Forces Naval Liaison Officer in Jakarta. O’Brien continued his naval career after the war, retiring as an Admiral in 1971

Aged 14 when WWII broke out, Gladys spent the early war years in Gillingham, Kent. Gladys frequently sought refuge at home or in shelters when bombs and landmines were dropped on her street. She explains how the war shattered everybody’s lives and deprived young people of their carefree teenage years. At 17, Gladys decided to join the WRNS to contribute to the war effort, following in the footsteps of her Navy and Marine relatives. She trained in Rochester to wait on tables for breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner, before serving at Chatham Barracks as an Officer Steward. She describes her daily routine, getting to know the naval officers, and her friendships and moments of mischief with fellow Wrens. As the war drew to a close, Gladys felt optimistic about the future and was excited for life to return to normal. After peace was declared, local people flocked to see the barracks lights fully illuminated again – a captivating sight that symbolically marked the end of the war’s disruption. Though Gladys sheds light on the difficulties faced by WWII’s teenage generation, she fondly cherishes her memories of her time as a Wren.

A few months after World War II began, Frank Wilson enlisted in the Royal Navy. He completed 10 weeks of training at HMS Collingwood and continued at HMS Wellesley in Liverpool, where he trained as an anti-aircraft gunner. Frank was then stationed on HMS Activity, a 14,000-ton ship, posted to the forward starboard side operating the anti-aircraft guns. He fondly recalls Captain Willoughby as an absolute gentleman. While training, Frank remembers being held in the harbour at Greenock when HMS Dasher exploded and sank in the Clyde in March 1943, with 379 out of 528 crewmen lost. He saw the smoke and heard about the sea being afire with aviation fuel. Frank’s first Russian Convoy was extremely cold, with temperatures below 50 degrees. He was part of the team escorting battleships Royal Sovereign and Missouri. On another trip, he witnessed HMS Bluebell get hit by a torpedo from the German submarine U-711 in the Barents Sea, where only one person survived. In Russia, Frank saw the hunger and gave food to the locals whenever he could. The Activity had to keep moving in dangerous waters to avoid being an easy target for the Germans. Frank was part of 20 different convoys, traveling in the Arctic, Atlantic, and Mediterranean. After serving on The Activity, he was transferred to HMS Berwick and sent to the Far East. In Singapore, he visited HMS Activity again to celebrate the end of the war with his old friends.  

In 1941 at the age of 17, Joan Field applied to join the WRNS (Women's Royal Naval Service). Keen not to become a cook or a steward, Joan was happy when the discovery of her perfect eyesight meant she was chosen to become a signaller and sent to HMS Cabbala to begin her training. Joan talks in detail about the instruction she received – including Morse code, semaphore, the phonetic alphabet and naval discipline – before her first draft sent her north to the pier signal station in Oban. Joan shares memories of life in Oban, and the stark differences she encountered when she moved to the remote Ganavan signal station shortly after her arrival in Scotland, recalling one particularly frightening encounter that made her glad of the pistol training all Wrens received. She also talks about the improvements to planning that came when the Americans joined the war, but recalls with some horror their apparent lack of discipline within the ranks. Joan’s story provides a particularly engaging insight into the life and work of a female signaller, and highlights her deep connection both to the Scottish Highlands and the vital role she played in the war effort.

Megan Moir joined the WRNS (Women's Royal Naval Service) aged 18 in December 1944. After brief training she went to Larne in Northern Ireland, but soon had the rare opportunity to join HMS Philante, a former luxury yacht which was used to train warships involved in anti-submarine work, with submarines acting as U-boats. They sailed to the naval base at the Kyle of Lochalsh opposite Skye, where she spent the rest of the war typing training instructions and training results. After the war she typed up reports in German following the surrender of U-boats there. She recalls her excitement when offered the chance to go to sea at 10 minutes notice, because very few WRENS went to sea; she vividly recalls being on the bridge, where she could see what was happening. She only stayed onboard one night; the rest of the time she slept in the “Wrenery”, where she enjoyed socialising in the common room with fellow WRENS and visitors. She narrates many fascinating anecdotes, including the celebrations for VE- and VJ-Day.